Chew: The Omnivore Edition, Vol. 1 (Image)

Chew: The Omnivore Edition, Vol. 1

Image

(Writing and lettering by John Layman; Pencils by Rob Guillory)

Aug 23, 2010 Web Exclusive By Jeremy Nisen

Chew is a great book beyond its meaty hook. It’s a stew of weird ideas, well-developed characters, hilarious situations, dark humor, and a little bit of sci-fi thrown into the mix.

The lead character, Agent Tony Chu, enforces anti-chicken laws in a world impacted by a chicken-borne bird flu epidemic. Chicken is contraband, with illegal eating clubs, dealers, and drug-like culture surrounding the winged delicacy. Agent Chu has something of a special ability, though this exceedingly hard-luck protagonist might call it a curse. He’s a “cibopath”—he can take a bite of food and get psychic impressions, reliving its history. This is not generally a good thing—he’ll feel a cow’s slaughter or a piece of fruit’s pesticides. In the course of his investigations, he’s often called on to eat grotesque things (dead dogs; piles of poop) to solve a crime.

And as odd as that sounds, Chu may be the most normal of the bunch. The supporting characters include a food writer whose prose makes a reader relive her eating experiences, whether delightful or vomit-inducing; Tony’s partner, an obnoxious cop turned cyborg; and Tony’s repressed, angry, antagonistic boss. Each character is simultaneously larger than life, yet completely fallible, accessible, and nearly believable. Guillory’s art is expressive and appropriately outlandish. This may be a near perfect match of art and story.

Just when the “make Tony eat it” gimmick starts getting a little old, Layman takes it up a notch or two, and you realize that this isn’t formulaic by any means, and this first edition is probably just the beginning of something seriously weird and wonderful.

The Omnivore Edition retails for $34.99, and is a hardcover book with nice cover treatment and a built-in ribbon placeholder. You’ll need it—the 10 issues from the series it collects are backed up by some sketches, the original pitch, and other goodies. Fans of Mysterius the Unfathomable should like this almost as well, and vice-versa. (www.imagecomics.com)

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