Chew #33

Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory

I'm not sure if there is any other comic coming out (more or less) monthly that I look forward to more than a new issue of Chew.  Layman and Guillory have worked into such a perfect groove for this title that each new issue feels better than the one before.

This issue opens on Colby having a terrible night at home, joined as he is by his boss, Director Applebee, who is forcing his company (and probably other things) onto him, and using his as a shoulder to cry on.

Tony Chu, meanwhile, is on loan to the US Navy for a mission that his him returning to the island of Yamapalu, the sight of an earlier mission for him.  Tony is being sent to abduct (render?) someone in a position of leadership in the Church of the Immaculate Ova, the chicken-worshipping cult that has been causing problems in the US.  To do this, he has to face a sciboinvalescor, a person who gains strength through ingesting food.

I don't want to give away too much about this issue, but Poyo, the cybernetic chicken killing machine has a cameo, and Guillory's depiction of the Navy is hilarious.  I've been fascinated by the turn towards darkness we've seen in Chu's behaviour, especially since that same darkness is not reflected in the rest of the comic.

If you aren't reading Chew, you really need to be.

Chew #32

Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory

I feel like I could never get tired of reading Chew, especially an issue as dense and meaty as this one.

Tony and his FDA compatriots are called out to assist a group of USDA agents, who are completely swamped by a string of attacks by members of the Immaculate Ova Cult, who have sworn to kill all chicken eaters.  Tony and his crew show up at a Mexican fast food joint, where a torta-espadero is killing agents using shuriken-shaped tortillas.

Tony handles this problem, and returns to the office to continue his investigations into the whereabouts of the cibopathic 'vampire' who killed someone close to him, while Colby and Caesar stop of at a chicken speakeasy for a little lunch.

This is a pretty pivotal issue for a few reasons.  First, Colby figures out that Caesar is still working with his (and Chu's) former partner Savoy, who has been set up all along as a villain in the book.  Colby has been steadily becoming a more complex character, and this issue really sees him grow.  The second pivotal event happens when Tony's boss gets on his case one time too many - it's a scene that made me want to cheer.

Layman and Guillory have taken this series, with its very odd central concept, and made it a very character-driven title.  While this is a humour comic, these characters have real weight to them, which makes the stakes in recent issues feel ever higher.

Chew #31

Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory

In the last issue of Chew, John Layman did something that has permanently changed the tone of this title, as a tragedy was visited on the Chu family.  This issue follows up on that event, returns the series to its roots, and also gives a clear indication of where the second half of the story is going to lead.

That's a lot to do in a single issue of a comic, especially considering that Layman and Guillory also fit in some very funny scenes and images.

The book opens with the funeral of the family member killed last month (I'm trying my best to avoid spoilers for any trade-waiters who may be reading), which also causes Tony to flash back to his wife's funeral.  This is significant because we haven't really learned much about Tony's marriage, other than that Tony keeps his wife's finger in his freezer.  At the funeral, the Chu family solidifies around Tony, something that has probably never happened before.  Also, surprisingly, he gets reinstated in the FDA, and partnered up with Colby again.

Soon they are back on the job, trying to figure out why overweight people have been combusting spontaneously.  This in turn leads the two agents to discover a larger plot taking place.

As always, Guillory makes this book, and he even makes a cameo in a scene at a comics convention.  I like the change in tone the first half of this issue shows, but also that the book returns almost immediately to the light-hearted tales that marked the first year and a half of the run.  This book is always great, but I do believe that it's getting steadily better.

Chew #30

Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory

There were plenty of signs that this issue was going to be a big, important one, but I still didn't expect it to go down the way it did.

As someone who has spent his whole life reading comics, it is rare that I am genuinely surprised or shocked by what I read.  Pretty much the only writer able to pull it off these days is Robert Kirkman, who has, three times in the last few years, caused me to pause and take a breath before continuing to read (twice major characters died, another someone special was shot in the head).  John Layman totally did it to me twice in this issue.

