Frequent collaborators Brian Wood and Danijel Žeželj join with acclaimed colorist Dave Stewart to bring us “Starve,” which has all the ingredients to be a great series — we just aren’t sure if it’s there yet.
Written by Brian Wood
Illustrated by Danijel ZezeljUTENSILS DOWN, HANDS UP! WELCOME TO STARVE!
Once the world’s most famous chef, Gavin Cruikshank’s been in a self-imposed exile for years. His little foodie television program has since evolved into STARVE, an arena sport that pits chef against chef for the pleasure of their super-rich patrons. It’s a stain on a once-noble profession, and Chef Gavin is ready to go to war to stop it. Two things stand in his way: his arch rival Roman Algiers, and his adult daughter Angie, who probably just wants her dad back and acting normal.
Whipsmart world-building and a creative dream team (DMZ, The Massive, Star Wars, Loveless, Hellboy, The Sandman) come together for a brand new monthly series!
If all you know coming into “Starve” is that it’s a comic about a competitive cooking show, then Danijel Žeželj’s art might come as a bit of a surprise. His mixture of heavy black line with vast blank space is a far cry from the photorealism food is typically drawn with in the cooking comics of Japan, making it clear from the first page that this isn’t going to be an educational experience dressed up in a pleasant facade. The world of “Starve” is a world of grit, grime, and graft, and the foreboding cityscape on the very first page does an excellent job of evoking the mood that this bleak future is draped in. The mood is also, of course, effected by renowned colorist Dave Stewart’s palette choices – each page is based on one predominant color, shifting from bleak greens and blues to oppressive oranges and reds to suit the scene. Žeželj’s bold inking can, however, be both blessing and curse. It certainly evokes a certain feeling of heaviness, but sometimes that heaviness is so overbearing that the page can feel static. For the most part, though, it is more expressionistic and flowing than it is not, and suits conveying characters’ emotion more than one might think.
Perhaps the most exciting part of “Starve’s” art – to this reviewer, anyway – is a simple four panel sequence where Gavin prepares a Bloody Mary. It may seem a minor thing to focus on, but in these four panels we are, presumably, getting a sneak peak at what is going to be a frequent focus in this series – the art of food preparation. To compare it to a popular cooking manga, “Food Wars,” where the preparation is almost clinical and the expressionism is more in the characters’ reaction to the food, Žeželj brings a heightened sense of intensity to the process itself. Without a single sound effect, you can hear the vodka splashing, and that satisfying sound of a whole pickle being sliced. Within these four panels, we can see that Žeželj is the man for the job, that he can capture that heightened sensitivity toward one’s ingredients that you experience when zoned in on making the meal at hand. He draws the hell out of the rest of this issue, for sure, but it’s exhilarating to have such a clear sign that the best is yet to come.
However, the promise of more to come is also “Starve’s” main fault. First issues are always tricky – that perfect balance of exposition and action is so elusive that it may as well not exist – and while Wood does a fine job with getting the ball rolling in this issue, it feels like the issue could have benefitted from just a few more pages. Brian Wood packs in a lot of world-building in the span of twenty-two pages. By the end of the issue, it’s clear that we have topped the first hill of the roller coaster, and while there’s surely more background to come, Wood has built up enough potential energy to keep the ride going at high speeds for quite a while. However, this reserve of built up excitement comes at the expense of actual, realized excitement. Besides the aforementioned Bloody Mary bit, the only particularly intense moment is the verbal sparring between Gavin, Greer, & Co. There’s nothing wrong with this, per se – again, it’s the unfortunate curse that mars most first issues – but it can leave fans who aren’t already fans of Wood or Žeželj in that uncomfortable position of waiting until the second issue before deciding whether or not to keep pulling the book.
Continued belowBesides the usual pains of a normal-sized first issue, though, Wood’s writing is on point. With this comic, he seems to be returning to his more bombastic roots of “Supermarket” and “The Couriers,” while retaining the more refined sense of setting he developed in the likes of “DMZ” and “The Massive.” As previously mentioned, Wood covers a lot of ground in terms of world-building in these issues, and while some elements are familiar, the overall premise is an interesting spin on the current competitive cooking craze. While a lot of this world-building is accomplished through dialogue, that dialogue almost always serves the dual purpose of establishing character, even for some of the minor roles such as Gavin’s “fan.” Gavin’s monologue stutters a couple of times, particularly in scene transitions, but for the most part it has just enough edge to entertain without coming across as “too much.” Gavin’s declaration of war on the final page is particularly intense, and leaves us with one question – can Wood, Žeželj, and Stewart deliver what they promise with this issue? Because if they can, this is going to be one hell of a book.
The first issue of “Starve” shows a lot of potential. However, the majority of the issue is just that: potential. While fans of Wood, Žeželj, and Stewart will likely trust the team enough to pick up the second issue, this first issue might not have enough meat to it to sell the next one to the average reader trying something new, who doesn’t know whether or not these three can walk the walk. Still, it’s a great looking book with a neat premise, well worth trying out – and, for what it’s worth, I think these guys are well-equipped to give us a great show.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – Appetizing.
