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The Kitchen #3 - Abattoir Blues

4

Another mobster visits Raven. Is it a trap?

The Good

Tony Castellano visits Raven and makes a proposal to her. Is this all real or a giant trap because of Franky's murder?

This book has a fantastic style which has me hook, line, and sinker. Ming Doyle has captured the 70s in the book, at least what I know from television and movies. Everything from the fashion to hair to set designs screams that it came from that decade. Doyle thrusts readers into this era. Even the way Doyle draws this book has shades of the 70s art style to it. Jordie Bellaire adds some great flare to this book with a ore muted color scheme which again adds to the tone and feel of this book. Without taking anything away from the story, the art in THE KITCHEN is downright wonderful.

The book opens up with Keth and Raven back in the 60s and where they all fit into this world of crime. While it gives us more insight to the characters, it's also a great moment because the reader can see how these women have evolved in ten years and why where they're at now is so important.

A lot of this issue revolves around Tommy doing the dirty work for the women, and he has no problem doing things like shooting people in the face. From there, we get to see how criminals clean up in a "how the sausage is made" moment. On paper, that sounds pretty silly, but writer Ollie Masters executes moments like this extremely well. The day-to-day tasks of these folks becomes incredibly appealing to the average reader because of the dialogue and the narrative pushing the story forward.

The Tony Castellano scene is what really makes this a dynamite issue. The reader will be wondering whether or not Tony knows who really killed Franky and how this will all play out. It will really keep the reader invested for the next issue of this series. It will have the reader asking themselves a lot of questions, since this could play out one of many ways.

The Bad

There are some moments within the issue where the inking and shading look a bit off. The line shading technique, especially during the pimp and Heather scene, doesn't match the light source and it's all out of wack. It looks like Doyle tried to match it with the hat, but moved on to the next panel before completing it. This is one of the few times something noticeable like this happens within the issue.

Obviously, you can't just jump in here. You have to read from the beginning, but this book may not be for everyone, as a whole. The concept and execution are fantastic, but its a story that some may not find interesting. (I secretly think that idea of not finding this book interesting to be insanely wrong)

The Verdict

Vertigo's offering of THE KITCHEN is one of the better pieces of storytelling we've seen in quite some time. It's straightforward and there's nothing super-natural or out of this world about it. It's simply just about a group of women trying to survive in world that is vaguely familiar to them. Masters, Doyle and Bellaire keep raising the bar issue to issue with this mini-series and this issue really leaves the reader wanting more. While there were some problems with the inking in a few scenes, overall, this was a great issue. I highly recommend this book.