The book opens with Toni Chu's wedding to Paneer.  It's as great as that fold-out cover shown above makes it look, with the extended Chew cast acting much as they always do.  Oh, and Jim Mahfood makes a cameo!  It's a great scene, but as Layman has often been doing to us, it's not completely accurate, and then things take a decided turn to the dark, as some pretty terrible things happen.

I can't discuss it at all without spoiling it, except to say that this issue packs a solid emotional wallop, while still being funny as hell.  The series is now half-way through its run, and this is clearly a turning point, as the Collector (the supposedly vampiric cibopath) pushes things to a new level.

Layman and Guillory are perfect collaborators, much like Brubaker and Phillips and Kirkman and Adlard are.  Chew is one of the best comics being published today, and this is one of its best issues.  I'm still spinning from what happened in it.

Dark Horse Presents #17

Written by Carla Speed McNeil, Phil Stanford, David Chelsea, John Layman, Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, Edgar Allen Poe, Richard Corben, Michael Avon Oeming, Tony Puryear, Erika Alexander, Robert Alexander, Colin Lorimer, and Michael T. Gilbert
Art by Carla Speed McNeil, Patric Reynolds, David Chelsea, Sam Kieth, Tony Akins, Richard Corben, Victor Santos, Tony Puryear, Colin Lorimer, and Michael T. Gilbert

I don't know if it's just my mood when I read this anthology this month, but I came away from it feeling a little less than impressed.  There are still some great comics in this book, but somehow, it became much less than the sum of its parts this time around.  Let's review:

• I love 'Finder', Carla Speed McNeil's epic comics series.  The DHP stories are usually excellent, as they are beautiful.  This month's could have benefitted from the annotations that McNeil has filled her trades with; I kind of had no clue what was going on here, as Jaegar runs with some Laeske females, before being captured by some young people with horns, who appear to be poaching Laeske eggs.  I think.  Like I said, footnotes.
• For the second month in a row, Phil Stanford's 'City of Roses' feels like a lot of set-up with no pay-off.  Something solid needs to happen here soon.
• David Chelsea's 'The Girl With the Keyhole Eyes' finally finishes.  It's a cool idea - a free-form poem or stream-of-consciousness comic, but that kind of thing doesn't work in a serial format, and it got kind of repetitive.
• John Layman and Sam Kieth's Aliens story ends as most Aliens stories do; there's never a surprise there.  This story had some potential, but it never quite reached it.
• I think that 'Deep Sea', Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and Tony Akins's ocean adventure series is very interesting, and one of the most effective pieces here, while still being a standard B-movie genre piece.
• Richard Corben adapts another Edgar Allan Poe poem, 'The Sleeper'.  It's creepy and atmospheric, and less gender-ambiguously creepy as last month's.  Good stuff.
• There is a story here by Michael Avon Oeming and Victor Santos, called 'The Sacrifice', which I guess is a one-off.  It's fine, if you're okay with stories about elves and magic swords in trees.  It's pretty.
• I've been loving Concrete Park, by Tony Puryear, and I'm excited to see that the two storylines have finally collided (more or less literally), in this, the last chapter of the first 'book'.  Puryear told me that there is going to be more of this story coming soon, and I look forward to that.
• I vaguely remember the first chapter of Colin Lorimer's UXB from six months back or so, and I remember that I liked it, but I found this new chapter very ambiguous (at the end), and totally lacking in context.  
• I'm not very enthusiastic about Michael T. Gilbert's Mr. Monster.  Actually, I never bothered to finish this story.

Here's hoping that next month's DHP is a little more impressive.

Chew #29

Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory

It's time for another great issue of Chew.  What I'm finding very cool about this book lately is the way in which Tony Chu, the main and title character, has been relegated to a supporting role while he recovers from his injuries.

