Anything that can be pitched in high concept terms as "Iron Chef meets John Carpenter's '70s comedy Dark Star" has, according to recent studies, a 99% chance of being almost unspeakably awesome. And James Stokoe's Wonton Soup, a 184-page graphic novel from Oni Press, doesn't let us down in that regard. Find out about planets based around cooking, culinary geniuses turned space truckers, and space ninjas after the jump.
Wonton Soup centers around Johnny Boyo, former star student at the XXX culinary school who gave it all up for life as a space trucker. When a space ninja attack leaves his ship damaged, he ends up temporarily stranded on his former home planet while waiting for repairs, with only his ex-girlfriend, former professor and spatula to help him when he ends up in a cooking challenge from the local bully chef. Giving lots of familiar ideas a sci-fi spin - the alien recipes alone make this book worth reading - writer/artist Stokoe manages to create an SF book that's almost accidental about its science fiction, but in a wonderfully enjoyable way; who doesn't want to read about oven hacking, or ninjas with no muscle power because they've spent too long floating in deep space? With art that's reminiscent of Jamie Hewlett or Brandon Graham, and a drifting slacker plot that takes the long way 'round at all times, Wonton Soup is a book that deserves to make it onto many tables, whether they be bedside-reading or kitchen.
Wonton Soup + 38 Page Preview [Oni Press]