Chew #1  Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦

Writer: John Layman  Artist: Rob Guillory

Questions abound when I am told a character can read the history of food by ingesting it.  Surprisingly, all of my questions were answered in the first issue...except one.

 Why beets?

 When you read the book, the beets reference will make more sense.  This book is a surprisingly fresh take on law enforcement with a protagonist not meeting the usual criteria of a leading character.  Tony is a by-the-book cop with little in his character to make him endearing to his common man.  Roll that all together in a world where the FDA has more pull than the FBI or local law enforcement, and throw in chicken being outlawed much like alcohol in the prohibition era and you have an amazingly fresh book!

My fear with a book like this with such an inventive take on things is how long can you keep the story fresh?  I have seen issue 2 and 3 of the book and with each book it gets better, more inventive, and more complex.  In issue #2 add the love/hate relationship between Tony and his new partner/boss and a deeper investigation; in issue #3 add an amusing romantic twist and a deeper investigation. 

All in all, I see myself falling head over heels for this book, and I hope you do as well! It takes a twisted tale to keep me intrigued and this book appears to have what it takes!

~Big Poppa