I’m a huge fan of Anthony Bourdain. I have religiously watched A Cook’s Tour, No Reservations and The Layover. So as a collector of graphic novels and comic books I’m very excited to get my hands on a copy of Get Jiro!…I hope you are too.
The hero of the story is Jiro, an old-school sushi chef who, “really doesn’t like it if you disrespect his sushi.” The book shows Jiro hard at work behind his sushi bar, catering to a group of customers. One orders a California roll. Bad idea. Jiro is not pleased and decapitates one of them, saying, “No California roll!” He then holds his knife in the face of another terrified patron who says, “Sorry … soo … sooo … sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking!”
Anthony promoted his book at Comic-Con 2012 in San Diego last week. He said in the Jiro character is based on Chef Jiro Ono of Tokyo’s Sukiyabashi Jiro, one of Anthony’s favorite restaurants. The real Jiro Ono is already famous in his own right; he has been recognized by the Japanese government as a living national treasure for his contributions to Japanese cuisine. I have included a couple of pages below. Check it out.
Get Jiro! is # 1 on the New York Times best graphic novel book list.
