Sometimes comics come along like Rare Flavours that you instantly buy due to the creative team knocking it out of the park in the past. Ram V and Filipe Andrade did that with The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, and now their focus is food and a demon who likes the finer things in life. The first issue is out this week, and its main character is a Rakshasa who wants to expand his notoriety.
Rare Flavours is a compelling read in how it juxtaposes the evil and the pure. The pure is a story within a story about a man who sells his grandmother’s recipe for masala chai. The evil being Rubin Baksh, a demonic Rakshasa who seeks a filmmaker’s aid to document India’s cuisine. As it stands, Rubin doesn’t even seem so bad save for his demonic visual qualities, save for a bit of manipulation to get Mo to agree to film him.
This is largely a setup issue that sets up a mysterious duo after Rubin, a complex artist in Mo, and the exciting notion of what foods will be explored in each issue. The way this issue wraps up presumes we’ll get each documented food via a documentary, further layering this story in a story format.
Rubin’s evil being a bit hidden makes him all the more frightening by the end of the issue, although it’s pretty clear his casual laziness and mostly smirking nature is a facade. We get that when a death is uncovered. There’s a mysteriousness to Rubin that makes him unique and intriguing which is incentive enough to read the next issue to somehow get to know him.
Rubin Baksh is a demonic Rakshasa looking to expand his palette.
Credit: BOOM!
Andrade’s art is fantastic, with interesting shapes and sizes of characters that add to the mysteriousness of the narrative. I’d argue there’s an anime or manga influence that adds a level of energy and kinetic vibration to panels of characters sitting and talking. Rubin, for instance, has a tiny head for such a large body. The cooking scenes are well done as well, from the aerating of the chai to how it pours into a small glass. There’s great care in how each step is detailed by Ram V that comes together in a nice foodie paradise.
Of course, a little more info on Rubin might help. I can’t quite tell if he’s a demon who happens to like food and wants to document it or if there’s something else afoot. A Rakshasa is a Hindu demon who eats people, so maybe it’s just his nature, but we don’t know if he dislikes his nature and likes human food more or if he’s an entity that just exists.
Rare Flavours is a new offering from two creators who, once again, are building a fascinating story together. There’s a mysteriousness to the characters and the overall story that’s tantalizing, mixing magic realism in an adult way with real weight and dramatic implications.
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