Jonathan Edwards 5/9/18 Jonathan Edwards 5/9/18

Review: Hungry Ghosts #4

By Jonathan Edwards

I didn’t review Hungry Ghosts #3, but I did still read it. And, it was weird. Structurally, it was identical to issue #2 with virtually no framing narrative. As a pair, the stories were the strongest presented so far, even if the ending of “Deep,” the first story, both came out of nowhere and was… strange. By themselves, neither of them was better than “The Pirates” from issue #1, but they were much closer in quality. Granted, none of the stories throughout Hungry Ghosts have been outright great or, more importantly, all that scary. And, even though it’s safe to say Hungry Ghosts #4 is the book’s best issue, those previous problems are still very much present.

Jonathan Edwards 4/4/18 Jonathan Edwards 4/4/18

Review: Hungry Ghosts #2

By Jonathan Edwards

Hungry Ghosts #2 showcases just how strange it is that this book is both a horror anthology as well as a four-issue limited series. The framing narrative is all but abandoned save for briefly showing the teller at the beginning of each story. It makes you wonder why Bourdain and Rose spent so much of the first issue establishing such specific circumstances. As for the two stories we get this time around, they’re an overall stronger pair. However, taken individually, neither is especially good and, despite its flaws, “The Pirates” from the last issue remains the single best story this book has offered so far.

Jonathan Edwards 1/4/18 Jonathan Edwards 1/4/18

Review: Hungry Ghosts #1

By Jonathan Edwards

I was not aware that celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain also wrote comics. I mean, he’s not done it a ton, but he’s got a couple of other books under his belt with Get Jiro! and its prequel, Get Jiro: Blood and Sushi. Granted, he was not alone in writing those. Joel Rose co-wrote them both with Bourdain, and sure enough, they are writing once again as a pair for Hungry Ghosts. Now, if you’re like me, that title will be just straightforward and potentially high concept enough to make you at least want to know what it’s about. And as it turns out, the premise is a weirdly complicated one.