The special this week is a heaping portion of ultra-violence, with a side of food porn and a healthy dash of Bourdain’s signature sarcastic wit. Jiro must find a way to balance his study of the culinary arts and his duty to his father (and the Yakuza) or risk sacrificing all that is dear to him. Set in Jiro’s native Japan, the plot of Blood and Sushi chronicles the chef’s transformation from scion of a powerful Yakuza family into a rabid foodie with a deep passion for his homeland’s rich culinary history. Bourdain once again teams up with his writing partner from the first book, Joel Rose ( Kill the Poor), and welcomes a new artist to the team, in the form of the talented Alé Garza ( The Losers). World-renowned culinary celebrity and cynic Anthony Bourdain returns to the world of Get Jiro! in this much-anticipated graphic novel prequel. You know what that means: fantastic stories, this time brought to life by star-in-the-making Gerardo Zaffino, whose style is like the love child of Sean Murphy and RM Guéra. Says Ellis in this week’s Orbital Operations newsletter: “I’ll be glad when I’ve finished Karnak, because having that little bastard in my head is probably doing me damage.” He does so up until the point he can see the flaw in any physical or abstract object, from people to ideas, then goes to work to fix it or make it go kaput. Part of the cast of the Inhumans, though not a Terrigen mist-breather himself, green-striped white boy Karnak is the kind of philosopher who puts the ‘m’ in meditation and the ‘Z’ in Zazen. The only question you need to ask yourself is this: will Warren Ellis be able to pull off the same magic trick he did with Moon Knight? That is, reinvigorating an underused-slash-second-tier character and making it relevant again – and propelling his artist into superstardom in one fell swoop? Satisfaction guaranteed! Comic of the Week Karnak #1 It’s nearly Wednesday, and you know what that means: a fresh load of comics and graphic novels! With so many publications hitting your local comics store or digital storefront, the BF staff is here to lead you through the woods with our weekly staff picks.

Karnak by Warren Ellis