Thought Train to Pusan

I feel like I’ve said this before, but this is one of those series that for some reason I never really read back-to-back, but end up having long breaks in between picking up new volumes. Is this a good thing? I’m not sure, but fortunately, I don’t run into that problem I usually have of forgetting the plot or characters when I come back after some time, as John Layman makes sure to do small recaps of characters and their abilities as the story goes along. It really doesn’t take anything away either, as the refresher is good, and is always tied into what is currently occurring the plot, so as not to become a distraction or drag the action. In any case, what we have in this 8 th volume of the Chew series is Tony Chu using his ability of gaining a psychic impression of the past of anything he eats, as a way to contact his recently deceased sister. Meanwhile, Tony’s late sister, Toni, has the ability to see the future of anyone she bites. She has therefore used this gift to see h...

I seem to go through this comic book series in little stints. I’ll read a few, then take a break until I acquire some more, and then take another break. And while a few details always get lost here and there, it always manages to draw me back and I start to remember where I left off almost immediately. It’s different and fun, but also dark and dirty at parts, and the drawing style of Rob Guillory really reflects this dichotomy of moods and feelings constantly present within the Chew series: sometime you wonder why people are rendered with such strange proportions or images will be humorously exaggerated, only to then flip the page and find something grotesque on the other side. And yet it works: both the story itself and the drawing is engaging and unique, though I will say that I know a few people who are not particularly fans of the art style of Guillory. In any case, Space Cakes and Bad Apples picks up some plotlines of the previous Chew installments that were almost startin...

  I feel like there are so many comic book series that I start but don’t keep up with in a timely manner. It’s been almost a year since I last read an installment of Chew , but I still managed to remember most of what was going on. That might be because this series is just so different and strange, that it’s hard to really forget. Or maybe it’s just easy to remember once you get back into it. Describing the plot of this series is difficult if you haven’t read any before, however, as things get… weird. In any case, volumes 4 and 5 of this series are entitled “Flambé” and “Major League” respectively, as we follow Tony Chu through his cases with the FDA, only to eventually have himself and his partner transferred to other law and enforcement divisions. Meanwhile, an ominous message in flames is seen in the sky, which is assumed to have been put there by aliens. Chu’s daughter also gets tossed into the middle of things, and we find that she too has a particular, food related gift...

The third volume in the Chew comic series is all about relationships. In particular, Just Desserts focuses on chibopath Tony Chu’s relationship with his new girlfriend, Amelia Mintz the saboscrivner. They have been dating for a while now, and things seem to be going swimmingly between them. Things are also working out splendidly between Tony and his partner John these days. Now if only Tony’s job would stop getting in the way of his newfound love of life; that, and his dysfunctional family’s apparent disgust for him. This volume of Tony’s story also brings back Tony’s old partner-- and overall nemesis him the series so far—Mason Savoy, as he tries to uncover the truth behind the poultry bans across the globe.   The story is a rolling, my friends. What I love about this series is how humorously it manages to handle some dark and gruesome subjects. It is ridiculous, yet still hits on some serious political and conspiratorial issues. I also thoroughly enjoy the artwork th...

“Hey, you like funny things! You should totally read this,” my cousin said to me one day as he rifled through his vast collection of comic books.  They are basically his most prized possessions, and while some may think he’s a bit of an oddball, my cousin definitely knows what he’s talking about when it comes to this stuff, and he was dead on about this series; Chew is hilarious, in a demented kind of way, and I am starting to absolutely love it. I will admit, it’s the sort of thing that won’t appeal to everyone, as it gets a bit ludicrous and also very dirty and grotesque at times, but if you like the weird and wonderful in your graphic novels and comic series, then you will probably like this as well. Volume 2, entitled International Flavor , follows our dear chibopath Tony Chu with a new partner at the FDA, who just so happens to be his old police-force partner, John Colby. John had previously been injured while on a job with Tony, and after having some serious reconstru...

What would you do if every time you ate something that was once living (we’re talking animals and plants), the history and memories of the food item passed through your mind? Wait, what? Well, besides seeming like the kind of strange question I might just like to ask people for no reason on occasion, that is basically the premise of the comic series Chew , written by John Layman, with the art of Rob Guillory. But it’s a little more complicated than that of course, as this series deals with using these strange gifts and abilities to hunt down criminals and murderers, as well as making some remarks on the government and underground operations at the same time. And although it is a bit twisted, this series (so far, after one volume at least) is quite funny, in a twisted sort of way. The first trade volume, Taster’s Choice is really the beginning of the tale of our protagonist, Tony Chu, and it effectively sets up what should become the main conflict of the series as a whole. Tony...