Veteran comic book author Steve Orlando’s first meeting with his new co-author, famed chef José Andrés, didn’t happen in an office or one of Andrés' restaurants. In typical Andrés fashion, it was in the middle of action, distributing food with Andrés' World Central Kitchen (WCK) in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael in Florida in 2018.
“Being on the ground with José, side-by-side and getting things done with him, [it allowed me] to put my own hands in the dirt,” said Orlando, whose credits include Wonder Woman, Spider-Man and Batman.
Andrés and Orlando’s new hardcover graphic novel, Feeding Dangerously (TKO Studios, 240 pages, $45), follows the growth of World Central Kitchen (WCK), Andrés humanitarian organization, which has distributed more than 300 million meals to communities in crisis, including in Ukraine, Florida and Maui. WCK receives a $5 donation for each book sold. Beginning with Andrés’ own journey to the United States, Feeding Dangerously goes on to recall many of the crises that inspired WCK's development, and the simple dishes that made the biggest difference.
Five years in the making, Feeding Dangerously grew in scope as new disasters pulled Andrés to different corners of the world. “It felt exciting to me to write about [WCK] … good and heroism that isn't hypothetical, that isn't unattainable,” shared Orlando. “We'll never have superpowers, with the exception of like, Simone Biles, but we can do this.”
Andrés, a self-proclaimed comic book nerd, is a big fan of Japanese manga. “What I love about comics is the emotion … Boom! Zam! Whoa! Steve [Orlando] and Alberto Ponticelli—the amazing illustrator—really captured the intensity, the very vivid moments, of what it is like in the middle of disaster and in that moment of darkness when a shining, beautiful glimmer of hope emerges,” Andrés told Wine Spectator via email. “I have seen how in the worst moments, that is when the best of humanity can show up.”
One of the more intriguing aspects of the novel is how it takes Andrés—a cheerful, zany, larger-than-life character—and translates him into a more serious figure: standing at the face of tragedy and moving constantly forward, though not commanding the attention of the reader. Instead, it uses each frame to commend the work of all the volunteers, workers and locals that keeps WCK turning and changing lives.
“Feeding Dangerously is not a book about me. It’s a celebration of the people and communities we work alongside, told in Technicolor with empathy and hope,” says Andrés. “Through food, no matter what crisis or hardship we face, people can show each other this simple act of care.”
Feeding Dangerously hits bookshelves today and is also available at FeedingDangerously.com.
A Brief History of Food and Wine in the Comics
José Andrés and Steve Orlando's Feeding Dangerously is far from the first graphic novel or comic book to focus on the world of food and wine. The late chef Anthony Bourdain was a huge comic and graphic novel fan, and his 2012 Get Jiro! graphic novel, about a murderous sushi chef, got a sequel in 2015, Get Jiro!: Blood and Sushi; Bourdain's Hungry Ghosts, a chef-themed horror anthology (with recipes), was published in 2018. The Japanese manga sensation Drops of God, about a quest to find a series of legendary wines, debuted in 2004. There was even a "graphic novels and wine" festival held annually in Bordeaux until the pandemic.
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