Thursday, December 16, 2010

Chew: International Flavor

What I try to do with reviews at this Bookshelf blog is keep it simple and spoiler-free, and let you know whether I'd recommend you pick up a copy of what I just read. Seems to work okay. This time, a brief review of Chew: International Flavor (volume two) (Image, 2010).



For the second collection of their Eisner award-winning Chew, creators John Layman and Rob Guillory pull off a really neat switcheroo. The plot this time out revolves around a plant called a gallsberry which tastes exactly like chicken. In a world where eating chicken is banned after "bird flu" has killed millions, there's considerable interest in the plant, which only grows on one Pacific island. But with events moving way out of our hero Tony Chu's control, he may need the help of a gorgeous, tough USDA inspector. But as soon as she presents herself as a new member of the supporting cast, she's stunningly killed off, leaving Tony framed and thousands of miles from headquarters.

Overall, this is a very fun and very twisted little adventure, full of subplots and left-field turns. Everything from the backstory to the new members of the cast of double-dealing, backstabbing supporting players works wonderfully. If they ever do make this into a TV series, I'll be on board from the first episode. Until then, there's obviously a third collection that I need to get. Highly recommended.

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