"Chew Volume One: Taster's Choice" Review!

What if the ONLY way you could get information was through a special link you have with food? Seems like a dream come true, right? To be able to find out things simply by eating the thing related to what you want to know? In the case of Tony Chu, it's a NIGHTMARE. The graphic novel "Chew, Volume One: Taster's Choice" by John Layman and Rob Guillory answers all questions about life as a Cibopath.


Chu is one of three people in the world with the "gift" of Cibopathy. This means that "he can take a bite of an apple, and get a feeling in his head about what tree it grew from, what pesticides were used on the crop, and when it was harvested" and so on with different things. Chu begins the volume as a police officer but it later promoted to a position with the F.D.A after he is reportedly seen eating chunks of a criminal to find out everything about his 13 murder victims. In this day and age, the F.D.A. is considered a dictator organization (chicken is illegal in this world. The government puts a stop to it after a supposed outbreak of Bird Flu that kills TONS of people) and is hated by many. The novel follows Tony Chu as he solves mysteries, crimes, and kicks butt...all with his unwillingly-cannibal ways. Before I say too much, we'll head on to the ratings.

Creativity of Writing: 5/5 It takes some SERIOUS brain-power to come up with the idea of solving mysteries with the super-power of TASTE. To psychically connect the mouth with the mind is an amazingly creative idea. "Chew" definitely strays off of the beaten path of using clues, forensics and snooping around as primary means of investigation. Although revolting at points, the comic makes you think about what you would do to better the human race and make a difference in the lives of individuals, their families, and society. And seriously...would YOU think to make your main character bite into a rotting dog for his detective work? I didn't think so... As if this weren't enough, the dialogue flows smoothly and everything is very easy to understand.

Creativity of Art: 5/5 The art looks FANTASTIC. It reminds me of watercolor with the solidity of digital painting. For the most part, the color scheme is very relaxing, natural, and neutral. In flashbacks, action panels, and panels showing what Mr. Chu experiences from his food, the color is adjusted accordingly (brighter for fights/explosions, bloody red for Chu's experience with slaughterhouse-processed animal meats). The line work is very nice and the panels are extremely detailed. Everything is nice, tight, and clean and overall, the comic is very visually pleasing.

Overall Casual Read Rating: 5/5 There's nothing like it out there. It's so original, creative, and well thought-out that there WON'T be anything of the type to compare. It's VERY entertaining. You never know what's to come and you're always wondering what Tony Chu will have to eat next. On top of that, there's the suspense that you, as a reader, have about who's done what and who's to blame. Mr. Tony Chu doesn't have to worry about it, though. THAT'S what makes this comic awesome. You can snag this piece of awesomeosity from Image Comics or any comic book store.

Until next comic, Nerdlings! XOXO Ashleigh