This month, Tony's sister, his ex-partner, and his other ex-partner's ex-(and still-)partner team up to foil a plan by the powerful cibopath known as the Vampire and the Collector, from adding a new power-set to his collection.

A victuspeciosian has set up a beauty parlour, and the FDA, NASA, and the USDA have decided that they need an inter-agency task force to bring her down.  What's a victuspeciosian you ask?  Well, a victuspeciosian is a person who has the rare ability to use a combination of food products to temporarily alter the appearance of another person into whatever they wish.  I'm sure, for a gifted etymologist, that would be obvious.  The rest of us must continue to rely on John Layman's helpful notes.

As always, this is a fun issue of Chew, with excellent writing and art, a novel situation, and more than a few terrific sight gags.  Oh, and Poyo the cybernetic rooster fights a giant Mecha-Turducken in Japan.  Great stuff.

Skullkickers #18

Written by Justin Jordan, Blair Butler, Charles Soule, J. Torres, John Layman, and Aubrey Sitterson
Art by Tradd Moore, Enrique Rivera, Michael Mayne, Alberto J. Alburquerque, Rob Guillory, and Ivan Anaya

In some ways, I think I prefer the 'Tavern Tales' issues of Skullkickers that show up between story arcs more than I do the actual comic itself sometimes.  This latest version, 'Son of Tavern Tales', has six short stories that more or less perfectly distill what makes Skullkickers work so well.

The book opens with the Luther Strode team of Justin Jordan and Tradd Moore (who clearly has never seen another picture of a dwarf).  Their story is cute and amusing, as is the one after it by Blair Butler and Enrique Rivera.

Charles Soule and Michael Mayne give us a great story about the world's best beer, and the strange creature that makes it so great.  J. Torres and Alberto J. Alburquerque show what happens with role playing games get out of hand (always zombies).

The Chew team provide the best story in this book, as our favourite mercenaries try to figure out a way to scam themselves free beer for life in a bar where the owner has an interest in collecting mythological    tail.  (I was hoping for a Poyo cameo, but no luck).

The final story, by Aubrey Sitterson and Ivan Anaya show that in medieval fantasy times, guilds operated much like unions do today.

This extra-sized issue was a nice treat.  This series is going on a bit of a hiatus until next year, and I look forward to its return, but I look even more forward to the Tavern Tales issue that comes after the next arc.

Dark Horse Presents #16

Written by Phil Stanford, John Layman, David Chelsea, Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, Carla Speed McNeil, Erika Alexander, Tony Puryear, Edgar Allan Poe, Richard Corben, Nate Cosby, Bo Hampton, Robert Tinnell, and Chad Lambert
Art by Patric Reynolds, Sam Kieth, David Chelsea, Tony Akins, Carla Speed McNeil, Tony Puryear, Richard Corben, Evan Shaner, Bo Hampton, and Apri Kusbiantoro

Another month, another collection of short comics of varying topic and quality.  Let's see what was impressive...

Of course, I continue to love Carla Speed McNeil's Finder the best.  This episode has Jaeger wandering the desert looking for water, which is the way to complete the ritual he began last month.  I love the complexity of McNeil's world, although I do really miss the explanatory notes that she has filled her collections with - not because I need them to understand the story, but because they help me appreciate how truly layered and well-realized her fiction is.  The colours this month, done by Jenn Manly Lee and Bill Mudron, look very different from what we've seen before.

Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, probably the two most prolific writers and idea creators in comics, start Deep Sea this month.  Usually these two work for DC or Image, and it's interesting to see them providing a story for DHP when they could just as easily include it in their own anthology Creator-Owned Heroes (unless, of course, there is no one heroic in their comic).  This is an ocean bottom exploration/love story/potential time travel story, and it looks pretty interesting.  Art by Tony Akins never hurts.

Concrete Park has another good chapter, as the two strands of the story get closer to colliding.  Tony Puryear and his crew have really caught my attention with this series, and I look forward to seeing where this is going.

