Image Comics has just released the sixth volume of their hit series Chew, and, as always, I’m in love. John Layman and Rob Guillory never fail to amaze me with Chew’s ever creative subplots, its quirky artwork, and its unceasing comedy. This is one of those that you can’t put down until you’ve reached the end, and even then, you wish you didn’t have to.
With Tony Chu mostly out of the picture in the six issues compiled in Volume 6 (this includes the Secret Agent Poyo spin-off), the focus shifts to his sister, Antonelle, and her cibovoyant abilities (being able to see the futures of people she bites). We also see a lot of Poyo, a rooster turned ruthless-killing-machine by the USDA. The hunt for a murderous vampire continues, as well as his own hunt to collect as many powers as possible, for what end we still don’t quite know. Meanwhile, frog-chicken hybrids called “chogs” begin breeding like crazy, farm animals fall from the sky in England, and someone has developed spontaneously combusting beef.
John Layman seems limitless in the stuff he can come up with, always inventing some new power that exists in the food-centric universe of Chew—in Volume 6, we learn about sabopictors, those who can paint delicious culinary masterpieces, and victuspeciosians, those who can make facial masks out of food that can temporarily change a person’s appearance.
Even the tiniest little details add to the pure graphic entertainment that is Chew. Whether it’s a balloon in Tony’s hospital room that says, “Sucks 2 be you!!” or a menu on the side of the Shady Cones ice cream truck that reads, “Cones – 2, Moon Pie – 2, Rocket Pops – 3, Diabetic Coma – Free,” there is always something in the background to make you chuckle. So take the time to look for these. They’re worth it!
Issues 31, 32, and 33 of Chew come out in January, February, and March of next year, respectively. Get them if you simply cannot wait to know what comes next; and trust me, you are really going to want to after reading #30. If you are like me, however, you may just torture yourself until the next volume comes out, just so you can read it all in one go.
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