Review: Hungry Ghosts #3

Is there anything Anthony Bourdain doesn“t do well? Master Chef”¦check. Thoughtful and engaging television host”¦check. Now Bourdain, along with co-writer Joel Rose, have given us a thoroughly enjoyable and dynamic horror comic mini-series in Hungry Ghosts (Berger Books & Dark Horse Comics).

In case you“ve not been reading the series yet, allow me to give you a brief synopsis of what the story is about. Many chefs who have been assembled to prepare a special meal for a rich, extravagant fellow and his friends are invited to participate in a game of Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai, which consists of the lighting of one hundred candles. Once this is done, the participants of this game tell increasingly horrific tales and extinguish one candle at the end of each tale. After each tale, the storyteller must look in a mirror and legend has it by the end of the game evil spirits have been evoked and participants put their eternal souls at risk.
The series is composed of different Chefs telling their spine chilling tales to one another as the game progresses. In this third issue, we“re given two new legends to make you twist in your seat. The first story, titled Deep, takes place in a place the author Bourdain should be quite familiar with; the kitchen of a high-class restaurant. This tail of culinary terror is weaved with the mastery of someone who has a penchant for the extreme. The end took me by surprise and left me confused by the outcome. Hey, isn“t that kind of what you want in a good horror story? It“s not supposed to be practical, is it? I would say this story was worth the price of the meal, but as I read into the second story in this issue, I learned it was only the appetizer.

The second of the two stories in this issue is titled Boil in The Belly. This tale found me questioning reality itself and all of my life choices up to this point. I have no idea what the hell just happened, but I do have a couple of suggestions for readers. First, you want to be sure you“ve not ingested any mind-altering chemicals that could potentially cause a freak out, and second, don“t read this while you“re having a meal. Trust me. The first story was good, and this one is out of its mind crazy. I mean that as the highest endorsement I can give it.

These over the top stories feel like they were pulled directly out of an old Saturday night UHF TV late night horror lineup. Magnificent storytelling and ghoulish ideas meet at the intersection of food and culture.

With tremendous art from Sebastian Cabrol and Paul Pope, this is about as good as spooky comics can get. Each issue of this series has outdone its predecessor by upping the ante in the creepiness of the stories. My expectations for the final issue are high, but I“ve not been let down yet. For all fans of horror comics, Tales from the Darkside, or even The Twilight Zone, this is a book for you.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Writer: Anthony Bourdain, Joel Rose
Artist: Paul Pope, Sebastian Cabrol
Colorist: Jose Villarrubia
Editor: Karen Berger
Cover Artist: Paul Pope

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Bryan Spaulding

In his free time, other than reading comic books, Bryan enjoys listening to his ever growing record collection and driving his 27 year old roadster named Mingo.