Richard Corben adapts Edgar Allan Poe's 'Berenice', a strange story about an obsessive young man who marries a woman with alluring teeth.  For some reason Corben adds a gender-bending element to the story that is probably not in the original, and it makes the story extra disturbing and bizarre.

Chad Lambert returns with another comic memoir about his days in the radio industry.  I particularly appreciated the love Lambert shows for my all-time favourite sitcom 'WKRP in Cincinnati', both literally and figuratively.  What is it about Cincinnati and autobiographical comics anyway?

John Layman and Sam Kieth's strange Aliens story takes a turn for the worse again, mostly due to Kieth's rushed-looking art.  Bo Hampton's Riven continues to feel like a big part of the story is missing, and Nate Cosby and Evan Shaner's Buddy Cops continues to be amusing, but not my cup of tea.  David Chelsea's 'The Girl With the Keyhole Eyes' is a cool idea that is being done to death; I think if this free-form thought poem of a comic were shorter, it would be much less exasperating.

The new serial, 'Crime Does Not Pay', by Phil Stanford and Patric Reynolds was pretty underwhelming.  The trick with crime comics is to not make them be something everyone has read multiple times before.  This is not that.

Chew #28

Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory

There's nothing quite so satisfying as a new issue of Chew.  It's been a while since we've checked in with Tony and his crew - there was the Agent Poyo one-shot, and before that the second printing of issue 27, which was first released out of sequence over a year ago, and so issue 26 feels like it was a long time ago.

In this issue, Tony Chu is still in the hospital, although he has regained consciousness, even if he still needs high doses of pain medication to stay awake.  And whatever medication he's on, it causes him to see people as talking animals, which is always fun.

Anyway, Tony is needed by his former partners Colby and Caesar, who have come to him for help with their latest case, despite their each being from a rival agency.  It would seem that a scientist has learned how to weaponize meat, creating cows that spontaneously and explosively combust when they begin to decompose.  The terrorist group EGG have used this meat to bomb a fashion show wherein the models walk the runway in clothing made out of food, so both the FDA and the USDA are determined to put a stop to EGG and the scientist's mad science.

Only in Chew would this be a viable plot, and that is what makes this comic so great.  It revels in its own weirdness, as it feels like Layman and Guillory constantly challenge each other to come up with something wilder each issue.

This issue is as good as this series gets.  We learn why Tony's sister Toni is familiar to Caesar, Poyo gets to be Poyo (he's one of the greatest comics characters of the 21st Century - he's the cyborg rooster on the cover, if you didn't know), and Guillory fills each page with sight gags in addition to telling a great story.

To top it off, there is a preview of the upcoming series Great Pacific, which looks very good.

Dark Horse Presents #15

Written by Michael Avon Oeming, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Carla Speed McNeil, David Chelsea, Erika Alexander, Tony Puryear, John Layman, Bo Hampton, Robert Tinnell, Arvid Nelson, Nate Cosby, Mike Baron, and Kim W. Anderson
Art by Michael Avon Oeming, Phil Noto, Carla Speed McNeil, David Chelsea, Tony Puryear, Sam Kieth, Bo Hampton, Juan Ferreya, Evan Shaner, Steve Rude, and Kim W. Anderson

At this point, I'm pretty sure I would buy Dark Horse Presents every month just for Carla Speed McNeil's Finder.  Were the rest of the book full of stories by Howard Chaykin, Neal Adams (writing his own work), Jeph Loeb, Rob Liefeld, Mark Bagley, and Chuck Austen, I would probably still buy it, and only read McNeil's story.  That's how good Finder is.

In this newest chapter, Jaeger, stuck in the middle of the conflict over an Ascian burial ground, takes on his role as Sin-Eater, in an act that is equally horrifying and noble.  McNeil has often referred to her brilliant science fiction comic as 'aboriginal sci-fi', and that is clearly what is happening here.  It's very good, very powerful stuff.

