Chew

I picked up Chew #6 and 7 recently, and just had an opportunity to actually read them today. I picked them up at the comic shop near my parents that sometimes actually has stuff like this on the shelf, unlike my LCS where I would have to have requested it in advance. Not ragging on my LCS, as they are good folks and treat me well.

Chew is the John Layman / Rob Guillory from Image that centers on Tony Chu, a cibopath working for the FDA in a time when trafficking in illegal chicken is a major crime. A cibopath, according to the comic, is someone who can eat something and get psychic impressions of the things history. This makes eating very unpleasant for Tony on a regular basis, and demands that he eat all sorts of awful things in order to do his job.

The first arc of the series (Taster's Choice) ended at number 5, and Issue 6 picks up with a new 5 issue storyline called International Flavor. This one features an investigation into a new, strange, tropical fruit that tastes mostly like chicken apparently. It also has Tony reuniting with an old partner from his days on the police force. The series is funny and interesting, it moves quickly and is served perfectly by Guillory's art.

Guillory's art is a full partner in the success of this book, I believe. It is dynamic and fun and his faces are unbelievably expressive.

The trade of the first 5 issues is out, or you could easily jump into this one if you can get your hands on 6 & 7.