Chew Volume 1: Tasters Choice: 01

The premise of Chew is so clever, I can't believe it's never been done before. The storyline is great, the illustrations are amazing, and one gets sucked into the story right away. I often find myself laughing out loud when I read it, and have already bought the series twice to gift to other people, who also immediately love it. What else can I say, it's great!!!!

Chew is an absolute prime example of originality and innovation in the world of comics! The characters are instantly likeable and the artwork with its amazing amount of detail, fleshes out the universe in a very clever way, rarely seen! Tony Chu is a "Cibopath". Anything he eats, gives him an instant knowledge of anyone and anything in regards to the individual edible thing he eats. With this ability, he is able to solve crimes in all manners - in a world where food is at the epicenter of all things terrible. This is as much a solid crime novel, as a witty joyous comic book with so much to offer across the board. Give this first volume a read; I promise - NO, I warn you! You will be hooked.

as a regular reader (and buyer from Amazon) of graphic novels I was regularly recommended by Amazon to try the Chew books & i'm glad i did the story is unique but pretty straightforward, The story takes place in an america that has outlawed chicken (due to the 23 million americans & 120 million people worldwide who died from a form of bird flu... or was it something else?) Detective chew is police officer with a gift he's Cibopathic (he can tell the entire life cycle & origin of anything he eats) that talent brings him to the attention of the FDA who are the most powerful government agency (Due to the Birdflu epidemic) & that ladies & gents is the premise of the book I thought it was a very good book, seemed a very quick & fluid read the only real negative & its my problem not theres is the drawing style scratchy &typically messy (but as i say my problem not anyone elses) so in closing a new favourite of mine have just ordered volumes 2,3 & 4 And according to the other reviews on this title i'm not the only one who thinks this title is worthy of attention so give it a try you'll find chews not hard to swallow!

I was out looking for new comics in my local comic store and I picked up issue #25 of Chew randomly. Even without prior knowledge of the events leading up to that issue I laughed so much, that I had to buy volume one. Luckily, it did not disappoint! It’s very bizarre, there are plot-twisting and it's a damn-right hilarious detective story. All of the characters introduced are fascinating and don’t fall flat by being treated as mere plot devices or ‘cannon-fodder’.The way the comic is drawn, in tandem with the interaction between the various characters and their personalities makes this one of my favourite comics at the moment. I especially loved the interaction between Tony Chu and Applebee... pretty much Chu interacting with anybody was great...especially his bosses. As soon as I finished this volume I headed out to purchase volume two. Would definitely recommend!

How far would you go solve a crime? Would you chew on a rotting finger or a dead dog that has been in a bag for a couple of weeks? Chew volume one asks these exact questions. This is everyday life for Tony Chu. He goes the extra mile to solve crimes and being a Cibopathic helps. Anything that Tony chews on, he gets a mental image of its past. If he takes a bite of an apple, he will know what tree it grew on and what pesticides were used on it. This has devastating effects on his normal life though, he will know everything that has happened to that hamburger. Strangely though, the one food he can eat with out getting a psychic sensation is beets In Tony's world, all chicken and bird meats have been outlawed after an outburst of bird flu which killed 23 million Americans. It is when eating some soup, Tony can see that the chef is a serial killer. From here is life gets a lot stranger. Being caught chewing on the dead body he is nearly fired but is instead hired by the F.D.A. They will do anything to catch the bad guys, including nibbling on anything left at the crime scene. Every book needs a love interest but Chew does it a little differently, like it has done everything so far. Instead of falling in love because she is super attractive or that they went through some terrible stuff together that made them connect, Tony falls in love with Amelia because of her writing. She can write so well about food, that when you are reading, you can actually taste the food. Every single element of the food filling your mouth, allowing you to try things you never have before. For a Cibopathic, what could be more perfect and Tony is head over heels. I really like the way they have gone down a different root with the love interest, it is refreshing to see something so apart from anything else. Book one also contains a big twist at the end. I really didn't see it coming, it was such a surprise and it will come back to haunt Tony in later books. I will say this, the government is keeping secrets about bird meat and not everyone is happy about. It is just a matter of time to see who discovers the secret first. Rob Guillory's art is one of the best things about the book. It is kind of cartoony, but when crossed with the more violent parts, the contracting elements just work really well. The way he draws people fascinates me, instead of flowing lines, it is just loads of lines joined together and it works with the book. He was determined to break into comics on his own terms and with Chew he has done just that. John Layman has brought his long running experience to this book at it is easy to see why it is New York Times Best Seller and has won prizes from two separate organisations. There is so many different bits to focus on in the book and from now on I can only assume it is going to get more complicated. When I bought this book I was really dubious. How can a book about a guy who gets mental images from food be good? But seriously, it is. Even the fact that he chews on dead things is intriguing and disgusting at the same time. You don't know why you are reading on but you can't stop. If he came and took a bite out of me, I would ask him back next week to do exactly the same.

I decided to read this out of curiosity more than anything. I hadn't heard of it before but I'm really glad I picked it up! The story and it's characters are intriguing and the style it has been illustrated in is inspiring, I love all the funny bits of writing and stuff in the background. Definitely going to continue with the other volumes of this series!

Chew vol 1 was a brilliant start to this series and I will be getting the next books. The story was fantastic and very funny in parts. The subject is a little disturbing but definitely up my street.

I’m new to comics compared to most readers and finding these indie titles has made a massive difference I much prefer this stuff to the standard superhero type stories. Chee is such a weird idea and perfectly illustrated, I will be buying the rest of the series

Not that good.

A big fan of this series. The storyline Chew series follows is very interesting and keeps the reader hooked. The artwork and graphics in this are great quality and it is one of the best graphic novels I have read.

Cette série a été un coup de foudre pour moi, et les gens qui l'essaient ont souvent le meme avis ! C'est l'histoire d'un détective cibopathe, c'est à dire qu'il voit dans son esprit la "vie" de ce qu'il mange. Donc s'il mange le doigt d'une victime il va trouver le coupable instantanément ! Vous n'imaginez meme pas les situations absurdes que ça peut donner. Ajoutez à ça un univers où le poulet est interdit pour cause de grippe aviaire (officiellement...) et la découverte au fur et à mesure des tomes d'autres gens avec des pouvoirs liés à la nourriture, et vous comprendrez que chaque numéro réserve des surprises assez énormes.

This one's great fun and better as I had anticipated. Damn original as well. 9/10

Tony Chu, detective and cibopath, meaning he eats stuff to get psychic impressions from the stuff he eats. So yeah, he reluctantly nibbles on corpses. There are plenty of reviews that will give you an in-depth synopsis of the plot, so I don't have to do that. I missed out on this series when it was first published, don't remember why. But after reading and thoroughly enjoying John Layman's series "Outer Darkness", I started hearing things about "Chew". The whole idea of cibopathy kind of revolted me but call it morbid fascination, I picked up the first volume. Wow. Loved everything about it. From the quirky artwork to the unique characters, to the oh so strange story, it's all great, simply great. I just ordered volume 2, hope it comes real soon.