CHEW Omnivore Edition Volume 1 HC [Hardcover]

Awesomeness. I read the monthly issues of Chew, but I had to get this hardcover anyway. I love the series, and if you haven't checked it out, you're missing one of the best and funniest stories the comic medium can tell.

Chew blends food-centric cop drama with absurd comic sci-fi and cannibalism. Tony Chu is an agent for the FDA, the most important and powerful government agency, post the avian flu pandemic, which led to the ban and large-scale eradication of chicken and other edible foul. He posseses extra-censory powers based on things he ingests called cibopathy. He eats some pretty gross things to solve crimes and mysteries, but don't let his cibopathic abilities fool you, Tony does plenty of real detective work. As the story moves along at a sort of slow-burn pace, the much larger mystery about the bird flu conspiracy begins to unravel, and it's safe to anticipate many other surprises along the way.

The series has loads to offer, including awesome streamlined animated style artwork, that helps set the comedic tone and fits CHEW like a latex glove. Rob Guillory is one of the most skilled and creative artists in the comic scene today, and in many ways his style goes without comparison. The story's content isn't always pretty, and the art allows the reader to squirm and split their side at the same time. Tony's facial expressions after eating something particularly gross are always priceless, and every page is worth second and third looks to enjoy all the little hidden jokes.

I could say a lot about CHEW, that you've probably already heard:
It's fantastically crafted in every way. It's absolutely hilarious. Everything about it is fresh and original. The characters are unique, intriguing and most could probably have a comic series of their own. There's nothing else like it.

What's important about the Omnivore Hardcover Edition is it's totally worth owning. There is no dust jacket, instead they put the art right on the cover, which I think looks snazzy. The pages are bigger than the ones in the monthly series, and they're much thicker too. There's some great extra-material such as the original pitch for CHEW, some history behind Layman and Guillory's collaboration, early experimental sketches, a rough-draft version of the intro page showcasing an alternate darker style for the artwork, and a few other goodies too.

Also, due to the comic's unexpected but totally merited success, Layman, Guillory and Image Comics have decided to extend the length of the series from the original plan for 25-30 issues to somewhere around 60, which means there will be plenty more of these Omivore Editions to look forward to. Yeah!!

Chew is original, exciting and dynamic. It is definitely not a comic you buy for your 8 year old nephew, but its much funnier than it is offensive. This edgy comic will keep you up laughing, and honestly you won't be able to put it down if you are anything like me (the gross moments are more over the top and interesting than they are disgusting).

On the quality of the book itself: definitely go for the omnivore edition over the paperback. The book will last much longer (this is going to be one you reread). Image comics does a great job making quality hardback books. My "Invincible" ultimate collection books have been borrowed and reread so many times and don't show any sign of wear to the binding. This book is worth having in hard back, especially if you want to start making a decent comic book library for yourself.

You can never go wrong in investing in quality for an Eisner award winner.

Detective Tony Chu is a cibopath, which means he gets psychic impressions from the food he eats. He can see how a piece of fruit was cultivated and what pesticides were used, or how the cows that became his hamburgers were slaughtered. Other times, his powers flash onto things far more heinous. Like a bowl of chicken soup that leads him to a serial killer who has targeted young women and hitchhikers across the country and uses their remains to spice up his dishes. Recruited by the FDA, now America's largest crime fighting agency after an outbreak of avian bird flu killed over 100 million people worldwide and prompted the U.S. to ban poultry, Chu is forced to use his unconventional gift to solve grisly, baffling crimes.

John Layman writes Chew with a healthy dose of humor, never getting mired down in the dark taboos that lie at the heart of this book. His mission, first and foremost, is to make the book entertaining. Rob Guillory's cartoony style assists in setting the tone for the book, giving it an upbeat, colorful aesthetic. Although the heart of the book is more Silence of the Lambs, visually it's more akin to Toy Story, and this animated appearance really helps to sell the tone and fun-factor of the book. Although it's gory and horrifying, it's never offputting, thanks to the illustrations.

Chew is a wildly entertaining work, rife with black humor and disgustingly fun scenarios. Equal measures police-thriller, sci-fi, horror, and comedy, this genre-blending book manages to throw in every ingredient from the kitchen pantry. You've got serial killers, Russian spies, illegal chicken dinner shacks, a government conspiracy (possibly involving extraterrestrials for good measure), cyborg cops, cannibals, and foodies. If these over-the-top ingredients don't make you the least bit curious, then you are missing out on one of the most original and fresh comic series to come around.

Layman slowly introduces his multiple concepts, delicately layering them to create a deeper over-arching construct to hang the plot from. In drafting this world without chicken, he's populated it with several memorable and enjoyable characters. Tony Chu is a terrific guide through these adventures, as he's often thrust into awful situations that produce a nuanced tension of both curdled disgust and surprising laughs. Chu's FDA recruiter, Mason Savoy, is a behemoth whose vocabulary and ferocity is as considerable as his mass. John Colby, Chu's partner, is described on several occasions as being the worst person alive, as he often has a wry, bigoted observation and is quick to anger, but the two have an infectious friendship.

This oversized hardcover edition collects the first two story arcs, "Taster's Choice" and "International Flavor," along with some neat bonus materials that help satisfy the cravings for more. In addition to the usual cover gallery, there are concept art and character sketches, and some unused promo materials. The best addition, though, is Layman's original series pitch outlining a few ideas for the overall story of Chew and its characters. Rather than spoiling what will come, it is instead a small appetizer for future servings.

The characters and world of Chew are an absolute joy to discover and spend time with, and the stories are just downright unique in their fusion of food, crime, and conspiracy. It's an exhilarating, heady stew of ideas and genres, blended together to create a daring new entrée--a book that is so over-the-top in its delivery and so subversive in its black, situational humor that it's impossible to not be charmed by it.

-- Michael Hicks

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