Humans have a wild and weird relationship with food. We count on it for sustenance, sure, but it’s more than that. We use it to express our individuality and culture. We have whole television and streaming networks devoted to it. We make art of it, all while not knowing exactly what we think of it.
And we have whole competitions centered on it, from baking exhibitions to dish preparation competitions to eating contests. It’s that latter bit—eating contests—that are the focus of the webcomic Eat Fighter, from the creative minds of Crystal Skillman, Fred Van Lente, and Fernando Pinto. In Eat Fighter, in a future ruled by an authoritarian government, only nutritious food is lawful, with comfort food banned for consumption.
As is the case with all such governments, there are those who would skirt the law, which leads in this future to the rise of an underground eating competition called Eat Fighter. Competitors rise to stardom for their ability to be the best of the best of consumers. One such eater is Missy Barnes, a novice who hopes to become the top (hot) dog in the contest of nomming champions, all while avenging the death of her brother, a former Eat Fighter himself.
Just recently, Van Lente, Pinto, and Skillman launched a Kickstarter in partnership with Rocketship Entertainment to bring Eat Fighter: The Collected Edition to print. I spoke with Fred Van Lente recently about the idea behind Eat Fighter, the characters we meet, the Kickstarter itself, and how humans’ relationship—good and bad—with food has informed the series.
This series is WILD. I mention this in the interview, but it’s legitimately one of the most unique comic book ideas—or just story ideas in general—that I’ve come across in a good long while. That alone makes it worth your time, but add in the talents of Fred Van Lente, Crystal Skillman, and Fernando Pinto? That makes us hungry for more.
FreakSugar: For folks who might be unfamiliar with Eat Fighter, what is the conceit of the series?
Fred Van Lente: Eat Fighter is…unique! It is the world’s first anti-authoritarian fast-food zombie pre-apocalypse romance melodrama! In the near future, all comfort food has been banned by an overzealous government, leading to the rise of underground competitive eating competition known as Eat Fighter. Eaters have become rock stars as they chow through hot wings, hot dogs, pizza, Cincinnati chili—there’s a recipe in every episode, too, so you can cook these delicious treats yourself!
Missy Barnes, sister of the late Eat Fighter champion Buckeye Barnes, has entered the tournament to eat her way to the top — and confront the Final Boss of Eat Fighter, Nomnomynous, who she believes is responsible for her brother’s death!
FS: The characters are all so fleshed out from the jump! What can you tell us about Missy, Winnie, and the rest of the cast?
FVL: Missy may have entered the competition as a complete noob, but can eat her way through everything like nobody’s business. She has help in the form of her best friend, Winnie, who may be more than she appears, and Carlos, who she befriends on the circuit, who runs a food truck called Secret Chef.
Then of course there is the mysterious Takoyaki, previous Eat Fighter champion, who has taken it upon himself to train Missy in the ways of Eat Fighting and has a grudge of his own against Nomnomynous.
And did I mention Missy’s arch-rival, whose name is, uh, Rival, who turns out to be a skinny beauty pageant contestant turned would-be cannibal?
It’s a lot. They’re all a lot.
FS: This is unlike any concept I’ve ever heard of or could dream of. What was the genesis of the series and concept? Why the intersection of all the different ideas that make the series what it is?
FVL: Jed, that is seriously the nicest thing anyone’s said to me.
This is one of those projects that morphed out of something completely different. Explaining what the project was would probably give too much away about Eat Fighter itself. I brought my wife on board, the amazing Crystal Skillman, as co-writer, who really wanted to get into comics writing, and she brought the concept in a whole other, amazing direction. And of course, Fernando Pinto’s art is so gloriously manic it’s a perfect marriage of style and content.
FS: Following up on that, why competitive eating? What was the draw to focusing on that?
FVL: We are obsessed with food. It repulses and captivates us. From gourmets to fad dieters, from CrossFit cultists to talk show roundtables, people are bursting with opinions about what to eat, what not eat, how to extend your life from with this ultra-secret seed that grows on one side of a hut in southern France, how to pump up your body with this shake that’s made from bat guano. Eat Fighter is our way of making fun of all of that.
FS: What kind of research goes into a fictional, fun book like this one about competitive eating?
FVL: Everybody knows—well, most people know—about the Coney Island Hot Dog Eating contest here in Brooklyn every year, and Joey Chestnut, and Kobayashi, and all those guys. But we discovered on the Major League Eating site—they manage the league, don’t you know—and it turns out they have competition for all kinds of foods all around the world, all the time, like popcorn shrimp, and apple pie—it was fun to incorporate all those different events into our comic.
FS: Do you have a favorite character in the comic? Or is that like picking a favorite kid?
FVL: About halfway through the competition, Missy gets locked into a sushi-eating battle with an insane, foul-mouthed girl scout named Cutie, who is probably the most insane character in a completely insane series.
Close second: we do a whole Mad Max food truck road rally battle with Pit Boss, the BBQ overlord of the Western Plains, and his Foodtruckasaurus. Pit Boss is amazing!! I bet all the kids will be dressing as him for Halloween next year.
FS: On to the Kickstarter itself, what can you tell us about the campaign?
FVL: Other than it’s awesome?! For me my favorite tier is the wraparound cover Fernando did that makes the book look like a TV dinner package, it’s pretty damn gorgeous.
FS: What are you reading right now?
FVL: I got my buddy James Asmus’s Dark Horse series Survival Street at New York Comic Con, and it’s lot of fun—it’s a world in which kids-show Muppets become anti-fascist freedom fighters. It’s one of the few books that actually reminds me of the same kind of themes and humor as Eat Fighter!
FS: Are there any other projects coming down the pike you’d like to discuss?
FVL: I hope people are picking up Murder Kingdom, the slasher-at-Disney-World horror/mystery from Chris Panda and I that’s currently out from Mad Cave.
FS: If you had one last pitch for the Kickstarter, what would it be?
FVL: You need to laugh! We all do! Eat Fighter will make you laugh. It is silly and fun. You need more of that in your life.
The Kickstarter for Eat Fighter: The Collected Edition has almost reached its funding goal, with 17 days left to go in the campaign. Make sure to check out this truly wild and raucous tale and preorder your own copy, as well as the bevy of backer rewards!