Thursday 6 February 2014

Chew: Taster's Choice Review

Writer: John Layman
Artist: Rob Guillory

What's a Cibopath and how will this cause Tony Chu to get a job with the FDA? Read on to find out.

The official description from Image:

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.

If you told me a few years prior to the release of this series that there'd be an amazing comic centred around food I'd probably take it as a joke. It is however no joke. At least not in the literal term, as although this may be a very fun series, the concept of a character that can tell the history of something just by eating it (that's what a Cibopath is) is simply genius.

John Layman creates a series that is nothing but pure entertainment. It is however the way  that Layman structures this entertainment with the brilliant plot and fantastic dialogue and narration that makes this such a wonderful read. Added to that the fabulous characters that Layman has created within this story and you couldn't ask for much more. Layman doesn't however stop here, as the fantastic mystery element along with the extraordinary action give the kind of excitement that propels a great comic into a phenomenal one.

It isn't however just the story that Chew impresses with the artwork from Rob Guillory is just as outstanding, giving the fun style that this kind of tale needs. Besides the overall style of Guillory's art the thing I enjoy the most is the way he shows the characters expressions and reactions, capturing the shocking look whenever Tony has to eat something revolting. Guillory also produces some fantastic layouts as well, with them adding a lot of excitement and drama as well as helping the story to flow smoothly.

If you've never read Chew before then there's no better place to start than here. The amazing story along with fun concept make this one of the most enjoyable series that Image currently produces. Highly recommended.

Rating: 10/10

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