Detective Tony Chu is a cibopath, meaning he gets psychic feedback from anything he eats. This means he feels the life of any animal, plant, or anything else he ingests. Well, except for beets. Why? Who knows, but at least he can eat something guilt-free.In a world where poultry consumption has been outlawed due to an outbreak of avaian flu, Chu is hired on by the Special Crimes Division of the USFDA to use his talents to solve otherwise unsolvable crimes. Teamed with a hulking mass of a man named Mason (who is also a cibopath), Chu is assigned to the most bizarre of cases, including a reporter who's food reviews make people physically ill, an Arctic outpost with a seemingly pointless assignment to audit their spending, and a Yakuza chicken smuggling operation. All the while, clues emerge that question the government's poultry ban.
Fans of bizarro fiction are likely to enjoy the sheer weirdness of the plot, while those used to more conventional stories may not appreciate the storyline. John Layman does a great job establishing the state of this world and makes the characters as believable as possible, considering the absurdity of the conspiracy and nature of Chu and Mason's powers.
The over-the-top artwork by Rob Guillory helps drive home the quirkiness of Chu's world. Chu is drawn relatively straightforward, while those around him are exaggerated caricatures of the traits they represent. It also helps that Guillory doesn't seem to be afraid of backgrounds, which often have little "Easter eggs" if you're paying attention.
All in all, a pretty good read. Check it out if you'd like to add a little strangeness to your diet.
Available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Things From Another World
Title: Chew, Vol. 1: Taster's Choice
Author: John Layman
Artist: Rob Guillory
Year: 2009
Pages: 128
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