Press Release
Today, Vertigo, the innovative, boundary-pushing imprint of DC Entertainment, announced it will release a prequel to 2012’s GET JIRO! from renowned chef and New York Times bestselling author Anthony Bourdain (Kitchen Confidential, Medium Raw) along with co-writer Joel Rose (La Pacifica, Kill Kill Faster Faster), interior artist Alé Garza, and cover artist Dave Johnson. Reminiscent of a Yakuza action movie, the original graphic novel GET JIRO: BLOOD AND SUSHI is set in Tokyo and tells the story of how Jiro’s two worlds collided as he worked for his father’s mob, yet pursued his love of cooking at night to become a chef.
“Where did my ultra-violent sushi chef hero from the previous book come from? What if you were brought up in a family where murder is acceptable practice and making the best sushi on the planet is a shameful secret?” Writer Anthony Bourdain stated, “I wanted to take the story back to its beginnings–in Japan (albeit a slightly-in-the-future, dystopic Japan), and indulge my own enthusiasms for both the place and the many classic genre films that have been made there. This is fun for me.”
“Tony and I wanted to revisit Jiro and go back to his origins,” explained co-writer Joel Rose. “We took as our inspiration classic yakuza movies, Ichi the Killer, Battle Without Honor or Humanity, and a slew more. We were also looking for an artist with the chops to do the manga we saw as the book’s style, and thus, Alé Garza. We are thrilled to be back and can’t wait for fans to pick up the book.”
“When I was approached to work on the Get Jiro! prequel I was giddy with excitement! The idea of getting to create something with Anthony Bourdain was just so overwhelming,” said artist Alé Garza. “I also knew that I’d have to push myself harder creatively. GET JIRO: BLOOD AND SUSHI, has been just that, a creative push forward for myself as an artist. I’m doing my best to create an emotionally compelling world that fits suit with the previously released book. It’s really unlike any thing I’ve ever taken on.”
GET JIRO: BLOOD AND SUSHI will hit shelves and be available for digital download on October 20, 2015. The original graphic novel will be 160 pages and available for $22.99.
