Time Comes For Us All: Reviewing ‘Rare Flavours’ #5

Time waits for no one, be they demon or human. Especially when there are meaty revelations and heavy decisions ahead. As they stand upon the precipice of completing their work, Ruben and Mo must face these issues and more in Rare Flavours #5.

An illuminating, introspective, and inspiring issue from Ram V, Filipe Andrade, and Andworld Design.

The last issue was built around a conversation the two leads had to have, chock-full of revelations. Here, we have conversations of a different nature. While Mo works to protect his new friend and collaborator from those who have a life mission to hunt him down.

At one point the man who owns the cart that Ruben waits for Mo at, speaks about how one day he’ll close up his cart and move on. How despite the impact it had on his life and others, as things change, when he does go it’ll be like he was never there. Even as Tai feels sad at this, there is no bitterness or anger on display, more a quiet sad acceptance of our place in this world.

Time and change are intrinsically linked, moving side by side. No matter our feelings, the ebbs and flow of this tide will consume us all in different ways.

While there are human inspired changes that are wrong or evil or harmful that we must fight against, change as a concept is inevitable. We protest and stand strong when it comes to protecting the rights or ourselves and others or just protecting the life of our world and those who live upon it. We must do this.

Other changes though, whether ‘good’ or ‘bad,’ will happen. Language that is used changes. Means of consumption will change. Habits. Attitudes. Communication styles. Transportation. Medical methods. The list goes on, and on.

Being in a space to realize that things will change, affecting your own life or livelihood, is something we all need to reach. Where the next step comes in is when one can take that realization and reach a point of acceptance. To know that things will shift and change, and it’s okay. Sometimes there are things to fight, and other times it’s okay to follow the flow of time and change, seeing what might come next.

Knowing that what you did and had was important, whether to yourself or others, and the flow of time and change does not diminish that. These comics won’t always be popular, and those who create them move on. One day there will be a point where me writing these pieces will not be viable either for myself or the organization or just not something the whole wants any more. Either way, it never takes away from what was done and what it meant to each of us as we did it.

That’s one of the beauties of Ram V’s work. No matter if it’s about the embodiment of death becoming human, or a demon and human exploring food for a documentary, or even a traumatized man dressed as a bat dealing with demons both personal and real while battling immortal villains. At the core, each and every story is following the emotionally charged and relatable through line of exploring the human experience or condition.

Hitting notes that are familiar and relatable, no matter the fantastical or supernatural wrappings they are delivered within.

All of these things are powerful on their own, but need to radiate in big ways that help them hit even harder. Good thing we have Andrade’s visuals.

Andrade’s artwork captures something so powerful. Every emotional beat is felt through the panels, no matter if it’s actual facial expressions of people or the well-placed shots of the food and its creation. Choices are made each time, how to frame any given moment, letting the audience really exist within and sink into this world. One moment we’re casual observers from afar, the next we’re active participants right in the thick of things alongside these characters.

There is just exaggeration and whimsy baked into this artwork that it allows a natural lightness that contrasts perfectly with the heavier topics. It allows proverbial breaths to be taken as we all dive deeper and deeper into the human experience and topics that need to be expressed.

Last issue there were sepia tones used as filters for the flashbacks, shifting to a bluer tone one here for the hunter’s origin story. Much of the flashback of the previous issue was Mo angry with Rubin’s deceptions, that starker filter playing into this emotion. With the hunter duo, their motivations are laid bare, and the bluer color plays a middle ground.

For us they are the antagonists, but Rubin’s past and position as a demon comes with a very recently bloody path. Whether the hunters are right or wrong is not of consequence here, from what I’m gathering. Their place in the story is important and has weight, but it’s not the simple good or evil, black, or white, situation that much of the media boils down to. Blue is a color that can be seen as positive or negative (cold) depending on the perspective or other elements in play.

Other colors play in a lighter space, letting the marketplace and other spaces feel open and authentic. With plenty of blue skies, high sunlight, and very natural city scape colors. It feels open, not confined in any way. An apt choice not just for the creation of a grounded space, but when discussing such heavy sometimes constraining topics.

Words have a lot of power just like the other visuals, and those from Andworld always make the most out of that. From the prose heavy recipe/history panels that are so seamlessly created and delivered, to the dialogue or letter like captions on display. Voices are given so much care and intricate detail. Realistic voices emerge from the choices, be it the modifiers or how the words move on the page, echoing in the mind.

Rare Flavours #5 is now available from BOOM! Studios.