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. This gorgeous, oversized edition loaded with extras follows Tony for the first ten issues of IGN.com's pick for "Best Indie Series of 2009," and MTV Splash Page's "Best New Series of 2009." Collects the New York Times' best seller "Taster's Choice," as well as the follow-up story-arc "International Flavor."
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
This breakout indie success (the first two storylines of which are collected here) is the very definition of high-concept: a gastronomical-satirical crime thriller named after its protagonist, Tony Chu, a "cibopath" detective who gets psychic impressions from everything he eats. Chu is consequently recruited by the Special Crimes Division of the FDA and forced to put one horrifically disgusting thing after another into his mouth. The setting is a near-future world where a pandemic bird flu has led the U.S. government to outlaw chicken (now served only at speakeasies), giving rise to the discovery of a suspicious fruit that tastes... like chicken. Though Layman's tone can be inconsistent--fluctuating between light comedy and grisly violence--it levels out when other characters with food-related gifts show up, including a "cibolocutor" who can express himself solely through culinary arts. Guillory's loose, loopy style, with its wildly distorted anatomy and perspective, underscores Layman's humor but is grounded in brick-solid storytelling; a knockout scene early on, where Chu becomes overwhelmed by the psychic residue in a single spoonful of soup, perfectly sums up the curious aftertaste of this nutty, tangy tome. Illus. (Aug.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
This deluxe edition collects the first two five-issue story arcs of the ultraviolent (and ultracannibalistic) foodie buddy-cop comic. In a near future where millions of Americans died from a particularly nasty avian flu, poultry is outlawed and a Prohibition-style black market springs up to satisfy the needs of gastronomes and frustrated chefs. Enter FDA agent Tony Chu, one of three known “cibopaths,” who has the most peculiar ability to get psychic impressions from whatever he eats. Lots of dismemberment and corpse-chomping (it’s harder to see Tony bite into a dead dog for clues than any of the various people he’s forced to nibble on) ensue as the beginnings of a conspiracy theory about the bird flu and an alien fruit that tastes just like chicken take shape. It’s not nearly as nauseating as it might sound (though, to be fair, it is plenty gross), thanks to Layman’s flippant sense of humor and Guillory’s chunky, kinetically caricatured artwork, which whips up an irresistible smorgasbord out of the bloody, genre-hopping ingredients. Grand gut-check comics entertainment here. --Ian Chipman
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Awesomeness. I read the monthly issues of Chew, but I had to get this hardcover anyway. I love the series, and if you haven't checked it out, you're missing one of the best and funniest stories the comic medium can tell.
Chew blends food-centric cop drama with absurd comic sci-fi and cannibalism. Tony Chu is an agent for the FDA, the most important and powerful government agency, post the avian flu pandemic, which led to the ban and large-scale eradication of chicken and other edible foul. He posseses extra-censory powers based on things he ingests called cibopathy. He eats some pretty gross things to solve crimes and mysteries, but don't let his cibopathic abilities fool you, Tony does plenty of real detective work. As the story moves along at a sort of slow-burn pace, the much larger mystery about the bird flu conspiracy begins to unravel, and it's safe to anticipate many other surprises along the way.
The series has loads to offer, including awesome streamlined animated style artwork, that helps set the comedic tone and fits CHEW like a latex glove. Rob Guillory is one of the most skilled and creative artists in the comic scene today, and in many ways his style goes without comparison. The story's content isn't always pretty, and the art allows the reader to squirm and split their side at the same time. Tony's facial expressions after eating something particularly gross are always priceless, and every page is worth second and third looks to enjoy all the little hidden jokes.
I could say a lot about CHEW, that you've probably already heard:
It's fantastically crafted in every way. It's absolutely hilarious. Everything about it is fresh and original. The characters are unique, intriguing and most could probably have a comic series of their own. There's nothing else like it.
What's important about the Omnivore Hardcover Edition is it's totally worth owning. There is no dust jacket, instead they put the art right on the cover, which I think looks snazzy. The pages are bigger than the ones in the monthly series, and they're much thicker too. There's some great extra-material such as the original pitch for CHEW, some history behind Layman and Guillory's collaboration, early experimental sketches, a rough-draft version of the intro page showcasing an alternate darker style for the artwork, and a few other goodies too.
Also, due to the comic's unexpected but totally merited success, Layman, Guillory and Image Comics have decided to extend the length of the series from the original plan for 25-30 issues to somewhere around 60, which means there will be plenty more of these Omivore Editions to look forward to. Yeah!!
Chew blends food-centric cop drama with absurd comic sci-fi and cannibalism. Tony Chu is an agent for the FDA, the most important and powerful government agency, post the avian flu pandemic, which led to the ban and large-scale eradication of chicken and other edible foul. He posseses extra-censory powers based on things he ingests called cibopathy. He eats some pretty gross things to solve crimes and mysteries, but don't let his cibopathic abilities fool you, Tony does plenty of real detective work. As the story moves along at a sort of slow-burn pace, the much larger mystery about the bird flu conspiracy begins to unravel, and it's safe to anticipate many other surprises along the way.
