Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Chew #4Chew #4
Image Comics
Layman & Guillory

This issue of Chew brings the comic to its basics. Tony and Savoy work a case and things don’t go too smoothly. On the edges there is a larger plot getting worked, but it doesn’t collide with anything that Tony and Savoy are doing in this issue. It’s a good issue but isn’t at the “amazing” level of the previous issues simply because the story has an odd ending. It’s still a very good issue and is a ton of fun to read.


Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle ReviewsAs is the case with almost each issue, this comic makes use of humor very well. In the first five pages or so, there a couple of great moments.

The comic opens when Tony’s boss receives a tip that there may be a hit out on Tony. This sends Applebee into a fantasy about how great it would be to watch Tony die and how happy he would be after the fact. The dream is extinguished but the vision of how much more paperwork he would have to deal with, so he reluctantly looks to tell Tony about the death mark that’s on him. However, Tony and Savoy are investigating a deceased Senator.

As we see more ways that Tony and Savoy can use their power of consuming items to learn their history, we witness one of the funnier moments in the series thus far. The dead Senator was prematurely cremated by someone who didn’t want to watch Tony or Savoy consume a piece of him. Savoy does what anyone would do: he dumps the Senator’s ashes into a fan. This coats them in the dusty remains and a quick lick of the lips gives them the information they need. It’s a hysterical scene with both the dialogue and outstanding visuals.

Tony and Savoy travel to a secret observatory that the Senator frequented. Instead of hardcore scientists they find scientists going hardcore on their indulgences. While there they seem to be witness to a larger conspiracy that may involve other countries, spies, aliens and the destruction of other planets. This is all high level speculation though.

The comic has incredible artwork. The characters add humor without speaking a line of dialogue while adding facial expressions that tell you more than any sentence ever could. Sometimes I found myself laughing before I even finished looking over the panel, let alone reading the dialogue. I can see some level of Manga influence but this style just seems so unique to this story I’m not sure I can really pinpoint what style it resembles the most. It’s a fantastic and fun looking comic.

The story seems to be all inclusive in this issue but quite a few threads are left open. Not only is it not clear what the Senator was really up to, but it’s not clear who or why the ending is so explosive. This doesn’t even take into account the fact that we still know nothing about the hit put out on Tony. This all works well for the long term prospects but it kind of leaves a bit too much in the unsatisfactory department for this individual issue which keeps this issue from the stratosphere level we saw in the first three issues.

Another solid effort for this title keeps the ball rolling in the right direction for the series. I mostly liked the idea that Tony and Savoy are working a case and they don’t necessarily solve it. It feels a lot like an X-Files situation which suits this type of story well. I also liked the humor, the various things Tony and Savoy eat and the artwork. This comic is a must for the science fiction fans, crime drama fans or just someone looking for something a little different.

4 out of 5 geek goggles