One of the biggest (and most overused) settings in fiction is the post-apocalypse. Whether due to plague, zombies, or good ol’ nuclear fallout, the desolate horizon of a bombed out Earth is catnip for creators. With so many stories taking place in this setting, you’re bound to think that there’s not a lot of ground left to cover with this type of story. Surely we’ve done it all, right? Well, Ludo Lullabi’s Ghost Pepper asks: “what about food trucks?”
Years after a mysterious threat destroyed much of humanity, the few remaining survivors are all gathered in various communities around the globe. Loloi mans a food truck, delivering her delicious dishes to various communities each day, staying one step ahead of her competition. When a mysterious patron named Ash arrives and brings a ton of heat from patrolling robots down on her lot, she’s embroiled in a larger mystery surrounding Ash and who’s chasing after him. But a girl’s also got to make a living, and having someone with super strength can only help her down the road.
Ghost Pepper starts out treading similar ground as other apocalyptic tales, but what makes it stand out is Ludo Lullabi’s focus on the community aspect of humanity. Eating is one of our great communal activities, and while the idea of a food truck in a desolate wasteland may sound strange at first, it’s something that actually does make sense when you think about it. While Loloi’s out to survive and have cash on hand, the fact that she’s surviving while also providing food and nourishment to people who need it speaks volumes about her character more than any monologuing could.
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The first half of the issue is a fun showcase for the chaotic but thrilling method of getting food out to customers, and the hilarious (and borderline cutthroat) ways the different rival trucks attempt to attract customers is almost worth the cover price itself. Once the focus turns to Ash, the mysterious customer who primarily talks by way of a small robot assistant, the script becomes the familiar “mysterious super powered guy with little or no memory is hunted by some shadowy figures” plot that we’ve seen time and time again. The initial premise is unique enough to allow me to overlook what we’ve seen before, but the two halves of the book are a little strange to put together in one issue. Not to mention that Lolloi’s decision to let Ash into her business is a little abrupt (especially since he nearly causes the destruction of the previous village they were in), but it’s also presented in a way that seems like a “you owe me” type of scenario since he stowed away in her truck in the first place.
While the script for Ghost Pepper may seem a little rushed at times, Lullabi’s art is where the book really shines. With a unique style that evokes the Borderlands games and the legendary Battle Chasers series, Lullabi really brings the goods with his art. The characters are all very unique with big personalities, so much so that you could probably publish a textless version of this issue and still be able to follow the plot. There’s a moment later on that is a little tough to follow visually, but Lullabi does such a great job showcasing the food Lolloi makes that it’s hard not to want your own dish from her. Adriano Lucas’ colors also really make the world pop here as well, evoking a good sense of mood that adds to Lullabi’s pencils.
Ghost Pepper is such a unique premise for a series that I’m almost annoyed that the book falls into the “mysterious stranger” trope so quickly. Perhaps it’s because I just finished mainlining the latest season of The Bear, but seeing a restaurant owner maneuver a setting as different as the post-apocalypse was a lot more intriguing to me than learning about Ash and his mysterious background. But the foundation set here is for a series that could be really fun, like the aforementioned The Bear mixed with Mad Max. While not quite a five star meal, Ghost Pepper is still pretty substantial.
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