Chew: A comic about a psychic cop, chicken, and the FDA

I used to buy a lot of comics, having a pull at my local comic store of anywhere between 5-10 floppies a week, but as the years have gone by I have a) become lot more selective in my choices, and b) decided to wait for trade paperbacks to come out, instead of buying single issues.

It is only when something is very special that I still buy the floppies. Joining ‘The Walking Dead’, the greatest zombie story in any media, is ‘Chew’, one of the most original, funny, and totally weird comics I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

I was introduced to ‘Chew’ as a bonus preview, in B/W, at the back of an issue of ‘The Walking Dead’, and while I thought it was amazing, I kept forgetting to pick up the floppies, and didn’t get round to reading until it I got the first trade, which collects the ‘Taster’s Choice’ story arc. I couldn’t put it down, and devoured the book in one sitting. Hungry for more I picked up the floppies for the new story arc, ‘International Flavor’, and now I am drooling in anticipation for each new issue.

‘Chew’, written by John Layman, and illustrated by Rob Guillory, has one of the most off-the-wall premises I have read in a long time – it is set in a world where an avian flu pandemic has caused the US government to ban poultry consumption – chicken is now a black market commodity, only available at chicken speakeasies. The main character, Tony Chu:

is a cop with a secret. A weird secret. Tony Chu is Cibopathic, which means he gets psychic impressions from whatever he eats. It also means he’s a hell of a detective, as long as he doesn’t mind nibbling on the corpse of a murder victim to figure out whodunit, and why. It`s a dirty job, and Tony has to eat terrible things in the name of justice. And if that wasn`t bad enough, the government has figured out Tony Chu`s secret. They have plans for him… whether he likes it or not.
[from the Chew website]

The characters and dialogue are hilarious, the pacing of the story perfect, and the sheer lunacy of some situations has to been seen. Each issue manages to cram, with its amazingly tight structure, what other comics might take 3 issues to do, and are perfectly self-contained episodes that tie into an overall narrative. Along with the brilliant writing is the amazing art by Guillory, which conveys the comedy and action perfectly, with exaggerated expressions and body language.

So if you are looking for something new to read I would suggest a visit to your nearest comic store, post-haste, to pick up the first trade. ‘Chew’ is my new favourite comic, and hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I do!