Babam! Welcome to Flavor Town where the currency is flavor and everyone is rich! And no, I’m not talking about some crappy vape town where the air is thick with cotton candy flavored clouds and backwards hats, but a REAL flavor town, you know, like with food. Well, unfortunately, this isn’t a real place, but if you ever wanted it to be, then the comic Flavor is right up your alley. A mystical world of rare spices and one-of-a-kind restaurants, Flavor is the story of a girl with a dream of running her family’s restaurant in a village known for its good eats. But when she learns she only has three months to turn the business around, it’s time to kick things up a notch! All she needs is a dream and her dog, right? Well, not everything is at seems within the borders of her world. A fun encompassing read that’ll be appreciated by fans of big fantasy, this Miyazaki-inspired foodie work will leave you *hungry* for more.
Flavor opens with our heroine Xoo (pronounced Zoo? Hoo?) as she bikes at top speeds through the a yet-to-be-named, walled-off city famed for its food and chefs. Hoping to get her hands on a precious spice known as Garuda Truffles, she falls short of accomplishing her goal when her rival sabotages her chance. Luckily for her, he gets hauled away by the town police but unluckily, she has to walk away empty handed. As she heads back home, in another part of town, her uncle arrives and is immediately met with a Mrs. Tee, who proceeds to tell him about Xoo’s family and why he was called down, allowing the comic for some exposition. You see, Xoo has been skipping school for six months to help her ill parents run a restaurant, which is a big no-no, for in the eyes of the law, she’s an underage, unregistered chef. An odd crime, for sure, but a very serious one in the walled town, and now her uncle must help his family or they will be separated and the restaurant shut down. Xoo is by no means happy about it, but she reluctantly agrees if it keeps Mrs. Tee off her back. Especially in this town, where the cops have a very destructive way of dealing with law breakers, one that lies beyond the walls.
Issue one starts off with a ton of exposition and helps set up Xoo’s world, which there is a lot of. From the swarms of chefs, to the police, to the delicate situation of Xoo’s parents, there is a lot that needs to be explained before the comic can really dive into the story. That being said, the comic handles the exposition beautifully. The writer Joseph Keatinge smartly dodges the ‘talking head’ syndrome and instead handles most of the introductory story through action. Characters are constantly grabbing things or walking through the luscious scenery, giving a very natural feeling to everyone’s interactions. They move while they talk and react to the actions around them which is very hard to pull off in comic medium. Too many comics rely on the reader to fill in the blanks of subtle movement when characters talk, but this one actually does it. It’s kind of like watching a well-done cartoon or, as mentioned, a Miyazaki film. The work really seems alive, it’s wonderful.
Another notable achievement is, of course, the design and illustrations of Flavor’s world. The art is much more inspired by high-end cartoon illustration than true comic art which works well with the vibe of the work. There are some serious moments in it, but overall, it’s a light comic and requires and a fun hand to handle the visual, which is perhaps why Wook Jin Clark was picked up for it. Having previously worked on Adventure Time, he’s got a great eye for detail and reaction timing (which is especially important when working on cartoon-turned-comic work). Clark definitely spends his time on Flavor, especially with the varied individuals that make up the comic. Each one is drawn to look distinctive from one another and come with their own physical traits. I especially like the towering, masked police force that seem to be the complete opposite of the plainer citizens and the unique, tiny stature of Mrs. Tee. He even manages to make the roving woods outside of town seem interesting with the larger-than-life statues that are inexplicably placed throughout the forest, creating a strange habitat for the… well, you’ll have to read the comic. Let’s just say, this comic becomes much more than just a food fight.
Flavor #1 is a wonderful work handled by talented individuals who are dedicated to telling a story that’s both close to home and farther away than we can imagine. Trust me when I say this, it’s highly recommended. Out now!