Chew Vol. 4: Flambé [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

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

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.