Well then… did you read the last issue? Yes? Good… so where would you imagine this series goes after this? Let me tell you I didn’t have a clue either, but I sure as shit didn’t think it would open with the death of a seal… a naval seal. Let me tell you right now if you have word play like that in a comic book I will love your comic book. Every. Time. Tony is at the seal funeral and about to head to his next assignment, but Colby is nowhere to be found. Tony calls him asking him what the fucks up and all we see is Colby in a suit. It seems that Tony is unaware of Colby’s new marital status. Colby doesn’t let him know, but as we cut to his side of the conversation we see him being welcomed into the Applebee family… why the hell he didn’t get it annulled is beyond me. Caesar is there and he’s a bit confused as to why Chu isn’t there which pings Applebee’s radar which sends him over to inform Caesar that Colby was allowed to invite anyone in the world but Chu. Let’s just say that the wedding reception is a great scene that’s touched on a few times.
On Chu’s side of the story he goes undercover in a Sealab style underwater base to solve the murder of the naval seal. This is the department responsible for Poyo and all the other left eyed cybernetic animals as well. Keep in mind that Chu is also a newlywed and so going under cover is less than thrilling. After meeting the likely candidates he also learns that he’s has three weeks to solve the case. Upon hearing that Chu breaks disguise and begins licking things until the killer reveals them self.
Chew is one of those books that you expect to be good and frankly that’s probably why so few people bother to review it or even talk about it. They just expect that they’ll enjoy the story and laugh and that John Layman will introduce some new food related power and they’ll feel justified spending their three bucks. But do you know how much harder it is for creators to consistently deliver issues of this caliber, especially with that expectation? I don’t know how this creative team has done it, buy Layman and Rob Guillory are one of the best creative duos in the history of comics. How can you even question that at this point? This is two guys that make a comic book that beats the vast majority of all other comics being published and they do it themselves… amazing. If you’re not reading it, you’re likely wasting your money on something else.
Score: 5/5
Writer: John Layman Artist: Rob Guillory Publisher: Image Comics Price: $2.99 Release Date: 6/25/14 Format: Ongoing, Print/Digital