Review: BRAVE CHEF BRIANNA #1 (of 4)

BRAVE CHEF BRIANNA #1

BRAVE CHEF BRIANNA #1

BRAVE CHEF BRIANNA is a four-part comic published by KaBOOM!, an imprint of BOOM! Studios. It is written by fantasy author Sam Sykes (Aeons’ Gate) and drawn by Selina Espiritu. It is a very strange comic that deftly defies logic. And kids will love it.

The whole thing is refreshingly odd. We begin with a family gathered in a boardroom. The patriarch, a celebrity restaurant magnate, lays out his plans for the future of his business. The father has been suffering from an illness and does not have long to live. His plan is to have all his heirs, his 15 sons and one daughter, compete in a winner-take-all restaurant contest.

BRAVE CHEF BRIANNA #1

BRAVE CHEF BRIANNA #1

The one daughter, as the title clues us in, is Brianna. The biggest challenge for Brianna, according to this story, is Brianna. Well, her insecurities. Okay, that could make sense. And then our story keeps getting weird. Everyone in the contest must find a city in which to launch their restaurant competing in the contest. There had not been any prior hint of the supernatural but now it turns out that the only place that Brianna can find on her budget is Monster City, which is populated by real monsters. But, as I say, kids will eat this up.

BRAVE CHEF BRIANNA #1

BRAVE CHEF BRIANNA #1

But even a kid might scratch his head just a little as our plot unfolds. No need to scratch too hard but just a little. Turns out that, once Brianna arrives in Monster City, Suzan, a surly monster, wants to work for Brianna. She has no particular interest in the restaurant business, or in human food, but she forces her way into a job. She’s a monster and she does not eat human food. Nor do any of the other monsters in town. But Brianna is such a good cook that maybe she can lure monsters to her restaurant. Silly, yes. But, I got to say, it is refreshingly odd. The artwork by Selina Espiritu is joyful and delightful. The colors by Sarah Stern give everything that extra pop.

BRAVE CHEF BRIANNA #1 is published by KaBOOM!, an imprint of BOOM! Studios and is available as of March 1, 2017.

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