“Quantum and Woody” writer Eliot Rahal and artist Jorge Fornes are cooking up something special at AfterShock Comics. Their new book, titled “Hot Lunch Special,” will pit a family-owned Midwestern sandwich empire against the Irish mob, as the mobsters come to collect on a debt from the family’s past.
“In its simplest terms, it’s a story about a small-town family with big dreams that gets a little too big for their shoes,” said Rahal, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “They take on more than they can chew, and end up getting into a bloody and merciless war with one of the most feared Irish crime syndicates in America.”
The story’s protagonists, the Khoury family, have been the “sandwich kings of Minnesota” for as long as anyone can remember, but it turns out they may have engaged in some illicit activities on their way to the top of the vending machine food scene. For Rahal, though, the story stretches far past food and fictional crime drama and into the realm of the personal, because the Khourys are so closely intertwined with people from his own life.
“The characters, who have been so beautifully brought to life by Jorge, are inspired by the kinds of people I grew up around. The people I was raised by – my family – it’s incredibly personal,” said Rahal. “But because of that, I think people are going to be able to really connect to it. Many millennials such as myself have a complicated relationship with their parents and siblings. Most can relate. No one can piss you off more than your loved ones.”
“Hot Lunch Special” goes on sale in shops and digitally Aug. 8, with covers from both Fornes and artist Robert Hack. For more on the book and a short, unlettered preview, head over to The Hollywood Reporter.