The series has loads to offer, including awesome streamlined animated style artwork, that helps set the comedic tone and fits CHEW like a latex glove. Rob Guillory is one of the most skilled and creative artists in the comic scene today, and in many ways his style goes without comparison. The story's content isn't always pretty, and the art allows the reader to squirm and split their side at the same time. Tony's facial expressions after eating something particularly gross are always priceless, and every page is worth second and third looks to enjoy all the little hidden jokes.
I could say a lot about CHEW, that you've probably already heard:
It's fantastically crafted in every way. It's absolutely hilarious. Everything about it is fresh and original. The characters are unique, intriguing and most could probably have a comic series of their own. There's nothing else like it.
What's important about the Omnivore Hardcover Edition is it's totally worth owning. There is no dust jacket, instead they put the art right on the cover, which I think looks snazzy. The pages are bigger than the ones in the monthly series, and they're much thicker too. There's some great extra-material such as the original pitch for CHEW, some history behind Layman and Guillory's collaboration, early experimental sketches, a rough-draft version of the intro page showcasing an alternate darker style for the artwork, and a few other goodies too.
Also, due to the comic's unexpected but totally merited success, Layman, Guillory and Image Comics have decided to extend the length of the series from the original plan for 25-30 issues to somewhere around 60, which means there will be plenty more of these Omivore Editions to look forward to. Yeah!!
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Chew is original, exciting and dynamic. It is definitely not a comic you buy for your 8 year old nephew, but its much funnier than it is offensive. This edgy comic will keep you up laughing, and honestly you won't be able to put it down if you are anything like me (the gross moments are more over the top and interesting than they are disgusting).
On the quality of the book itself: definitely go for the omnivore edition over the paperback. The book will last much longer (this is going to be one you reread). Image comics does a great job making quality hardback books. My "Invincible" ultimate collection books have been borrowed and reread so many times and don't show any sign of wear to the binding. This book is worth having in hard back, especially if you want to start making a decent comic book library for yourself.
You can never go wrong in investing in quality for an Eisner award winner.
On the quality of the book itself: definitely go for the omnivore edition over the paperback. The book will last much longer (this is going to be one you reread). Image comics does a great job making quality hardback books. My "Invincible" ultimate collection books have been borrowed and reread so many times and don't show any sign of wear to the binding. This book is worth having in hard back, especially if you want to start making a decent comic book library for yourself.
You can never go wrong in investing in quality for an Eisner award winner.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
The characters and world of Chew are an absolute joy to discover and spend time with
December 22, 2010
Format:Hardcover
Detective Tony Chu is a cibopath, which means he gets psychic impressions from the food he eats. He can see how a piece of fruit was cultivated and what pesticides were used, or how the cows that became his hamburgers were slaughtered. Other times, his powers flash onto things far more heinous. Like a bowl of chicken soup that leads him to a serial killer who has targeted young women and hitchhikers across the country and uses their remains to spice up his dishes. Recruited by the FDA, now America's largest crime fighting agency after an outbreak of avian bird flu killed over 100 million people worldwide and prompted the U.S. to ban poultry, Chu is forced to use his unconventional gift to solve grisly, baffling crimes.
John Layman writes Chew with a healthy dose of humor, never getting mired down in the dark taboos that lie at the heart of this book. His mission, first and foremost, is to make the book entertaining. Rob Guillory's cartoony style assists in setting the tone for the book, giving it an upbeat, colorful aesthetic. Although the heart of the book is more Silence of the Lambs, visually it's more akin to Toy Story, and this animated appearance really helps to sell the tone and fun-factor of the book. Although it's gory and horrifying, it's never offputting, thanks to the illustrations.
Chew is a wildly entertaining work, rife with black humor and disgustingly fun scenarios. Equal measures police-thriller, sci-fi, horror, and comedy, this genre-blending book manages to throw in every ingredient from the kitchen pantry. You've got serial killers, Russian spies, illegal chicken dinner shacks, a government conspiracy (possibly involving extraterrestrials for good measure), cyborg cops, cannibals, and foodies. If these over-the-top ingredients don't make you the least bit curious, then you are missing out on one of the most original and fresh comic series to come around.
Layman slowly introduces his multiple concepts, delicately layering them to create a deeper over-arching construct to hang the plot from. In drafting this world without chicken, he's populated it with several memorable and enjoyable characters. Tony Chu is a terrific guide through these adventures, as he's often thrust into awful situations that produce a nuanced tension of both curdled disgust and surprising laughs. Chu's FDA recruiter, Mason Savoy, is a behemoth whose vocabulary and ferocity is as considerable as his mass. John Colby, Chu's partner, is described on several occasions as being the worst person alive, as he often has a wry, bigoted observation and is quick to anger, but the two have an infectious friendship.
