Completion Date: November 6, 2012
Reason for Reading: Review copy from Image Comics through NetGalley.
Tony Chu is a detective with a secret. A weird secret. Tony Chu is Cibopathic, which means he gets psychic impressions from whatever he eats. It also means he's a hell of a detective, as long as he doesn't mind nibbling on the corpse of a murder victim to figure out whodunit, and why. He's been brought on by the Special Crimes Division of the FDA, the most powerful law enforcement agency on the planet, to investigate their strangest, sickest, and most bizarre cases. Collects CHEW #1-5.I finished a book! Do you know this is the first book I have successfully finished since August?? It's nuts! It's depressing! I HATE it! So, you can imagine my excitement when I reached the end. I had successfully finished a book. My reading rut might be coming to an end. I might be able to finish more books. November might be a good reading month! It is almost the end of the year, so I would like to finish it off finishing things. I do read, but so sporadically and I don't seem to finish anything. On Tuesday I posted about books I would love to be reading right now. There are many many more. I also haven't reviewed a book in forever and a day, so this might be bad.
Graphic novels are so expensive that I tend to lurk on review sites for those chances to read e-copies. Of course now I have read Volume 1 of Chew and started a big series that I want to see more from. I didn't love it in the sense I wanted to rush out and get Volume 2, but it was intriguing enough that I want to see what happens next. So, I think it is great that publishers give you a chance to read comics without having to shell out the cash because not everything works for everyone. And, if you are like me, you will wind up buying a physical copy of the comic eventually if you really enjoyed it, so it is win/win. If I carry on with Chew I will have to have all the editions. I collect comics, but I also am a bit picky about my ownership. Until my recent 'splurge' I only bought Fables and The Unwritten. I want to branch out, but series are so long and I want to know what I am getting myself into before splurging... This is a long winded way of saying I am very excited about the chances provided by online sites like NetGalley and Edelweiss to preview even series that have been out for a while.
On to the comic. I told you I was out-of-practice. Not that I ever wrote all that exciting reviews before... Chew is actually on a Weekend Cooking post because it is a comic that talks about food throughout. The very first scene is from a cooking show. Now, it is not exactly gourmet. There are some very disturbing images and is not actually recommended if you plan to eat soon after reading it. As the description above says the comic centres around Tony Chu. He has the ability to eat something and pick up on all the history. This makes him a key detective in a huge organization. It is also a comic about conspiracies. This is because a large part of the population died from what was called the Bird Flu. This means that you can only get poultry from the Black Market. It is a crime to serve or sell chicken. The chicken ban plays a big part in this book.
And, there is just food everywhere. I did mention it was not the most appetizing of moments necessarily. There is one character that has the ability to describe the meals she eats in such detail that you can experience it with her as she explains it. She does not always eat at 5 star establishments. Then there is of course the fact that Tony has cannibalistic moments in the attempt to catch his killers. You might be surprised to learn that I was actually more grossed out by a couple other scenes than the fact that he was eating people. I am not sure what that says about me.
Overall, it was a fun read. I am so happy to finally read something!
Weekend Cooking is hosted at Beth Fish Reads.
Book in the Series:
Chew, Volume 1: Taster's ChoiceChew, Volume 2: International Flavor
Chew, Volume 3: Just Desserts
Chew, Volume 4: Flambé
Chew, Volume 5: Major League Chew
This is on my list of tbr's! It sounds so good. I can't believe I missed it on netgalley :-(
ReplyDeleteI had no idea this was on NetGalley. I love love love this series. It's too bad that the book didn't leave you wanting to read the next book in the series. You're right, it's pretty graphic but yet the premise is so interesting. I hope you finish another book soon. ;-)
ReplyDeletecibopathic - interesting launching place for a story. I haven't heard of this, though I will admit that I have read very few graphic novels.
ReplyDeleteI didn't really love the second book in this series- so much so that I didn't even review it, which is rare for me. But such a unique premise!
ReplyDeleteI *have* to get this book! I love GNs -- and a foodie graphic novel?? Made for me.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of this series before, but never had a clue what it was about. I'm definitely wanting to give it try now though!
ReplyDeleteWhat fun! A graphic "foodie" novel! I love the idea of gleaning information through food; such a sensory trip. I'll have to request this from my library.
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