John Layman

Chew Volume One: Taster’s Choice combines the first five issues of the Chew comic which is funny, disturbing, and overall enjoyable. Tony Chu is cibopathic, meaning he receives psychic impressions from the things that he eats. Tracing contraband chicken at a chicken speakeasy Tony discovers a serial killer who he repeatedly bites into to discover where missing bodies are buried. The consequence? He is recruited by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which has become the most powerful show more law enforcement agency after bird flu devastates the population.

As a special agent for the FDA, Tony Chu is partnered with another cibopath, Mason Savoy, who acts as his mentor. Chew plays the clichés of the typical buddy cop detective drama with the yelling boss, banter between partners, and strong streaks of sarcasm. While tracing a murder, Tony falls in love with a food reviewer whose power is in her pen. She can make people taste what she writes, and her current mission is to sicken people by visiting the worst restaurants in the city. The other supporting characters are interesting due to the book’s premise, and several story arcs are launched by the end of this volume.

Brief scenes of cannibalism and munching on other non – delectables combined with a twisted sense of humor define the tone for Chew. The dystopic future is rife with conspiracy. Chicken is outlawed (leaving only outlaws with chicken), but is there a sinister reasoning behind this? Was bird flu responsible for mass death or are there other forces at work? While investigating a case, Tony is brought back to his partner, the hulking Mason, who has his own agenda. They know each other’s ability and the information that can be obtained from a nibble of one another. They part as enemies, and Chew looks to be a promising detective comic with an overall conspiracy arch.

Rob Guillory’s art is outlandish, but he is able to convey complex emotions through facial features and body language despite the cartoon style that dominates much of the book. The most impressive thing about the art in Chew is Guillory’s colouring. Different pages will have a dominating tint making the book vivid while maintaining a noir feel. Occasionally gruesome with a playful silliness, the art actively contributes rather than distracts from the story, and remains engaging throughout.

Chew Volume One: Taster’s Choice is both completely ridiculous and engaging all at once. It pushes the envelope, and the scenes of eating to solve crimes will not appeal to every reader. Violence, vomit, and the grotesque are played for shock value, but progress the story nonetheless. Readers looking for something new and different while adhering to the themes of government conspiracy and police drama will be delighted. Chew has a strong charisma and this first collection will leave readers wanting to munch on some more. show less

I'm continuing to binge-read this series now that most of them have come through the many holds I put down at the library. I just can't thank Karen, and the myriad of other GoodReads friends who have gone through this series, for encouraging me through their gushing reviews to jump on in. I haven't felt this sort of excitement in reading a comic book series (or laughing so much at one) since I breezed though Preacher and Transmetropolitan. And hey. I'm looking forward to rereading both of show more those soon enough..

It's also worth noting that this volume I got from the library looks like someone took a bite out of the back cover. Should I get a picture of it for you guys?

It's awesome to me how many pieces are tying together. The pace of these books is great, the humor continues to be on point, and I'm just falling more and more in love with the characters (and their terrible food pun names) with each page I turn. Poyo, King of the Chickens, is hilarious and terrifying, Colby is such a lovable prick, Tony and Amelia are killer, and even D-Bear has his charm. I can't get enough of this. The fact that the insanity that went down in the Arctic is being fully addressed and unfolding slowly, that Savoy is such a wonderful wild-card... I know this review is incoherent, but I just can't emphasize the enjoyment I'm getting out of these pages. It's great.

In short - everyone should be reading this series. It gets better with each issue/volume and rewards careful reading in a way I'm honestly unused to. The ridiculous pamphlets, ads, etc. in the background of the pages are inspired. It's clear everyone working on these books loves their jobs. show less

Tony Chu is just an average cop working a stake out with his partner on the Philly PD, except Tony has a secret few know about. What is this strange secret he keeps under wraps? Tony is cibopathic, which means he can take a bite out of anything and receive psychic visions about where that item has been. For example, he can take a bite of an apple and receive information on what tree it grew from, what pesticides it was exposed to, and when it was harvested. On the darker side, he can also show more eat a hamburger and flash to something horrendous. The only food that doesn’t cause Tony visions are beets and because of that he eats them all the time.

In Tony’s world chicken has become an outlawed food because of a great avian flu that wiped out countless numbers of people. On his current stakeout, his partner and he are watching an underground black market chicken restaurant. Once inside, Tony takes a bite of the soup and has a vision about the sous chef that forces the cops to blow their cover. When Tony is found nibbling on the criminal they pursued, the Special Crimes Division of the FDA brings him in. Fearing the worst, Tony is relieved to hear that the FDA wants him on their team and to use his gift to solve cases, both current and cold. Things quickly escalate with Tony’s new partner, Mason Savoy, who also has the cibopathic gift. Just when Tony thinks things might calm down for him, he is off on one bizarre adventure after another to track down answers for some of the department’s most horrific cases.

John Layman creates an intriguing premise with the outlawing of chicken and turning the meat into a black market item that these cases are centered around. The chicken market is now parallel to the drug market. Tony’s gift is one that seems both unrealistic and yet fascinating all at once. It’s certainly a premise that one could find on a television show, so if you’re looking for a straight-laced, by the book crime fiction, this won’t be for you. CHEW contains an element of humor that balances out the violence and murder surrounding the cases that Tony works on. Layman then goes the extra mile in this first volume and introduces a love interest for Tony that has an equally fascinating hidden talent.

This volume is an all-around entertaining experience, while mixing together many of the things I love. As an avid reader of crime fiction and watcher of detective centered shows, I knew I had to pick up CHEW and bring my love for comics together with these interests. I originally started reading CHEW a few years ago and got through volume 4 before life took hold and I ended up being far beyond sidetracked. Now that the series has ended, I am making it a mission to read through the entire collection. This series = Winner, winner, chicken dinner! (I just couldn’t help myself!) show less

Alien fire writing in the sky, murderous recipes, space stations exploding, millennial doomsday anti-chicken cults and magic bullets made from meteorites - events are in train in the world of Chew as some sort of possibly chicken-associated apocalypse appears to be approaching. Tony Chu, FDA cibopath, and his cyborg partner and homicidal boss and adorable sister and assorted allies and enemies move through a strange, surreal world of food crime and food powers trying to put all the pieces show more together before it's too late. Also, there is POYO. show less