This issue of DHP also brings back the series Rex Mundi, in a surprise story featuring Brother Moricant.  I'm not sure what all new readers would get from this comic, but it is nice to see Arvid Nelson and Juan Ferreya working together again, and I've always loved the masks that the brothers of the Inquisition wear.

John Layman and Sam Kieth's Aliens story snaps into focus this month, as we finally get a more solid understanding of the female main character.  Layman is not writing a traditional Aliens story at all here, and it's a bit of a shame that it's taken so long for that to become clear.  Were this a mini-series, that could be read in larger chunks, it would have probably worked better.

Michael Avon Oeming's Wild Rover, which gets the cover this month, also becomes clearer and more interesting, as a dark horror story.  Bo Hampton and Robert Tinnell's Riven jumps up a number of years this issue, and continues to build the groundwork for a successful horror tale.

I'm continuing to get a lot of enjoyment out of Tony Puryear's Concrete Park, which jumps all over the place, but is always an engaging read.

Kim W. Anderson gives us another story of twisted love, which works like an old school EC horror story, updated for the Internet age.  David Chelsea gives us an improvisational story with 'The Girl With the Keyhole Eyes', and the newest chapter of Ghost continues to be decent.

I'm glad that there's so much to enjoy in this series beyond the Finder chapter, which makes this a must-buy.

Dark Horse Presents #14

Written by John Layman, Carla Speed McNeil, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Dean Motter, Mark Verheiden, Bryan Oh, Tony Puryear, Mike Baron, Bo Hampton, Robert Tinnell, Chad Lambert, Michael Avon Oeming, Nate Cosby, George Schall, Rodrigo Alonso, and Kim W. Anderson
Art by Sam Kieth, Carla Speed McNeil, Phil Noto, Dean Motter, Mark Nelson, Tony Puryear, Steve Rude, Bo Hampton, Apri Kusbiantoro, Michael Avon Oeming, Evan Shaner, George Schall, and Kim W. Anderson

This month, Dark Horse Presents is 104 pages long.  Take in the fact that that is equivalent to more than five comics from Marvel or DC, which could run you between 14.95 and 19.95, yet this book only costs $7.99.  Clearly, the fine people at Dark Horse know how to give you value for your money.  Even if you don't love every story in here, you only need to love half of them or less to feel that you got your money's worth, right?

For me, as always, the Finder story is worth the price of admission.  This month's instalment is great.  Jaegar is still hanging out in Third World, the contested and unorganized region far outside the domed cities or tribal lands where he usually spends his time.  He comes across a cemetery in a field that is at the centre of a large, and loud, dispute between various factions.  It seems that a hotel corporation wants to build on the field, and were paying to relocate the bodies buried there.  That's all good, but a large number of previously unknown bodies have been found, and they are clearly Ascian.  Ascians, like Jaegar, are an indigenous people in McNeil's world, and the story can be read as a comment on problems that exist in North America today around sacred Aboriginal ground and the balancing act needed between tradition, cultural sensitivity, and the needs of commerce and current lifestyles.  But, this being Finder, it's not long before Jaegar finds himself stuck in the middle, and being perhaps, the only person who can resolve this issue, whether he wants to or not.  Great stuff, although I was hoping we'd see a little more of Professor Shar.

Also of note this month is the return of Tony Puryear's excellent Concrete Park strip.  It's been a little while, so I was a little lost as to what's going on, but I'm really enjoying Puryear's gangsta sci-fi.

Dean Motter's Mister X wrapped up in this issue.  This was a good enough story, but not among Motter's greatest.  Kelly Sue DeConnick and Phil Noto's Ghost works well, and John Layman and Sam Kieth's Aliens is much improved.

Nexus, by Mike Baron and Steve Rude, still doesn't appeal to me, but I did make it through this whole story about invasive alien bugs and a creepy space ship that has been in orbit around Ylam for fourteen years.

