Space Battle Lunchtime

Space Battle Lunchtime
Publication information
Publisher Oni Press
Schedule Monthly
Format Ongoing series
Publication date May 2016
Number of issues 8
Creative team
Writer(s) Natalie Riess
Artist(s) Natalie Riess

Space Battle Lunchtime is an American comic book created by Natalie Riess and published through Oni Press. The first issue of the eight-issue monthly miniseries was released May 4, 2016. The art received mostly positive reviews, although some critics said the plot was slow or thin.

The story is about Peony, a young pastry chef who is chosen to participate in an interstellar cooking competition.

Publication history

Riess, creator of the webcomic Snarlbear, originally planned to pitch Space Battle Lunchtime to webcomic host Hiveworks, but it was too short.[1][2] Instead, she was one of 2500 creators who sent a proposal to Oni Press during their 2016 open submission window.[3][4] Her pitch used the log line “Space Battle Lunchtime is a comic about a young pastry chef from Earth who enters an intergalactic TV cooking competition. Think of it as a delicious combo of goofy Science fiction, Shōjo manga and Food Network”. When it was accepted by Oni editor Robin Herrera, who had specifically requested a food comic from applicants, it became the first contracted project from the submission pool.[2][3]

Space Battle Lunchtime was a working title, but Riess never thought of a good replacement. After publication, she said she wished she had chosen something shorter. She began with a "flexible idea" of how the space world would work and decided on the details as the story progressed.[5] The initial plan was to tell the story in a short graphic novel, but it was changed to be an eight-issue miniseries.[2] Reiss researched Food Network shows, magazine photos, and animation from Studio Ghibli movies for the steps involved in making dishes and how they look at each stage of the process. The extraterrestrial food gave her lots of opportunities to draw different substances and textures, which is one of her interests.[5]

The first issue was released May 4, 2016.[6] It had four variant covers: two by Riess, one by Leila del Duca, and one by Carey Pietsch.[3][7] Sales were estimated just below 5000 copies.[8]

Critical reception

The first issue received 7.4/10 based on 9 votes according to review aggregation website Comic Book Roundup.[6] It received attention for its focus on food preparation, a subject largely ignored in American comics.[4] Although some reviewers found the plot thin or slow,[9][10][11] the art received mostly positive comments. Multiversity Comics called it "dynamic" and Comics Worth Reading described it as "purposely unpolished".[3][9] Adventures in Poor Taste reviewer David Brooke liked the creative panel layouts, and Jon Erik Christianson praised Riess' use of color to convey emotion in his review for Panels.net.[11][12] Oliver Sara, a reviewer for AV Club, said Space Battle Lunchtime "features a strong, confident, and creative vision that is extremely impressive considering Riess’ youth."[4]

References

  1. ↑ Collins, Elle (April 5, 2016), "The Coming of the Cosmic Cooking Comic: ‘Space Battle Lunchtime’ #1 Review, Comics Alliance. Retrieved September 23, 2016
  2. 1 2 3 Zainab (November 9, 2015), "Oni Press present first title from open submissions: 'Space Battle Lunchtime' by Natalie Riess – exclusive," Comics & Cola. Retrieved September 23, 2016
  3. 1 2 3 4 Johanna (May 4, 2016), "Space Battle Lunchtime #1," Comics Worth Reading. Retrieved September 23, 2016
  4. 1 2 3 Sava, Oliver (August 16, 2016), "Space Battle Lunchtime capitalizes on the fun of cooking reality shows," AV Club. Retrieved September 23, 2016
  5. 1 2 Brooke, David (July 22, 2016), "Natalie Reiss Talks Her Oni Press Original Series, World Building, And Batman," Adventures in Poor Taste. Retrieved September 23, 2016
  6. 1 2 "Space Battle Lunchtime #1," Comic Book Roundup. Retrieved September 23, 2016
  7. ↑ "Space Battle Lunchtime Preview" Comic Book Resources. Retrieved September 23, 2016
  8. ↑ Miller, John Jackson, "Comic Book Sales Figures for May 2016," Comichron. Retrieved September 27, 2016
  9. 1 2 Garcia, Matthew (May 9, 2016), "Wrapping Wednesday," Multiversity Comics. Retrieved September 23, 2016
  10. ↑ (May 9, 2016), "Review: Space Battle Lunchtime #1," Comic Book Resources. Retrieved September 27, 2016
  11. 1 2 Brooke, David (August 10, 2016), "Space Battle Lunchtime #4 Review," Adventures in Poor Taste. Retrieved September 23, 2016
  12. ↑ Christianson, Jon Erik (August 12, 2016), "The Best-Space Scenario In Space Battle Lunchtime," Panels. Retrieved September 23, 2016
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