Wonton Soup [Paperback]

James Stokoe (Author, Artist)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 18, 2007

Johnny Boyo could have had it all. Women. Money. Fame. As one of the premiere chefs in the galaxy, Johnny's culinary skills could have made him a star. So with everything he ever dreamed of his for the taking, why would Johnny leave it all behind to become a space trucker? Not even Citrus Watts, the girl he left behind, knows for sure. With the sizzle of life in the kitchen behind him, things were going okay for Johnny. Now after years out of the catering scene, Johnny and his pal Deacon are about to find themselves in water hotter than anything they've ever seen before! Johnny will once again have to pick up the whisk and skillet, but will his eroded skills be enough to get them out of the craziest cook-off in the Universe? And what good is a spatula against space ninjas?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

There's a longstanding tradition of science fiction stories that actually belong to other genres and simply have freaky alien names grafted on, from space Westerns to space war stories. Space Iron Chef, though—that's a new one. Stokoe's wittily vulgar debut graphic novel follows former-cook–turned–space trucker Johnny Boyo as he fights off space ninjas, returns to the planet of his ex-girlfriend Citrus Watts, and finally faces a cook-off duel with a pair of alien twins who'll stop at nothing to achieve culinary victory. The SF material is self-consciously inane, and the plot is stream-of-consciousness at best—it's mostly an excuse for a series of nutty set pieces, like one in which Boyo tries a high risk cooking adventure, preparing a dish from a hive-minded creature that strangles its cooks if its lettuce bed is insufficiently finely shredded. The point of the book is its wall-to-wall silliness; it never quite aims for peaks of hilarity, but it's consistently amusing. Stokoe's line work, a sort of graffiti- and manga-inspired update on Vaughn Bodé's old underground comix, is appropriately lighthearted and loose, but he's as passionate about visual world building as Boyo is about flavor blending—he takes obvious glee in drawing huge, wobbly piles of fantastically detailed technology, bug-eyed monsters and goofy handshakes. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The award for most genres encompassed in a single work goes, hands down, to this book:   sf, action, humor, romance, drama (and even culinary elements) are wrapped into one manga-fied, space-trucker adventure. Like the gourmet space meals it features, the book blends into a mostly satisfying whole, as Johnny Boy and his partner, who make long hauls from port to port, battle their way through space ninjas toward Plaxos, cooking Mecca of the galaxy, for an ultimate showdown with a pair of deadly, genetically engineered twin superchefs. With a penchant for funky names right out of Douglas Adams, rough-around-the-edges manga line work recalling Monkey Punch, and a climax to match Iron Chef, the wild array of ideas, like a pot about to boil over, can barely be contained. The characters speak like real truckers, particularly on the subject of sexual conquest, and that, combined with the somewhat eccentric humor, makes this best for older readers, especially ones looking for a truly unusual read. Grades 10-12. --Jesse Karp

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Oni Press (December 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932664602
• ISBN-13: 978-1932664607
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stokoe is the dopest comics artist in town, February 10, 2011

By 

J. Blair (Erlanger, KY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wonton Soup (Paperback)

I got into James Stokoe's work with the release of Orc Stain, so I decide to track down some of his earlier stuff. While Wonton Soup isn't the most intriguing storyline, it was entertaining and the artwork is amazing. Stokoe's selling point is his intricate artwork that you can get lost in for hours. A good read for twelve bucks. Perfect for fans of Jim Mahfood and Stokoe's pal pal Brandon Graham.