STARVE, VOL. 1 serves up a taut, political examination of pop culture

The first story arc of the dystopian thriller about a culinary competition of deadly proportions

“It's a fast, furious opening to an amazing new story from one of my favorite creators… The story is a heady mix of elite panic, grotesque wealth concentration, and precarity, and it could hardly be more timely.” —Boing Boing


Brian Wood (Star Wars, DMZ, The Massive), Danijel Zezelj (Northlanders, Loveless), & Dave Stewart (THE WALKING DEAD, Star Wars) are cooking up a story set in the near future, where celebrity chefs are idolized and the reality television trend has taken an even more unhealthy turn in STARVE, VOL. 1. This collects issues #1-5 into trade paperback and will be available in January.

STARVE, VOL. 1 is set in a world where chefs are practically royalty, and access to them is the ultimate status symbol. Chef Gavin Cruikshank, back from self-imposed exile, finds his little foodie television program "Starve" transformed into a gonzo arena sport where chefs slice and dice rare and endangered species for their super-rich patrons. Since his personal life is as much a shambles as his professional career, Chef Cruikshank works to repair his relationship with his grown daughter while dismantling the monstrosity that Starve has become.

STARVE, VOL. 1 (ISBN: 978-1-63215-546-7) hits comic book stores on Wednesday, January 13th and bookstores on Tuesday, January 19th, and will be available for $9.99. It can be ordered by retailers from Diamond Book Distributors with Diamond Code OCT150605. It can be pre-ordered now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and IndieBound.

Praise for STARVE:

“A well-paced and entertaining introduction to a character driven story… Wood gives readers a mission statement to end the issue, and Zezelj and Stewart are a dynamite pair on visuals. The writer's track record of great characters and compelling plots bodes well for the future of this series, and it has the potential for cross-media appeal.” —Comic Book Resources

“Brian Wood, Danijel Zezelj and colorist Dave Stewart have produced a striking comic book that'll stick in your mind long after you put it down.” —Newsarama

“One need only look at work like DMZ and The Massive to know that Wood has dealt in things like global economic collapse, global climate change, or military adventurism run amok. And while that tendency toward the post-apocalyptic crashing down is present in Starve for contextual reasons, Wood is smart to ground the story in personal struggle. It's fabulous world-building.” —Comics Bulletin

“It's unique for sure, and that helps it make it beyond entertaining.” —Graphic Policy

“Proves once again that comics are truly gearing to more mature and daring direction… It also presents the direct and confrontational approach for creators like Wood and others to show the readers the present day problems that need serious actions/remedies from the central powers and the society itself through the usual template of science-fiction: critiquing the present by showing the possible future. It even illuminates the power of the comic medium of highlighting FOOD as the paragon of social, economic, political and cultural dysfunctional and eventual malfunctioned indicator if the ruling classes and the cultural elites never ever learn the mistakes of the past.” —Flip Geeks