“Chew” on this.

This week we are talking about epic deaths and “Chew” #1 has one of the most disturbing death moments I think I have ever seen in a comic. Written by John Layman, “Chew” follows the exploits of beat cop Tony Chu. Tony is Cibopathic which means that he can tell the history of anything that he eats. Chu can see the moment an apple is ripped from its tree, taste the second a cow is slaughtered etc. It is this unique skill that makes Chu one of the most valuable members of the P.D.

The comic takes place in a world where the sale of fowl has been outlawed due to an outbreak of avian flu. Tony and his partner, John Colby, are seen staking out a restaurant that makes its money through illegal sales of chicken. After attempting to bust some of the restaurant’s patrons to little avail, F.D.A. agent Mason Savoy, head of the poultry task force, tells Chu and Colby to go inside the restaurant and have something to eat .

Chu sits down to a tasty meal of chicken soup only to find that the man who made the delectable meal is actually a mass murderer. This leads to a chase through the rest of the comic and the chef’s suicide. It is at this point that “Chew” goes from camp fun to dark and grim and wonderful. In order to find out the names of all of the murderer’s victims Chu must do the unthinkable…eat the man’s face. That’s right, Chu eats his face!!!!!!!

Layman has a skill for the slow build, for about the first three pages of this comic book I wasn’t convinced. I mean, yeah, it seemed fun and cute but for three bucks, I wasn’t sure I was going to buy issue two. Then it took a turn I didn’t really see coming and that has convinced me to put this on my mental pull list.

The art by Rob Guillory functions well as a cartoony juxtaposition of the tale. The book could have been filled with dark heavily cross hatched panels and deep colors but instead it is bright and simple. It is this art that makes the dark moments that much more evil, like a monster under the bed invading a child’s room.

In the end “Chew” is a great read with excellent art. I am looking forward to issue 2.

 

4/5 - Nearly classic!

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