By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)
Only one more course is expected in Anthony Bourdain‘s Hungry Ghosts! I am sad this series published by Dark Horse Comics is coming to an end and I seriously hope a second series will be developed. I said this in past reviews; after all, at the rate of two stories per issue, out of the 100 needed tales in this game of terror (known as the Hyakumonagatari Kaidankai), there’s 94 more to relate before it can come to a devilish end.
The third issue arrived this week and the tales are getting far more sinister at every turn. Sooner or later, I knew a story featuring Japan’s most iconic spirit, the Kappa, will be told. “Deep” delves into places not often talked about, whether that’s behind closed doors behind a kitchen or about certain parts of the body giving grief. This issue has a theme going, as both tales deal with threats from within!
Much of this yokai’s origins are well-known, and there are times this figure can be considered “heroic.” Just how it saves the day needs to be seen to be believed. Readers should be warned. The gore quotient in both tales is mild. Some of the art design and appeal hits the same levels of zaniness in Nobuhiko Obayashi‘s 1977 film, House. Sebastian Cabrol deserves praise for making the first tale read quick and feeling dangerous. The characters have a life to them, and I can feel what they are holding inside. Whether that’s with frustration or hate, these drawings are alive.
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