The Art of Pho: Julian Hanshaw

The noodle soup called pho is the national dish of Vietnam. When Little Blue-- having been dropped by a mysterious man with a red car and being told to count to 500 -- finds himself in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's baffling, daunting capital, his salvation is his own mobile pho stand. Little Blue's relationship with the city and its food brings an understanding to what it means to never want to return home and the fact that everyone goes away in the end.

Beautifully drawn and coloured, and featuring many delicious recipes for pho, this is a startlingly original and immensely appealing graphic novel by a brilliant new talent.