Food crime around the world!
Introduction:
After reading the first volume of this fantastic series “Chew: Taster’s Choice,” I was geared up to read the second volume “Chew: International Flavor!” “Chew: International Flavor” is just as interesting and creative as the first volume and being that John Layman’s “Chew” series is an Eisner Award Winning and Harvey Award Winning series, this volume is definitely something that any comic book fan should check out!
What is this story about?
In this volume, Tony Chu is back and this time he is working with his old partner John Colby (you know, the guy who had his face cut off in the first volume and now, half of his face is robotic)? Anyway, Tony and John stumble upon a case on the mysterious island Yamapalu and not only does Tony meet a tough female spy named Lin Sae Woo, but he also notices that many of the people who were killed on the island have mysterious bite marks on their necks…
Vampires do not exist, do they?
What I loved about this story:
John Layman’s writing: Just like the first volume, John Layman’s writing is just as good in this volume as it was in the first volume! I loved the way that John Layman characterized each character as all the characters in this volume were written in an exciting and intense way! I really enjoyed the character Tony Chu as he is shown to be a strong and sarcastic character that has already come to terms with his special powers and I loved the scenes where he gets angry at people who make him use his powers for idiotic reasons. I also loved John Colby as he was also just as sarcastic as Tony and yet, he remains to be a great friend to Tony, even standing up for him against his boss. John Layman did a brilliant job at balancing both the humor and the horror in this volume as I found myself laughing at all of Tony’s misfortunes on his adventures. I also loved the little “vampire” twist on this story since at first, I was rolling my eyes at the idea that they would introduce a concept that was used over a MILLION times in other stories, but in this volume, it was actually used in an extremely creative way and I hope to read more about the “vampire” situation in the next volume!
Rob Guillory’s artwork: Rob Guillory’s artwork as usual is both hilarious and somewhat disgusting in an extremely good way! Even though this volume is not as disgusting as the first volume, the artwork of the characters discovering murdered bodies is truly effective as you can see the blood spilling out of the victims, which gives the artwork a truly chilling feel. I also loved the way that Rob Guillory made the characters look cartoonish in nature and yet, there is still some intensity to the artwork.
What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:
The only problems in this volume involve many scenes of characters getting murdered and some strong language. Even though this volume is not as disgusting as the first volume, there is still a bit of gross humor such as Tony coming across a large pile of poop in his first case that might make any reader feel a bit ill. Also, there is some strong language in this volume, such as the continuous use of the “s” word and anyone who is offended by such words might want to skim over them.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, “Chew: International Flavors” is a fantastic follow up to John Layman’s “Chew” series and I am definitely looking forward to reading more from the “Chew” series and seeing what kind of wacky and intensifying crimes that our favorite characters will get into next!
