Chew #12

Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory

Chew hits the one-year mark in good form, as Poyo, the cockfighter from Yamapalu makes an appearance in New York, Tony goes undercover with D-Bear, gets closer to Amelia, and figures out just what his partner did to get the boss off his back.

This issue is supposed to be the second chapter of a new story arc, but the arcs seem a little arbitrary here, or perhaps thematic, like they are in Elephantmen, as opposed to being a single story.  I like how Layman has been planting future story elements throughout this series, so that he can make use of them at will.  I hadn't expected to see D-Bear, the chicken dealer from the first couple of issues, return to the series at all.  When he does show up, it gives the reader the feeling that there is a well-plotted master plan for this book, which is nice.

As usual, this book has a good blend of humour and great art.  If you haven't read Chew yet, it's worth checking out the Omnivore Edition, which contains the first ten issues.