Chew

"Foodies' Delight"

Volume 1: Taster's Choice              (Issues # 1-5, November 2009)
Volume 2: International Flavor        (Issues # 6-10, April 2010)
Volume 3: Just Desserts                 (Issues # 11-15, November 2010)
Volume 4: Flambe                           (Issues # 16-20, September 2011)
Volume 5: Major League Chew       (Issues # 21-25, April 2012)

Story: John Layman
Art: Rob Guillory

Volume 1 Cover

Volume 2 cover

Layman and Guillory introduce you to a very strange world. Very strange, yet very cool, intriguing and completely addictive. After an avian flu which killed 23 million Americans, the US government imposes a ban on chicken and every type of bird. The FDA (Food & Drug Administration) has become the most powerful agency in the world, and has a special unit to investigate poultry-related crimes. The search for good food and sought for taste is on everyone's mind. Some people have superpowers, yet are everything but superheroes. The chicken black market is worth more than the illegal drugs market. Welcome to the world of Chew.

The Story:
In the post avian flu world mentioned above, Tony Chu, originally a regular cop, becomes a special agent for the FDA. Tony has a special ability, besides being a dork and incredibly awkward, he is also a cibopath. A cibopath can take a bite of anything and tell the whole story of what was just ingested. So if Tony accepts to take a bite of a corpse, he can potentially be a top-notch detective... However Tony does not choose to turn on or off his ability, whatever he eats, he gets flashes of where the food - or else - comes from. This happens whatever he decides to ingest....except for beets. For some reason his power does not work on beets! Our loser hero considers his ability like a burden as he is not able to enjoy food like everyone else, so he mainly feeds on beets, in order to eat without flashes of slaughter or other not-so-appetizing images.

Tony Chu, Taster's Choice - (c) John Layman

What is very entertaining in the way Layman built the story, is that he slowly introduces new features or characters of this imaginary world. For example you progressively discover people who are saboscrivners, ie they can write about food so well that their readers experience tasting the food,  or cibolocutors, ie they can communicate messages through the dishes they prepare. The story is very well constructed and constantly surprises you. When you think you are done with a side intrigue..... BAAM! Layman throws another awesome development at your face and keeps you hooked for another few chapters. Moreover, it's not just a juxtaposition of side plots with the main avian-flu conspiracy in background, there is a lot of consistence in the unraveling of the story. Each side plot or side character plays a part further in the story, whether in the same volume, or in the next one. Therefore the world of Chew keeps growing but remains easy to follow and understand... at no point do you find yourself thinking "what the hell was that?" or "where the f*** did that come from?" - note: in some other comics you unfortunately find yourself wondering such things...

The story depicts Tony trying to solve poultry related investigations, while in the background many hints lead towards the clarification of an alleged political conspiracy behind the imposed chicken ban. The style of the books is pretty unique. Indeed, it is a successful mix between ridiculous humor, drama and thriller. Some issues will be funny, and delightfully entertaining, whereas others might show violent graphic fights or a series of discussions to make the plot go forward. Chew is neither a scary comic that creates a freaky atmosphere nor a humoristic comic. It is in between. This a happy comic that plunges you into its fictional funky world, keeps you excited, and makes you impatient to discover what happens next.

Volume 3 cover

The story is full of great ideas that lead to extremely cool picturesque scenes portrayed perfectly by Guillory. I don't want to give up too much of the comic book, as I strongly recommend to read it for those who haven't done it yet, but I will point out two great scenes out of Volume 3, Just Desserts. In the first issue of Just Desserts, Layman introduces the concept of the "Bon Vivants Diner's club", an exclusive club reserved to ridiculously rich people. The club meets twice a year to organize a once-in-a-lifetime diner with the most endangered types of plants and meats on the menu... the club even hires  people throughout the world to commit any crimes to procure the ingredients that will be on the menu. After starting by this foodie psycho delirium, Layman ends the story arc by another great picturesque scene: the Thanksgiving diner at the Chu family. Thanksgiving diner in a world without legal turkeys, where the reader gets to meet all the siblings and extended family of our beet-happy FDA agent, is a lot of fun. Plus, thanksgiving is an experience to which many of us can relate, including family drama that regularly occurs at those big gatherings.

Volume 4 cover

The Art:
The style of Guillory is perfectly adapted to the series. It contributes to create a passionating fantasy universe that is not meant to be realistic, scary or freaky. Shapes have lots of angles, including those of the faces of characters. This, combined with Guillory's sense of disproportion, creates just the right artistic balance between credible and fictional. Indeed, many characters are completely disproportionate, for example, former FDA agent and truth-seeker Mason Savoy, has a 500-pound huge upper body standing on short and anorexically skinny legs. Women are also disproportionate, they usually carry a wide waist, relatively skinny body and large breasts. This got actually funny in Volume 4, Flambe, when I got to meet the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). For some reason, the USDA is an all-woman commando unit, and all these women are ultra trained soldiers with watermelon sized boobs... when I saw them fighting, I reckon the absurdity of the situation did make me smile. Also, Guillory places a lot of attention to details in the backgrounds. If you pay attention to what is written on blackboards, reminders, licence plates or street walls, you will often find either a joke or some amusing details that connects to the story.

Volume 5 cover

On a Separate Note:
Showtime picked up on Chew and is planning on adapting it for a TV show. There should be a pilot in the pipes and whether the project will actually make it to TV is not yet determined. However, after series like Dexter, Weeds or Nurse Jackie, it is not so surprising that showtime turned its attention to this successful and entertaining exotic -to say the least- comic book.
Here is a link : http://www.deadline.com/2011/03/showtime-developing-comedy-series-adaptation-of-comic-chew/

• Overall: 9/10

• I read comics now and then but I am more of a food person than a comic book person: 9/10 ... This series is for you. There are not that many comic books about food, so Chew is a refreshing story that appeals to a broad audience. I really recommend Chew whether you like comic books or not. Indeed, if you do then great you'll love it, if you don't but at least you enjoy eating, give it a shot, you will be pleasantly surprised.

• Cool and unusual superpowers: 8/10

• Loser & boring & I-would-not-want-to-high-five-this-dude-for-any-reason factor: high for the main character...but that is also what makes the series fun

• General unexpectedness factor, even after reading the first 4 volumes: high