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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
[4 Stars] This volume was really heartbreaking, but I still loved it and am even more curious about where this series is going. If you haven't noticed by now, it has a bit of a meandering plot.
This was Chew at its funniest. I’m talking laugh-out-loud-for-five-minutes-straight funny. So it follows that this was Chew at its best.
What I said in my review of Vol. 7 about waiting for the overarching story to progress? Total crap. Turns out, I don’t mind filler, because goddamn if this isn’t some fan-fucking-tastic filler!
It’s a bit unbelievable (not that it felt unbelievable, but in retrospect) how important Toni has become to this series and in Tony’s life despite not having been a prominent fixture from the outset. But that’s why I got to hand it to Layman... His characters are so captivating that you’re invested in them before you know it.
This instalment lacked most of the flaws that plagued the previous book:
- There’s only one panel about Colby’s love-life, and it isn’t forced but rather displays perfect comedic timing.
- There are fewer introductions to new powers, and when they occur, they contribute to the arc as well as the overall plot, instead of feeling like the products of an overactive imagination on steroids.
- Although I’m designating it as filler, that’s not strictly true. Things do move along, just very, veryyy slowly. And yet, this is the volume that had me thinking, the slower, the better...
... Because Layman and Guillory are in absolute control here. The writing is tight, and reminiscent of Vol. 2. Layman’s still alternating between timelines, but now he seems to have mastered the technique. It’s no longer sloppy, and it reads seamlessly. This volume’s definitely more determined and plot-oriented and just gives you the vibe that it’s going somewhere... even if it’s mostly sub-plots. And the artwork, good god! Guillory is no less funny than Layman; the sheer amount of detail that he pours into his “sight gags”—within billboards, posters, milk cartons—is so carefully considered and executed.
I’m giving this 4.5 stars because of a couple of inconsistencies that gnawed at me; Olive’s surpassing abilities reek of deus ex machina to me. Also, I don’t think the connection between the Gallsaberry recipe and Toni’s apparition is explained very well. It felt like loose ends were being tied up hastily and it lacked plausibility.
But I’m rounding it up to 5 stars because I luurve Olive’s Lying Cat t-shirt. Gotta love a fellow comic book geek.
What I said in my review of Vol. 7 about waiting for the overarching story to progress? Total crap. Turns out, I don’t mind filler, because goddamn if this isn’t some fan-fucking-tastic filler!
It’s a bit unbelievable (not that it felt unbelievable, but in retrospect) how important Toni has become to this series and in Tony’s life despite not having been a prominent fixture from the outset. But that’s why I got to hand it to Layman... His characters are so captivating that you’re invested in them before you know it.
This instalment lacked most of the flaws that plagued the previous book:
- There’s only one panel about Colby’s love-life, and it isn’t forced but rather displays perfect comedic timing.
- There are fewer introductions to new powers, and when they occur, they contribute to the arc as well as the overall plot, instead of feeling like the products of an overactive imagination on steroids.
- Although I’m designating it as filler, that’s not strictly true. Things do move along, just very, veryyy slowly. And yet, this is the volume that had me thinking, the slower, the better...
... Because Layman and Guillory are in absolute control here. The writing is tight, and reminiscent of Vol. 2. Layman’s still alternating between timelines, but now he seems to have mastered the technique. It’s no longer sloppy, and it reads seamlessly. This volume’s definitely more determined and plot-oriented and just gives you the vibe that it’s going somewhere... even if it’s mostly sub-plots. And the artwork, good god! Guillory is no less funny than Layman; the sheer amount of detail that he pours into his “sight gags”—within billboards, posters, milk cartons—is so carefully considered and executed.
I’m giving this 4.5 stars because of a couple of inconsistencies that gnawed at me; Olive’s surpassing abilities reek of deus ex machina to me. Also, I don’t think the connection between the Gallsaberry recipe and Toni’s apparition is explained very well. It felt like loose ends were being tied up hastily and it lacked plausibility.
But I’m rounding it up to 5 stars because I luurve Olive’s Lying Cat t-shirt. Gotta love a fellow comic book geek.
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, Cannibalism
The last of three volumes read in a single glorious afternoon included greater psychadelic heights than previously achieved, unorthodox NASA tactics and food porn.
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
One of the campiest volumes of Chew. We find Tony and John getting high and seeing themselves as bunnies. Amelia writes a book in a language she does not understand and there are new, hilarious powerful food psychics like the Pastransformer and the Molluhomicuquus lady that cooks clams.
Hmm.
Okay, let's just get into the problem I have here. Keeping in mind that these are great comics and the art is so stylish and individual to Rob Guillory, and I fucking love that aspect of it.
I also love that this series seems to be building to something big, but the sad part is that sometimes you get these tweeners. The books where they kind of come down from the last big thing and then rev up for the next big thing. Maybe it's a necessary storytelling element, but I could do without.
Alright, that's out of the way.
Futurecasting. I don't really like fortune-telling stories. Because, basically, that implies that time travel is possible, right?
