Hungry Ghosts #2

The Edo parlour game of 100 Candles continues in the second issue of Anthony Bourdain's Hungry Ghosts.  Two more helpings of frightful tales told by a group of chefs and their patrons are once again all about food.

In Salty Horse, a rich connoisseur of horse flesh just can't enough  of the equine delight.

Then in The Heads, an apprentice chef seeks a new master to teach him the culinary trade. But what he winds up with with make him a pariah for the rest of his days unless he can think fast.

Boudain, along with co-writer Joel Rose keeps upping the ante with these spooky tales guaranteed to disrupt the palate of the least pickiest of foodies. But it was the art in this issue that truly scared the chef pants off of me. 

Hellblazer's Leonardo Manco's work on Salty Horse was in a word: killer. I think we've found the heir apparent to the horror comics throne that Bernie Wrightson occupied before his passing in 2017. Manco's work reminded me so much of the ghastly pencils of Wrightson's work on the House of Mystery and House of Secrets back in the 1970s. I actually did a double-take to the credits page as I thought maybe I had stumbled upon a lost Wrightson work. The art of Salty Horse is just that good!

I also enjoyed the work Mateus Santolouco (Dial H) did on The Heads. His pencils were scary and a little whimsical as that yarn was told with tongue firmly in cheek both literally and figuratively. If you are a fan of Frank Ghastly's work on the classic EC Comics titles, did you will appreciate Santolouco's work on the second ghost story.

There was one thing about this comic book that confounded me and it involves the stories themselves. Early PR on Hungry Ghosts reported that all of Bourdain's stories were to be set in Japan. Salty Horse takes place in Spain while The Heads is set in Lombardy. I know I wasn't that great in geography. But I am pretty sure that neither Spain or Lombardy are in Japan. 

I don't mind that these tales weren't set in the Land of the Rising Sun. It's just when you sell me on a comic based on Japanese ghost stories, I expect all of the ghost stories to be set in Japan. 

There's only 2 issues left in this miniseries and I can't wait for them. As a professional chef, I love seeing that food and culinary is getting highlighted in geek culture. Anthony Bourdain is the right person to led the transition, as he's the Lou Reed and Joey Ramone of food. He's edgy, nostalgic and a lot more entertaining the more I learn about him.

Hungry Ghosts #2 debuted in stories and digital mediums on March 7, 2018.

Worth Consuming!

Rating; 9 out of 10 stars.