‘The Delicacy’ by James Albon (Author, Artist, Cover Artist)
Let’s keep reading graphic foodie novels! This was definitely a page turner for me.
Tulip and his brother Rowan have left a Scottish island, and their very holistic mother, with a plan: to grow succulent, organic vegetables and serve them in a restaurant in London. They can do this because they’ve inherited a mansion with enough space for a market garden. Rowan sets to dig and grow vegetables and Tulip searches for a venue and finds it in a very little corner, the only one he can afford.
Now, Tulip is delightfully ambitious, he has a hunger that many would-be high-restaurant owners have. He wants it all, but wholesome meals aren’t cutting it.
That is, until Rowan finds an edible mushroom in the garden. A magical, fantastic-tasting, superb mushroom. Since it’s unique, they call it the Rowan mushroom, and start selling it as fast as they can. The best part of the novel is about the enormous success that Tulip suddenly has, and the effect it has in him. It’s a temptation, a thing that makes him more and more ambitious, more and more hungry, but the real question is:
Where does the mushroom come from? What feeds it? And why does it have such an energetic response from people?
I think the words insatiable ambition describe the novel perfectly. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but let me tell you, the end is very satisfying and completely out of tune with the more traditional “good brother strives to save bad brother and succeeds” scheme of things. This fungi is bad news, but glorious business… I would call it devilishly good, as is this graphic novel!
James Albon is a British writer and illustrator. His work here is superb, in a flashy, classic sort of way.
‘The Delicacy’ is on sale since June, 2021.
Publisher: IDW, Top Shelf Productions
Publish Date: June, 2021
Type: FC
Page Count: 320
FEB210446
ISBN: 978-1-60309-492-4
Featured image by James Albon, all images belong to Top Shelf Productions