I'm just thinking here, but telling the future is time travel, just without moving your BODY, right? It's moving your perception forward while your body stays stationary? Which is probably better than real time travel. I'd be happy to just watch some stuff and not actually have to BE there. Abraham Lincoln slept in the same bed with this other dude because he was a broke-ass lawyer, and it was a joyous occasion to come home after the other dude had banged a prostitute because the bed was warm. That's real. That's Abraham Lincoln. Gettysburg Address Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln Douglas Debate Lincoln. Daniel Day Lewis Lincoln. Tall guy with even taller hat Lincoln. He's on almost all the money. This is what his life was like, the body heat of a prostitute and a roomie in the mattress was a banner day. I'm Pete. I haven't freed shit. I'm 1/2 an inch shorter than Pee Wee Herman. The only way Daniel Day Lewis is going to play me in a movie is if my life takes a big fucking turn. Like huge. Where I have to be killed by detonating a volcano because I've just become too powerful to be killed otherwise. And, just being honest, I don't love it when I sit on a toilet seat and there's unexpected warmth in there. Not in love with that. So if I could just SEE some of that old stuff, that'd be better, right?
Anyway, I don't think I need to beat to death my feelings on time travel. But I'll just give them a light slaparound.
Time travel is what comes at the bottom of the well when the well runs dry and then you lower yourself down in there on some scary bucket and start digging the well deeper. Then a scary Ring girl comes out of fucking nowhere, but except for being scary, it's really not that bad because she's like 8 years old and you have a shovel, and frankly she can barely see with all her hair down over her face. So you murder a child who may or may not be already dead, you justify burying her corpse using the logic from the last sentence, and then you dig even deeper where you tap into time travel.
I'm saying that time travel is beyond scary ghost level in terms of having been done a couple times, and this book actually uses ghost level to GET TO time travel. Oh, and we use a drug trip to access the ghost to access the time travel. That's a lot of layers of things that I don't care for in a story. That's a goddamn lasagna of stuff that doesn't work too well for me. Mushroom tripping layered with ghosts, all stuffed with futurecasting.
Don't get me wrong. Lots of shit about this book is unbelievable. That's what I like about it, and I like that the unbelievable stuff is new and different. The FDA becomes an ass-kicking organization that rids the world of contraband poultry? Sold. NASA is still a real thing that can do stuff? It's probably a little wish fulfillment for me, but good enough.
It's just that I have such high expectations of this book in terms of novelty and keeping it interesting, and this particular volume missed the mark just a bit.
Okay, let's just get into the problem I have here. Keeping in mind that these are great comics and the art is so stylish and individual to Rob Guillory, and I fucking love that aspect of it.
I also love that this series seems to be building to something big, but the sad part is that sometimes you get these tweeners. The books where they kind of come down from the last big thing and then rev up for the next big thing. Maybe it's a necessary storytelling element, but I could do without.
Alright, that's out of the way.
Futurecasting. I don't really like fortune-telling stories. Because, basically, that implies that time travel is possible, right?
I'm just thinking here, but telling the future is time travel, just without moving your BODY, right? It's moving your perception forward while your body stays stationary? Which is probably better than real time travel. I'd be happy to just watch some stuff and not actually have to BE there. Abraham Lincoln slept in the same bed with this other dude because he was a broke-ass lawyer, and it was a joyous occasion to come home after the other dude had banged a prostitute because the bed was warm. That's real. That's Abraham Lincoln. Gettysburg Address Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln Douglas Debate Lincoln. Daniel Day Lewis Lincoln. Tall guy with even taller hat Lincoln. He's on almost all the money. This is what his life was like, the body heat of a prostitute and a roomie in the mattress was a banner day. I'm Pete. I haven't freed shit. I'm 1/2 an inch shorter than Pee Wee Herman. The only way Daniel Day Lewis is going to play me in a movie is if my life takes a big fucking turn. Like huge. Where I have to be killed by detonating a volcano because I've just become too powerful to be killed otherwise. And, just being honest, I don't love it when I sit on a toilet seat and there's unexpected warmth in there. Not in love with that. So if I could just SEE some of that old stuff, that'd be better, right?
Anyway, I don't think I need to beat to death my feelings on time travel. But I'll just give them a light slaparound.
Time travel is what comes at the bottom of the well when the well runs dry and then you lower yourself down in there on some scary bucket and start digging the well deeper. Then a scary Ring girl comes out of fucking nowhere, but except for being scary, it's really not that bad because she's like 8 years old and you have a shovel, and frankly she can barely see with all her hair down over her face. So you murder a child who may or may not be already dead, you justify burying her corpse using the logic from the last sentence, and then you dig even deeper where you tap into time travel.
I'm saying that time travel is beyond scary ghost level in terms of having been done a couple times, and this book actually uses ghost level to GET TO time travel. Oh, and we use a drug trip to access the ghost to access the time travel. That's a lot of layers of things that I don't care for in a story. That's a goddamn lasagna of stuff that doesn't work too well for me. Mushroom tripping layered with ghosts, all stuffed with futurecasting.
Don't get me wrong. Lots of shit about this book is unbelievable. That's what I like about it, and I like that the unbelievable stuff is new and different. The FDA becomes an ass-kicking organization that rids the world of contraband poultry? Sold. NASA is still a real thing that can do stuff? It's probably a little wish fulfillment for me, but good enough.
It's just that I have such high expectations of this book in terms of novelty and keeping it interesting, and this particular volume missed the mark just a bit.