Chew Volume 1: Tasters Choice

Tony Chu, detective and cibopath, meaning he eats stuff to get psychic impressions from the stuff he eats. So yeah, he reluctantly nibbles on corpses. There are plenty of reviews that will give you an in-depth synopsis of the plot, so I don't have to do that. I missed out on this series when it was first published, don't remember why. But after reading and thoroughly enjoying John Layman's series "Outer Darkness", I started hearing things about "Chew". The whole idea of cibopathy kind of revolted me but call it morbid fascination, I picked up the first volume. Wow. Loved everything about it. From the quirky artwork to the unique characters, to the oh so strange story, it's all great, simply great. I just ordered volume 2, hope it comes real soon.

The concept for this series is pretty strange - and I tend to like the more obtuse comics (see my Wormwood review). This series (so far) has me quite engaged as I have the other two volumes on order. The artwork is very nice- stylized but very finished - it may not be for everyone but it is certainly well-executed. The story is quite interesting delving into black humor and some pretty graphic situations - though the artwork itself is not extremely graphic(when comparing to many others). If you like dark humor and graphic novels which dont take themselves too seriously but have quite a few interesting subplots and character arcs occurring simultaneously I would recommend this series. As of today this is my favorite series I have read and reading this and vol. 2 and 3 compelled me to get a box at my local comics store, because I just cant wait every 5 months for the TPB (though I will probably end up buying them anyway.

I am not a regular comic fan or graphic novel reader - and I'm not sure why. Chew grabbed me and didn't let go. Graphics add to a story and allow an element of fantasy different from text only. But this is nothing new to comic fans. I found Chew entertaining and horrifically gross - in a good way -at the same time. Plus, it left me wanting vol. 2 with an engaging mystery.

Chew is a masterpeace. John Layman and Rob Guillory have made something really special. John Laymans writing is fun, kinda dark, wacky and well characterizes our protagonist and supporting cast of characters and plots the story quite well. Rob Guillory's art works perfectly with the tone and feel of the book. This comic is about as Indie as it gets, with only a two-man team(Layman, Guillory), with no one other than the two of them working on Chew, its amazing that it came out this great. Note: while you are reading, look really close to the backgrounds, Layman and Guillory put a lot of fun easter eggs in the art for you to see and laugh at. Great shipping.

First let me say I'm a girl. This is important 1)there's not many comics geared towards women that aren't cutesy crap or "relationship" crap, and 2) most mystery/cop stories miss the boat and don't have enough elements that women like in stories. Having said that I greatly enjoyed CHEW. I won't go into the story as the other reviewers have done so extensively. Suffice to say the story is EXTREMELY engrossing. the main char is likeable and realistic. The art is gorgeous! The story is fast paced yet able to include many aspects, romance, mystery, family dynamics, betrayal, self examination, and government conspiracy. This is a worthy addition to any library, be you a fem or male collector. I was very glad I took a chance on it. Again the art is so very cool!

As subscriber and an avid fan of Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead series, also published by Image, I was inspired by some promos for Chew that ran in a couple of issues. The premise of Chew seemed interesting: a guy named, you guessed it, Chu can get a feel of past happenings in any living thing's life simply by, you guessed it, "chewing" on it. This works on anything that is living or was living (fruits and vegetation included) with the exception of beets. That's right...beets. I hear beets live pretty boring lives so Chu probably wasn't missing anything. Anyway, folks that can chew on something to get a psychic impression are called cibopathics, but you probably already knew that. So imagine the value to law enforcement of a guy that could, oh, let's say, chew on a decomposing body or even body part to learn just how the body in question became a victim of a suspicious death. Invaluable I believe would be the word. As I said, sounded like a pretty interesting storyline, but for me it all went a bit awry when it turns out that Chu and his cast of characters live in a surreal world where chicken is a smuggling-cartel's product of choice versus drugs, and the country is run more by the FDA than the Federal Government that we're more familiar with. Chu is introduced to his partner/mentor Mason Savoy who is silly and just not a believable character. Their task is to track down and investigate the great Chicken Cartel, when out of nowhere things start getting even weirder when vampires from space get thrown into the fray. You just said, "What?!?", didn't you? I found myself saying that a lot as I read through Chew: Volume One Tasters Choice. I'm a big sci-fi/fantasy fan, but Chew was a little over the top for me. So you'll not be seeing reviews from me for Chew Volume 2 or Chew Volume 3 . Please sign the waiver before ordering rare meat and dine at your own risk.

I saw the ads for this book at my local comic shop long ago and liked the concept and wanted to get it, but as I was giving up comic book collecting, I never got to pick it up. I was very pleased to see it come out in trade paperback when I was purchasing another book a few weeks ago. I was not disappointed ay all. It was solidly written, very nicely drawn and inked and a very fun and light read. All things I look for in a great book. I am not going to give anything away in my review. If you want a new book to check out and maybe you are not terribly fond of a lot of the same old stuff that is out there now (or at least was last year when I was still collecting) I would suggest you pick this up.

The concept of this intrigued me so I bought it sight unseen - and that was the problem. Having read it, I still find the concept interesting and the art is good. However, the concept of cannibalism to solve crime was surprisingly difficult for me to, er, swallow. As such, I am torn. I would like to see where the story goes next, but I am not sure I am so committed that I really want to read my way through another stomach turning GN, much less pay for another serving.