Chew #19

Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory

It feels like a return to the 90s, as the new issue of Chew comes with a neon green fifth ink cover, reminding me of an issue of The Incredible Hulk from back in the day.

The similarities stop at the cover though, as Chew continues to be one of the most intelligent and humorous books produced each month.  The issue opens with a series of panels that happen immediately after the assassinations of four important people - the president of the US, the Queen of England, the Pope, and Chow Chu, Tony Chu's brother.

We quickly learn that none of these murders actually happen, and then Layman and Guillory settle down to explaining why that is.  Tony gets seconded to NASA for a mission with his sister, and finds himself in Area 51, working on a case that he knows nothing about.  Guillory fills the Area 51 pages with a number of inside jokes and references to TV shows and movies.  We also learn about the consequences of NASA's contingency plan for the bird flu epidemic.

This book has always been very clever, but I feel like Layman is really coming into his own in terms of the way he presents and constructs his story.  Each issue works as a one-off, but also forwards a number of other stories.  A new reader could pick this comic up at any point and enjoy it, while long-time readers like myself are rewarded in a multitude of ways each month.  This is great stuff.