Customer Reviews

Chew Volume 4: Flambe

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

ARC provided by NetGalley

The world has changed. And things aren't normal for Tony Chu, the cibopathic FDA agent with the ability to get psychic impressions from the things he eats...well ok things are stranger than normal. Strange extraterrestrial writing has mysteriously appeared in the sky all around the planet Earth. Is it the end of the world? No one is quite sure, but they do know that they don't care too much about the laws of the FDA anymore. And they'll eat as much chicken as they can. Meanwhile Tony is sent to investigate seemingly random crimes that turn out to related to the writing in the sky. Meanwhile Mason Savoy is doing everything he can to unravel the mystery of the writing in the sky.

I first came across the world of "Chew" earlier this year and instantly I fell in love with it. I mean how can you not love a world where the main character can take a taste of anything and instantly know where it came from? And where chickens are outlawed? This comic series has such great characters, interesting storylines, and fantastic artwork. I love the stories in this issue, especially the interaction between Tony and his daughter Olive as they question Olive about the deadly rampage at the school. And then later on we get to see the interaction between Tony and his sister. There's just so much jam packed into this collection that I just want to go back and read it again and again to pick up on the details that I missed the first time around.

The artwork in this series is one of it's strengths. The characters are well designed and instantly recognizable and they give them fun little details that you can latch onto, like the expressions on the characters faces, which are one of my favorite aspects of the series. You can see the revulsion on Tony's face as he has to taste things (and the look of revulsion on other characters faces) and Olive's expressions as her "Uncle John" asks her about her "boyfriend" Peter Pilaf. They capture that feeling very well. I also love the sense of color in the series, using it to highlight and show when Tony's viewing something in the past. Fantastic illustrations.

I flat out love this series and can't wait to see what happens next. I highly recommend this series to...well anyone. Go and pick up any of the collected editions and catch up on the world of Tony Chu.

I only read Chew in the trades, but this is one of those series where it only gets better and better each volume. I love the fact that it is absurd and yet deadly serious, and altogether tells an intriguing story. Of course the best part of Flambe is the climax, when it sets up the next story upon the whole revelation of Tony's family secret.

I didn't really pay attention to CHEW when it first came out, but once I got to read a couple previews, I went out and bought Chew Volume 1: Tasters Choice. Since then, I have been loyally purchasing the CHEW trade paperbacks. The fear that the series would eventually jump the shark is just paranoia though... The award-winning team of John Layman and Rob Guillory are still killing it. If you've been enjoying the series, put your order in for Volume 4 and reread 1-3, so you'll be ready when "Flambe" lands on your doorstep.

Enjoy!

-samax

GhettoManga Quarterly

Just keeps getting better. Easily one of the best comics I'm reading, at the moment. You're doing yourself an injustice by not picking this up.

Ive been following Chew since book 1 came out some years ago. Ive been hooked and eagerly waiting for the next sets to come in. It's great characters with a story-line that I can ease into. The kind of humor in the Chew series, is very palatable. If you like somewhat dark and corky humor, this series is a good fix for you!

In this volume Chu finds himself working with an old partner who used to pair up with Mason Savoy, Chu's former mentor turned nemesis. USDA agents, similar to the one in the second volume, show up but this time in great mass. I found some of the humor to be spot on with their characters and man do they love their special pets. Chu's sister makes a more substantial appearance this time, introducing us to Area 51. We also get to know two new types of characters: A Voresoph becomes smarter the more he eats. Daniel Migdalo is a Voresoph. A still partly unidentified power is to control people through food. Peter Pilaf has this power. From this point on this review will be somewhat similar to my review of the previous one in the series so be warned. As usual the tale is action packed, zany in humor at times and complex. I love how the panels have main things taking place but looking in the background reveals more. Now, as far as some of the special terms go here's a bit of a list: (1) a Saboscrivner can write about food so accurately that people get the sensation of taste when they read about the food. Amelia Mintz is a Saboscrivner; (2) a Cibopath can take a bite from anything and get a psychic sensation of what has happened to that object. The only thing it does not work on is beets. Tony Chu, Toni Chu, Olive Chu, Mason Savoy, and The Vampire are Cibopaths; and (3) a Cibolocuter is able to communicate through food, and can also translate written works like plays, poems and operas into their food. Fantanyeros is a Cibolocuter. In March 2011 it was revealed that Showtime is going to turn this into a half hour comedy series. The first three issues of Chew have all sold out multiple printings with the first issue receiving four printings as well as being reprinted in black and white in The Walking Dead #63. The first issue was so popular that it was called one of Image's most acclaimed titles, and was reprinted again in the first wave of the Image First line. Critical reception has been mostly positive. IGN gave the first issue a 9.5 out of 10 and the subsequent issues 9.0, 9.1 and 8.8 respectively. Chew Vol. 1: Taster's Choice[29] and Chew Vol. 2: International Flavor have both been on the New York Times Bestsellers List. Chew ended up on several Best of 2009 lists, including IGN's Best Indie Series of 2009 (beating The Walking Dead and Bad Dog) and MTV Splashpage's Best New Series of 2009. Chew was also #4 on ComicBookResources.com's Best 100 Comics of 2009 list. On July 23, 2010, Chew won the Eisner Award for Best New Series. Chew also won two 2010 Harvey Awards (Best New Series and Best New Talent)and was nominated for, but did not win, two 2010 Eagle Awards (Favourite New Comicbook and Favourite American Colour Comicbook). WHEN READ: February 2012; STORY/PLOTTING: B plus to A minus; CHARACTER/DIALOGUE: A minus; EXECUTION OF IDEA: B plus to A minus; ARTWORK; A minus; HUMOR: B plus; OVERALL GRADE: B plus to A minus.