Get Jiro!

I was really saddened by Anthony Bourdain's death. I respected his work a great deal, especially how he was able to open westerners' eyes to the ways of life in other countries and cultures. He used food as a gateway to help people relate to those different from themselves in a really powerful way. I've always been a fan of his and, as someone who has struggled with these demons many times, was beyond words when I heard about his suicide.

Naturally, my coping mechanism involved relentlessly googling his name. In so doing, I found an article about how he had originally wanted to be a comic book artist but had been rejected because his art wasn't good enough, and so he moved on to being an award-winning chef and television host(!). After his success in television he was eventually able to produce a few comics about the subjects he loved. Needless to say, I was intrigued.

But I have to be honest. This comic did not hit home. The characters are one dimensional and the plot doesn't make any sense. But! the world building is exquisite. I completely buy in to this future LA where cooking skills are the prime currency and gastronomy is the only art that has any sway anymore. Thinking about it critically, that makes no sense, but in this comic it feels very natural.

I think a lot of the problems with this comic stem from maybe Bourdain was given too much leeway with not enough editorial support? He had never published a narrative format book before so someone should have been there to say 'maybe let's do this another way'. I mean, it's a really fascinating idea with some really cool characters who could have benefited from a lot more development. I especially love Rose, the hypocritical, local-food movement, vegan chef.

However, I find the battle between Rose and her adversary, the unethical, misogynistic Bob very unrealistic. We're presented with this binary choice between the hippie, vegan, local collective (except the leader secretly eats meat and buys ingredients from non-local sources) and the trans-global, corporate, profit-centered sexual harasser like that's a real choice. The hippie chick kills people and feeds them to pigs, but that is not a reasonable representation of reality. The corporate, rapey assholes on the other side are very much real and exist everywhere, but we're given this straw-woman to be his counterpoint so he doesn't seem so bad in comparison.

I could go on, but basically the main character is a nothing personality with a mysterious past who is forced to choose between two powerful sides, one of which is squarely grounded in real-life corporatist nightmare assholes, the other a gross exaggeration of the hypocrisies of vegan hippies (who are annoying but could never have anywhere near this much power).

I'm sorry Anthony, I love you but this just isn't very good. I hope you understand.

This was a very enjoyable and quick read. If you are a fan of Anthony Bourdain or maybe a fan of Iron Chef (the original Japanese show, not the American rip-off), you will probably enjoy this book. Fans of the manga Oishinbo might like this too. In a not too far future, chefs rule society with an iron fist. A lone renegade sushi chef comes into town, and everyone wants to take him down. The graphic novel is a neat send-up of all the ridiculous things that happen with celebrity chefs, organic food, food that relies on too much technique or technology, etc. However, you can also see the novel as the tale a of a lone warrior taking on the Establishment. The art in this one is very good as well, and it complements the tale nicely. Granted, the premise is a bit ridiculous, but it sure is a fun one. In the end, I think you cannot help but like this tale.