Rare Flavours #4: The Humanity Within

Rare Flavours #4 continues the trend of this series being one of the best cultural touchstones of the last decade. This issue revisits the context behind Rubin’s journey, revealing his hidden past after his back was broken. This creative team does an excellent job blurring the lines between the concept of the protagonist and the hero, using this series’ eastern influence to solidify its tale about food, culture, and humanity. Probably the most thought provoking issue yet, Rare Flavours #4 further cements this series as one of the most powerful historical epitaphs within the comic book medium.

Ram V puts his heart and soul into this book, giving some of the best writing in his career into the history lesson behind  Rubin’s complicated past. Whereas some writers struggle to balance historical context with exposition, Ram V uses the opportunity to show off his elegant prose, accompanied with the amazing art from Filipe Andrade. One of the most profound lines in this issue was, “For all the darkness and fallibility within your souls, you strive, each day, in the pursuit of something bigger than yourselves.” While there are two issues remaining, this line could be seen as a summary of the intent behind the entire series. The idea of looking at these unique cultural dishes serves as a starting point to look at the culture within India and thus starts the discussion of how those dishes help define the humanity within each individual. This is masterful writing at its finest, with Ram V at the absolute top of his game.

Highlighting the discussion of humanity is Andrade’s art, which seamlessly captures the minor details that give this issue its unique flair. From the fantastic way that characters express themselves, to the images of the detailed steps of the cooking process, Andrade fills this book with life and nuance. The flashbacks are a highlight of the cultural travel through the decades as Rubin transitions from a fearsome beast to a lost soul. This world is given so much life through the detailed pencils alone, with the color adding so much while acting in its limited capacity. The colors are often built around one core color, such as the more tense moments appearing red and the calmer, conversational moments appearing brown. This gives each segment a firm tone and foundation, building off of the amazing pencils and fantastic dialogue.

The concept of the protagonist and the hero is one of the most fascinating parts of this series thus far, and is something that Rare Flavours #4 touches on greatly. Rubin was the villain of his time, and in the cultural view, is still that same villain. Despite his attempts to be better and to act against his own nature, he still consumes humans and looks to provide a morally just reason in doing so. Rubin unfortunately will never be a hero, but that doesn’t mean he cannot be identified with by the reader. Mo is essentially the reader’s view of the situation, acting as the ride along character. Mo’s doubts are the reader’s, and through Mo, it becomes clear that Rubin’s journey and discovery of humanity is profound despite the true nature behind his being. This is a fascinating discussion that propels this book further into what makes it so fantastic.