Sink your teeth into “Chew”

 Chew, issue one (June 2009)

     “Meet Tony Chu. Tony is almost always hungry, and almost never eats. Here’s why: Tony Chu is cibopathic. That means he can take a bite of an apple, and get a feeling in his head about what tree it grew from, what pesticides were used on the crop, and when it was harvested. Or he could eat a hamburger and flash onto something else entirely.”

That section above, save for some alterations in future issues, is the opener for each issue of the Image Comics-published Chew. In a world where bird flu paranoia led to a ban on chicken, the Food and Drug Administration became the highest branch of law enforcement. Like it or not, on either side, Tony Chu is their most valuable player.

Not that he’s appreciated, of course. His boss is a dick, and his partners tend to hate him, save for Mason Savoy, the F.D.A. agent who brought Tony into the force. Mason is another cibopath, just like Tony.

Created by John Layman and Rob Guillory, Chew is quite the comic. Most issues have been received positively by the general public, and all of them so far (a total of eight) have been liked by me. The story is into its second chapter – the first chapter, “Taster’s Choice”, consists of the first five issues. The second chapter – “International Flavor” – is three issues in so far, with two left.

Layman continues to craft an interesting story, with sometimes-disgusting things for Tony to get flashes of, and Guillory’s art pleases the eye with it’s simpler touch than a lot of the comic books from the Big Two publishers. For any people who don’t take independent titles seriously, Chew is definitely one that can change their minds.