Hello all and welcome back to another addition of WHY YOU SHOULD BE READING…
You should know by now, I’m Grainbelt Jones and I am here displaying something you should try out on your reading adventures comic book wise, we will skip the gushy stuff and get right into the thoughts behind this week’s selection. first I will say I was taken by surprise for this weeks choice, so I decided to get this one out to the masses right away, even though it’s only 2 issues into the story.
Next I should say I’m into cooking, always have and always will be, even more truth to be told I am a husky gentlemen and have been since birth. Not only is my huskiness ingrained in my DNA, I also just love FOOD, I think it is safe to say we all LOVE some kind of food, but I cannot only see it as just fuel, I see it as a love that I NEED to indulge in. Now my love for cooking never really translated into cooking shows and other media until about a year and a half ago. It first started in Thailand where I spent a lot of time taking cooking courses and studying the way another culture eats, I also just happen to find the show chopped along with meeting some people who would die by the French style of cooking. Ever since then I have been fascinated with the art that goes into GOOD food and by gaining knowledge every day on the subject, it has manifested into a sincere love of mine. The quality you put in your body has a direct result in how you operate and that only gets more important and evident with age. As I gain closer and closer to middle age (I’m 26 I know I should stop being mellow dramatic) I have found it more satisfying to fill up with premium vs the Regular unleaded when at all possible. It is obvious to say considering all that I just went into that Starve’s subject matter was an instant hook for me to purchase, I also found it strange that on the very first page we are introduced to this story in South East Asia, a place I pride myself in visiting (considering re locating there real soon) and a place that I too credit for helping shape my views on the importance of good food.
Following a man named Gavin Cruikshank’s we find him during a self imposed exile, stretching through South East Asai and places like Thailand. The man was once the most famous chef to grace the earth, but have since taken a much more civilian approach living abroad. His celebrity at a time seemed to overshadow not only his love for cooking in which was fused with his soul, but also seemed to delude his passion of continuing to carve his own path through the cooking world. As we can see by looking into our own society today, with fame can come massive contradictions with morality and purity of ones work or product. Not yet fully explained it is implied there were a chain of events that caused Gavin to leave it all behind and refocus his efforts on what it means to live. Interrupted on his new journey he is confronted and found by an old acquaintance, this not only sparks Gavin’s return, but thrusts us, the readers into the life Gavin left behind.
Since Gavin’s departure Starve has evolved from a grass roots television program to a mega super power of a hit, that has added the likes of food and competition. Understanding he is the creator, and is entitled to credit and lucrative assets, he sets out to achieve what is rightfully his by regaining his contacts. The thing is, its not so easy, with success comes the blurred lines of business and relationships, and we find out just exactly how in shambles Gavin’s personal life once was, or in fact is. With an angry wife who has found a loop hold, gaining rights to his creation, and a bitter rival that has allowed his jealousy to consume him, cultivating a longing to destroy his opposer’s legacy, Gavin must return to the house in which he built. Gavin must also play by the rules of his opposition all the while trying to re build a relationship with the daughter he left behind, creating a story not only compelling but a joy to read. Will Gavin retake what is rightfully his, or will he see defeat? Only to personally bring down his own creation in the process? Time will only tell!
Starve is just plain well written, and there is no way to get around it, what I am most impressed with is the under tone of the storyline. In simplistic terms, this is about a man who was once famous burned by who had become, which ultimately conflicted with who he wanted to be, however it does go deeper than that. There are other nuances that are revealed to the reader that allow you to analyze the deeper message, and on a personal note I too empathize with the balance of defining success and the cost of gaining it. For a man to pick up and leave soul searching, and moving to a place of acceptance is something many deal with, and as a person who has also gone through this, (ironically in Thailand) it gives us an idea of at what cost is it worth for success, and how much are you repressing what you love and who you are to obtain it. We also catch further glimpses of how past colleagues feel on the subject with how they interact with Gavin upon his return, giving us an inside as to what it is like to other once you are seen as hollywood.
Brian Wood, Denijel Zezelj, and Dave Stewart surely deliver in giving us something to chew on, (pun intended) as well as seasoning up a well thought out story for our reading nourishment. This has for sure become a comic that has jumped up on my radar, and I plan to investing in the cultivation of this story as it moves along. Simply put, if you’re a foodie, and a sucker for a tasty storyline, this something YOU SHOULD BE READING…….
-Grainbelt Jones
