By Dustin Cabeal
Well basically everything I said would happen in my second review happened in this issue which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that’s been reading the series. It’s been very obvious. Sometimes that’s a good thing. It shows that the writer is leading us somewhere and allowing us to feel a part of the story as we “figure it out” while reading. That is not the case here. It’s just that obvious.
What is an actual improvement this time around is the actual character development for Brianna. Finally, I thought as I read it. It comes to us via her brother that’s visiting with his food truck. It shows their complex family relationship. Brianna is completely clueless that being the baby of the family makes her the favorite and not just of the father. It did painfully reveal how underdeveloped Brianna is currently in the story.
The crux of the issue is a competition between Brianna and her visiting brother. He’s arrived in a food truck which pisses Brianna off. Her character stays mad the entire time, which is similar to the last issue. She’s just mad at a different character is all. Then the drama happens, and the black stuff that bubbles around Brianna acting as a visual representation of her doubt engulfs her. Thankfully the black doubt wasn’t overpowering this time around. It made it far more effective to the story, even if it still seems unnecessary. The hope is that there’s some twist to it that makes her part monster or something so she can bridge the gap between the two cultures… but then probably not.
The story still has some holes, and the characters are greatly underdeveloped. It’s nice that the story jumps ahead and gives a real sense of time passing, but that only helps the opening. It’s close to being something really clever and good, but it’s just missing the mark. It’s almost too interested in its concept rather than the character making the story worth reading.
The art continues to be entertaining and lighthearted. For it being a story set in Monster City, there’s nothing monsteress about it. The designs continue to be original and interesting. The mannerisms of the characters are very believable, but it’s unfortunate that the artist is being asked to illustrate so many angry people. It puts a damper on the mood by the time you get to the end of the issue.
Brave Chef Brianna is close to being something entertaining, but it’s just missing the mark. At this point, I don’t know if can be saved, but more than likely there will be a set up for a second volume. It’s not that anything here is vastly different in comics, but it has a lot of potential, but potential does not make a great or even a good comic. Average though, that’s about right.
Score: 3/5
Brave Chef Brianna #3
Writer: Sam Sykes
Artist: Selina Espiritu
Colorist: Sarah Stern
Letterer: Jim Campbell
Publisher: BOOM! Studios