Rare Flavours #1 - Boom! Studios

First (issue) Impressions

Discover the tantalising tale of Rubin Baksh, a demonic Rakshasa with a down-to-earth dream of becoming the next Anthony Bourdain. To achieve his vision, Rubin enlists Mo, a filmmaker who has seen better days, to document the world-renowned cuisine of India and the people behind such glorious food.

But little does Mo know that there’s more to Rubin than meets the eye, and the mortals play a darker role in the show than they were prepared for…

Thoughts…

What a spectacularly presented comic, the artwork is great with each panel looking like it was itself a singular piece of art on a gallery wall. The way the colours all swirl together gives it a very ethereal feel to the whole issue. It all is very unique and distinct and fits the feel and flow of the story really well.

The story itself pulls you in slowly, as you begin to read you won’t notice it at first but you won’t be able to stop reading, there is a rhythm to the writing that will keep you engaged all the way until the final panel. The concept seems simple enough but the way it is shown to us works really well and while it may seem like a strange hook to a story there is much much more going on behind the scenes. 

I really enjoyed this issue, I will say when I saw the first page with its lengthy text I nearly moved on to something else, but I knew from previous works most prominently The Many Deaths of Laila Starr that I needed to read on. This issue sets the scene for the series well, giving us just enough to reel us in while leaving more than enough mystery to bring us back again. I would give this a solid 8.5 out of 10.