Chew - A Review

Author: John Layman and Rob Guillory

Genre: Graphic Novel

Format: Paperback

Pages: 1636 (all 12 Volumes)

Tony Chu is a detective 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. He's been brought on by the Special Crimes Division of the FDA, the most powerful law enforcement agency on the planet, to investigate their strangest, sickest, and most bizarre cases.

This is one of those series that I kept running into, and finding on blogs, and kept meaning to pick up. Only for another year to pass without actually reading it. So this year I made a point of putting it on hold at my local library to read.

Why did I what so long?!

I love Tony Chu and is ability is super rad, and super gross.  What is his ability? So glad you asked. Tony is a Cibopath. This means he can get impressions from anything he eats. Like the grove an apple grew on and the types of pesticides used to grow said apple. Cibopathy is one of many different kind of food based powers that people inside the world of Chew. All of them are just as weird and kind of badass as the next.

Tony hasn't had an easy life, but he's a pretty stand up agent. His ability giving him an edge. The characters through all twelve volumes are solid and a lot of fun.  John Colby is probably my favorite of all the characters. Mostly because he's sort of the stereotype good guy, special agent. The guns blazing, bag and tag them Special Agent Colby. Though he doesn't hold a candle to Amelia Mintz who doesn't need no saving from the big bad Special Agents. Because she can take care of herself.

As for the story, I thought it flowed well over twelve volumes. Each new adventure was weird, wild, and way out there, but I enjoy each issue. I felt like the plot moved smoothly from one issue to the next. Slowly every thing started to come together and make sense the closer to the end we got, and I really liked the way the book ended. I won't say it was all tied up with a bow, but I was satisfied with it. Even if I'd of liked certain characters to survive that didn't.

I adored the universe that John Layman and Rob Guillory created. You come into the story years after there's been a prohibition on eating chicken thanks to Bird Flu. And, even when the plot pulls away from the point here and there, it always seems to sway back to it in the end. It takes all twelve volumes but we finally find what's behind the prohibition and why. 

Chew was an amazing series and I enjoyed every minute of it, putting one book on hold the second a new one arrived. I'm glad I took my time with it and read it between other books so I could enjoy not just the story, but the amazing artwork inside. I was sad to finish the series and not have anymore time with Tony Chu and Poyo, but what a ride!

Buy, Borrow, or Skip: Anyway you can possibly get your hands on it do it! It's an amazing story with great characters! If your a fan of the X-Files, Grimm, and anything weird and out there, pick this up!

HAPPY READING!!