LOGLINE

A recent culinary school graduate ventures to Japan for the internship of a lifetime, but soon discovers that the restaurant’s food becomes possessed by spirits during each dinner service. He must band together with the rest of the staff as they use their innate powers to defend the restaurant and town against these delicious monstrosities.

INTENDED AUDIENCE

This graphic novel/comic is aimed at those 13 years and older.

COMPARISON TITLES

Dinner Service is a supernatural, action-comedy that captures the charm of Seconds (graphic novel), along with the action and magic of Avatar the Last Airbender (animated series).

Dinner Service had very humble beginnings as a simple school assignment, but later grew into a passion project that I kept expanding. It explores my love for Japanese folklore, fantasy and a growing interest in food and not just eating it. It covers all the Fs that people might just have left to give: Family, Fantasy, Friendship and Food.

SETTING

THE GATE OF SPIRITS

The Gate of Spirits serves as the gateway between the world of the living and the world of the spirits. It is located on a hill within the town, near a shrine in the forest. The gate can only be opened by activating all the sacred stones nearby through channeling a person’s corresponding mystical energy through it. Once all have been activated, the gate grants the user(s) the ability to temporarily venture into the world of spirits.

THE CALM SEA (RESTAURANT)

The Calm Sea, located near the coast of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan, is a restaurant run by Daichi Nakamura. The restaurant has been in Daichi’s family for generations, with his mother passing it on to him when she died. This is where all the staff (Xavier, Daichi, Aki & Nise) work and most people in the relatively small town frequent. Despite its location, the restaurant attracts those that travel from afar, sometimes abroad, in order to taste the food made by Daichi’s hands. However, due to a long time curse placed on Daichi’s family, the restaurant is a hub for spirits that are also weirdly drawn to the food.

CHARACTERS

– Hover / Tap on a character’s silhouette to learn more –

CHARACTER CONCEPT ART

Xavier Jones

DAICHI NAKAMURA

AKI ITO

NISE WATANABE

MONSTERS

NOODLE BEAST

This monster awakes through the possession of bowls of ramen by generally more powerful and malicious spirits. They tend to violently erupt from the bowls of ramen, revealing a compressed noodle tendril that can absorb other food within their sight. However, it takes them a while to absorb other food. As a result, their dramatic awakening is often followed by longer moments of stealth and stalking until they can achieve a more imposing form. As they develop, they take on a secondary aqueous form in which the body is mostly liquid while having more solid appendages. In this form, they are relatively wide spanning 5-7 feet across, making it easier to envelop
prey. Ultimately, they take on a mostly solid form that is very dense and able to shoot
multiple tendrils from its body. This final form is on average 12-15 feet tall and 8-10 feet wide.

ONIGIRI MONSTER

This monster awakes through the possession of onigiri (rice balls) by generally less powerful spirits. They take on the form of bulky fighters similar to sumo wrestlers. They are relatively small, standing at only 6 inches tall. However, they can stack on each other to become stronger and more dense monsters, reaching about 1 and a half feet tall. Despite their size, Onigiri Monsters tend to be very bold, determined and active. They strike in large groups like packs, in efforts to overwhelm their enemies. However, like small children, they are relatively naive and easily distracted.

Chevon Irving

chev.irv@gmail.com

My name is Chevon Irving. I hold a BFA in Animation and currently work as a freelance Story Artist, Illustrator and 2D Animator. I’m currently based in Kingston, Jamaica. A lot of my artistic inspiration is drawn from comics/mangas, Japanese culture, Black culture, cartoons/anime, Dungeons & Dragons and fantasy in general. I’m an art nerd trying to exist in a world that just hasn’t realized how cool I am yet…at least that’s what I tell myself.

Support me on: Kofi

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