This oversized hardcover edition collects the first two story arcs, "Taster's Choice" and "International Flavor," along with some neat bonus materials that help satisfy the cravings for more. In addition to the usual cover gallery, there are concept art and character sketches, and some unused promo materials. The best addition, though, is Layman's original series pitch outlining a few ideas for the overall story of Chew and its characters. Rather than spoiling what will come, it is instead a small appetizer for future servings.
The characters and world of Chew are an absolute joy to discover and spend time with, and the stories are just downright unique in their fusion of food, crime, and conspiracy. It's an exhilarating, heady stew of ideas and genres, blended together to create a daring new entrée--a book that is so over-the-top in its delivery and so subversive in its black, situational humor that it's impossible to not be charmed by it.
-- Michael Hicks
John Layman writes Chew with a healthy dose of humor, never getting mired down in the dark taboos that lie at the heart of this book. His mission, first and foremost, is to make the book entertaining. Rob Guillory's cartoony style assists in setting the tone for the book, giving it an upbeat, colorful aesthetic. Although the heart of the book is more Silence of the Lambs, visually it's more akin to Toy Story, and this animated appearance really helps to sell the tone and fun-factor of the book. Although it's gory and horrifying, it's never offputting, thanks to the illustrations.
Chew is a wildly entertaining work, rife with black humor and disgustingly fun scenarios. Equal measures police-thriller, sci-fi, horror, and comedy, this genre-blending book manages to throw in every ingredient from the kitchen pantry. You've got serial killers, Russian spies, illegal chicken dinner shacks, a government conspiracy (possibly involving extraterrestrials for good measure), cyborg cops, cannibals, and foodies. If these over-the-top ingredients don't make you the least bit curious, then you are missing out on one of the most original and fresh comic series to come around.
Layman slowly introduces his multiple concepts, delicately layering them to create a deeper over-arching construct to hang the plot from. In drafting this world without chicken, he's populated it with several memorable and enjoyable characters. Tony Chu is a terrific guide through these adventures, as he's often thrust into awful situations that produce a nuanced tension of both curdled disgust and surprising laughs. Chu's FDA recruiter, Mason Savoy, is a behemoth whose vocabulary and ferocity is as considerable as his mass. John Colby, Chu's partner, is described on several occasions as being the worst person alive, as he often has a wry, bigoted observation and is quick to anger, but the two have an infectious friendship.
This oversized hardcover edition collects the first two story arcs, "Taster's Choice" and "International Flavor," along with some neat bonus materials that help satisfy the cravings for more. In addition to the usual cover gallery, there are concept art and character sketches, and some unused promo materials. The best addition, though, is Layman's original series pitch outlining a few ideas for the overall story of Chew and its characters. Rather than spoiling what will come, it is instead a small appetizer for future servings.
The characters and world of Chew are an absolute joy to discover and spend time with, and the stories are just downright unique in their fusion of food, crime, and conspiracy. It's an exhilarating, heady stew of ideas and genres, blended together to create a daring new entrée--a book that is so over-the-top in its delivery and so subversive in its black, situational humor that it's impossible to not be charmed by it.
-- Michael Hicks
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great comic!
Since this came shrink wrapped I won't open them since I have the digital copies, but it's still a pleasure to own. I hope the show sees the light of day in a year or two.
Published 1 month ago by Charles
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent!
Excellently bound book, and the story and art is phenomenal.
It's dark and gritty but still very fun without being completely disgusting. Read more
It's dark and gritty but still very fun without being completely disgusting. Read more
Published 3 months ago by zelen
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent story
The deserved winner of multiple Eisner Awards (best new series of 2010, best series of 2011), I was both surprised and delighted with the first 10 issues of Chew. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Frank L. Greenagel Jr.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great comic
This is a great way to get started on a great comic. If you like colorful and stylized art, Rob Guillory is the man for you. Read more
Published 4 months ago by J. Seipel
5.0 out of 5 stars
Give it a shot, you won't be disappointed
After quite a few times of amazon recommending this to me, I finally decided to give it a shot. It want at all what I expected, it was awesome! Read more
Published 8 months ago by tyler w
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very good.
Bought both of the first volumes on a hunch that it might be good. Very good indeed. I consumed the entire first volume in a single sitting and the second was quick to follow. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Seth T. Teeter
5.0 out of 5 stars
Book contains the comic covers and are numbered
Great book, I'm glad that it has each comic cover and number! That way you know which comic you read! Wish the walking dead hard covers were like this. Read more
Published 14 months ago by shawn5251977
5.0 out of 5 stars
BURP!
I ate every word. Delicious. From beginning to end, satisfying tastes, wonderful aromas from each page. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Mortimerman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Chew Omnivore Edition is at the top of the food chain
Comic books are full of heroes: superheroes, detectives, gods, goddesses, regular human beings, monsters, aliens, and more. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Nolan P. Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Book
I enjoyed reading this book a lot. It was different and fun. I am waiting for volume 2 HC to come out!
Published 19 months ago by Lyon
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