#sels very late halloween art

[seleoipe]

a ghost and his wolf bestfriend !

[sswarehouse-blog1]

Anthony Bourdain’s Hungry Ghosts

Welcome back weekly comic fanatics! This week we are taking on a whole trade! Anthony Bourdain’s Hungry Ghosts has just released in a beautifully creepy hardback that is on the shelves today! This book comes to us as a collection of short stories. Anthony Bourdain meant a lot of great things to a lot of different people, he has always inspired my love of travel, food, and culture, and I’m glad that this trade will be able to make it into the hands of other fans who loved what he loved.

Warning. These stories are intended for mature readers and depict gore and a lot of body horror. I will try to tag it accordingly. The creative team behind this project includes Anthony Bourdain and Joel Rose as writers, and the artistic talents of Sebastian Cabrol, Sal Cipriano, Vanesa Sel Rey, Francesco Francavilla, Irene Koh, Leonardo Manco, Alberto Ponticellie, Paul Pope, Mateus Santolouco, and Jose Villarrubia.

"If I'm an advocate for anything, it's to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. Walk in someone else's shoes or at least eat their food. It's a plus for everybody." -Anothony Bourdain

Spoilers & Review under the cut. Cheers!

Story and Visuals  The writing is what one might expect from someone like Bourdain. There is no flowery descriptions and it reads blunt and matter of factually. The story telling is mostly done through the art. Each issue is a different horror artist and a different story. Portrayed as a challenge, each narrator is an international chef who spins a tale of horror and suspense. For this particular review I’m going to focus on Boil in the Belly.

This short story is a grossly disturbing piece of body horror. A young chef’s body is over taken by a strange unknown creature demanding food! Unable to rid her son of the creature, the mother takes to feeding it. But as much as she feeds it, it only demands more.

The family’s desperation turns to a doctor. A very strange doctor... Someone who is familiar with the case! Just when I didn’t think it could get any worse, it does... He diagnoses the young chef as falling victim to a “Hungry Ghost” and proceeds to expel it from the host’s body.

My friends. I am not one for horror...or gore... or body stuff... but I have to admit this is a great book. Despite the tightening in my chest and the gurgling fluids in my stomach, the illustrations of this book make it a solid read. And just in time fore Halloween gift giving!

So you die hard horror fans and fans of the late, great Anthony Bourdain, this one is for you. I’m honestly not sure the size of overlap on that venn diagram, but still, this is a book that will make your toes curl. How delightful!

Ratings: Overall 9/10 - I’m utterly squeamish. For me personally, the writing is a bit blunt and paced awkwardly, but the art more than makes up for some solid story telling. Gutts 10/10 - Hold onto your insides kiddos! Butts 1/10 - I probably had my eyes closed.  Chances of Picking Up the Next Issue: 1/10 - Nothing personal ghosts, but I’m not about that blood stuff. And also, this is a trade...so it’s kind of finished.