Cooking with Monsters (Book One) Vol. 1: The Beginner's Guide to Culinary Combat (IDW Publishing, 2023)

Fast-paced monster fights and burgeoning high school romances are both on the menu in this exciting young adult debut from Jordan Alsaqa and Vivian Truong. Hana Ozawa is the newest face at the Gourmand Academy of Culinary Combat, a school that will teach her how to fight monsters AND how to turn them into delicious meals. Hana is a natural, but so are her classmates, and she struggles to keep up. She's gotta stand out, especially if she wants to impress the warrior chef who saved her life as a child. Throw in a crush on a formidable lady rival and a dash of multicultural cuisine, and this unique and hilarious story is sure to hit the spot! Cooking with Monsters is Naruto with a cast of LGBTQ+ characters. It's Percy Jackson or Harry Potter without a straight white man in the pilot seat. It's perfect for every young reader out there who doesn't feel like they get to see themselves represented in the fantastical adventures they read.