''Space Battle Lunchtime'' is an

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

created by

Natalie Riess Natalie Riess (born December 7) is an American artist, illustrator, and webcomic creator. She gained public recognition after her comic ''Space Battle Lunchtime'' was published by Oni Press in 2016. Her webcomic ''Dungeon Critters'' created with ...

and published through

Oni Press Oni Press is an American independent comic book and graphic novel publisher based in Portland, Oregon, best known for publishing such series as '' Scott Pilgrim'' and ''Rick and Morty''. In 2019, it became an imprint label following the company's ...

. The first issue of the eight-issue monthly

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

was released May 4, 2016. The story is about Peony, a young

pastry chef A pastry chef or pâtissier (; feminine pâtissière, ) is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. They are employed in large hotels, bistros, restaurants, bakeries, b ...

who is chosen to participate in an interstellar cooking competition.

Publication history

Riess, creator of the

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or ...

Snarlbear ''Snarlbear'' is a 2012 webcomic by Natalie Riess. It follows the adventures of a teenage girl who is transported to a fantasy world, where she becomes a monster hunter. Synopsis ''Snarlbear'' follows a teenage grocery store employee named Daisy ...

'', originally planned to pitch ''Space Battle Lunchtime'' to webcomic

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County * Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica People * ...

Hiveworks, but it was too short. Instead, she was one of 2,500 creators who sent a proposal to Oni Press during their 2015 open submission window.Johanna (May 4, 2016),
Space Battle Lunchtime #1
, ''Comics Worth Reading''. Retrieved September 23, 2016Sava, Oliver (August 16, 2016),
Space Battle Lunchtime capitalizes on the fun of cooking reality shows
, ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

''. Retrieved September 23, 2016 Her pitch used the

log line A log line or logline is a brief (usually one-sentence) summary of a television program, film, short film or book, that states the central conflict of the story, often providing both a synopsis of the story's plot, and an emotional "hook" to sti ...

: "''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 Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

shōjo manga is an editorial category of Manga, Japanese comics targeting an audience of adolescent girls and young adult women. It is, along with Shōnen manga, manga (targeting adolescent boys), Seinen manga, manga (targeting young adult and adult men ...

and

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...

". 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. ''Space Battle Lunchtime'' was a

working title A working title is a preliminary name for a product or project. The usage is especially common in film and TV, gaming, music and publishing. It is often styled in trade publications as (wt) and is synonymous with production title and tentative ...

, 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.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 The initial plan was to tell the story in a short

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

, but it was changed to be an eight-issue miniseries.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 Riess researched Food Network shows, magazine photos, and animation from

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio based in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It has a strong presence in the animation industry and has exp ...

movies for the steps involved in making dishes and how they look at each stage of the process. The extraterrestrial food gave her many opportunities to draw different substances and textures, which is one of her interests. The first issue was released May 4, 2016. It had four variant covers: two by Riess, one by Leila del Duca, and one by Carey Pietsch. Sales were estimated just below 5000 copies. The series has been collected into two

trade paperbacks A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardback (hardcover) books are bound with cardboar ...

. A new edition of the first issue was released at a discounted retail price to coincide with the release of the second collection. A third trade paperback was released on October 6, 2020.

Critical reception

The art received mostly positive reviews, although some critics said the plot was slow or thin. The first issue received an average score of 7.4 out of 10 based on 9 critical reviews as review aggregation website Comic Book Roundup.Space Battle Lunchtime #1
, ''

Comic Book Roundup a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

''. Retrieved September 23, 2016 It received attention for its focus on food preparation, a subject largely ignored in American comics. Although some reviewers found the plot thin or slow,Garcia, Matthew (May 9, 2016),
Wrapping Wednesday
, ''

Multiversity Comics ''The Multiversity'' is a two-issue limited series combined with seven interrelated one-shots set in the DC Multiverse in The New 52, a collection of universes seen in publications by DC Comics. The one-shots in the series were written by Grant ...

''. Retrieved September 23, 2016 the art received mostly positive comments. Multiversity Comics called it "dynamic" and Comics Worth Reading described it as "purposely unpolished". 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.Brooke, David (August 10, 2016),
Space Battle Lunchtime #4 Review
, ''Adventures in Poor Taste''. Retrieved September 23, 2016Christianson, Jon Erik (August 12, 2016),
The Best-Space Scenario In Space Battle Lunchtime
, ''Panels''. Retrieved September 23, 2016 Oliver Sava, a reviewer for

, said ''Space Battle Lunchtime'' "features a strong, confident, and creative vision that is extremely impressive considering Riess’ youth".

References

External links

* * {{gcdb series, id=100706 Works about cooking Comic book limited series