Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula
By Andi Watson
ISBN# 978-1-62672-149-4
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Caro
*Possible spoilers*
While the king of The Underworld is sick in bed, his daughter, princess Decomposia is in charge. Every morning she is given letters from the public to read, cabinet documents to sign and approve, state papers, the day schedule, and a variety of other papers to look over. Every day is a busy day for princess Decomposia. Then, things get complicated when the head chef leaves and the princess is left with the task to find a new one before the Lycanthrope delegation comes.
The emergency list is brought out and several chefs are to be interviewed. The princess doesn’t even have a chance to have breakfast, yet she is always trying to make the king have his, but he is too busy reading his magazine Wellness Weekly. While interviews are in progress, no chef seems to be the best for the job until Count Spatula appears and helps the princess have a meal after a day of no time to eat.
Count Spatula is hired, but he won’t be able to bake or cook a proper meal for it is not the princess he has to please but the king, and his diet is a special one. He is handed a Qwik Soup package and is told to just add boiling water. This is definitely not what he signed up for, but it doesn’t stop him from experimenting with dishes, winning the princess’s heart, the Zombie delegation and at the end, the king’s trust.
I really enjoyed reading and the black and white design of Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula. The princess is so busy, she hardly has time to eat. The king just stays in bed getting ideas from his Wellness Weekly magazine making everyone eat the bland food he eats. But changes around the Underworld start when Count Spatula comes to spice things up. He immediately notices the princess’ weakness for not properly eating and treats her like a normal person, which surprises her. But the king starts to notice the changes and finds Count Spatula’s presence in the palace bothersome.
I can actually see the events of this graphic novel reflected in the human world, to be more precisely, in our own daily lives. We can sometimes feel so relaxed in our comfort zone that we eventually start acting like the king and say that we’re not feeling well, just to read a magazine or stay there while others take care of our maters or tasks. Nowadays, the same thing happens with staying fit, eating healthy, and getting diets ideas that just might not be the right ones for us. We can enjoy a sweet now and then.
Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula is definitely a story to read and make the reader reflect on their actions and how we live every day. It has a great plot, detailed simple scenes, characters fit for the Underworld alike the human one, not to mention a princess and a chef that complement each other and fun moments with creative food dishes. Makes one wish for lemon drops to fall from the clouds. I recommend you read Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula, it is great for all ages.