There are a number of new strips that debut this month.  Some are one-offs, and others are set to continue.  Some, I'm not sure if this is it or not.  Mark Verheiden (been a long time since I've seen his name), Bryan Oh, and Mark Nelson have a good story about humans fighting an alien invasion in Falling Skies.  It's a little familiar, but it's well told. 

Bo Hampton and Robert Tinnell begin Riven, a creepy monster story involving a strange little girl adopted out of a Romanian orphanage right after Ceaucescu's regime fell.  This story is full of suspense, and hinges on many successful little details.  I was pretty impressed by it, and look forward to seeing where it goes.

Radio Ga Ga is a memoir by Chad Lambert and drawn by Apri Kubiantoro (whose work reminds me of Francesco Francavilla, only rougher).  Lambert tells a story about his radio days, when a joke he made on the air was reported to the Secret Service as a threat to President Clinton's life.  Lambert writes this like a Harvey Pekar story, a fact driven home as he narrates it in a comic store, in front of an issue of American Splendor.  I love this story simply for the fact that it references WKRP...

Michael Avon Oeming's Wild Rover is a dark little tale about a man who is convinced that his vices are being caused by an evil entity in his stomach.  This is a very piercing story that shows a side of Oeming that I haven't seen in his work before.

Buddy Cops, by Nate Cosby and Evan Shaner, is a fun little strip about a Green Lantern-like galactic protector who has been demoted to serving on the NYPD, and his super-serious android partner.  It's cute.

A Spy Dream, by George Schall with writing assist by Rodrigo Alonso is a very cool little story about a female spy who dreams about settling down with her lover, who is on the other side, or is conversely about a bored housewife who dreams about being a spy.  It's beautifully drawn.

Finally (I'm not going to mention the short humour strips, as they don't appeal to me at all), there's Love Hurts, Kim W. Anderson's strip about a woman who meets the perfect guy in the park.  There's a sinister side to his knowledge of all her favourite things though.  It doesn't help that the guy looks just like Steve Buscemi.

In all, a very satisfying heap of comics for a good price.

Chew: Secret Agent Poyo #1

Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory

Poyo is a gamecock from an island in the South Pacific, who first appeared in Chew when main character Tony Chu was in that part of the world looking to rescue his brother from a cibopathic vampire.  There was something about Poyo, who was unstoppable, that resonated with readers, and so the character returned, enhanced with cybernetics, and as an agent of the USDA.

Now, Poyo finally gets his own one-shot, and it's about as strange and over-the-top as you can expect.  Poyo is sent to England to assist in an investigation involving a twisted scientist who specializes in ranapuliva, or the raining of frogs from the sky.  He's using his knowledge to terrorize England Dr. Evil style, with the threat of dropping all sorts of farm animals on downtown London.

It's a silly plot, but it works for this book.  As is often the case with Chew, Rob Guillory peppers each page with little sight gags and amusing moments.  Tony Chu's former partner, and Poyo's new partner Colby has a cameo, but for the most part, this story exists outside of the Chew continuity. 

There are some great pin-ups as well, by artists such as Ben Templesmith, Joe Eisma, and Jim Mahfood.  This is good stuff.

Dark Horse Presents #13

Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick, John Arcudi, Carla Speed McNeil, Steve Niles, John Layman, Tim Seeley, Francesco Francavilla, Andrew Vachss, Mike Baron, and Dean Motter
Art by Phil Noto, Jonathan Case, Carla Speed McNeil, Christopher Mitten, Sam Kieth, Victor Drujiniu, Francesco Francavilla, Geof Darrow, Steve Rude, and Dean Motter

Sometimes I worry that this anthology is not always the best place for some of the comics that Dark Horse is presenting in it.  Lately, they've begun stories in DHP, and then spun them off into their own mini-series (such as Resident Alien) or on-goings (like The Massive).  In the latter's case, the stories were clearly serving an introductory role, and that was fine, but in the case of Resident Alien, the story was simply begun here, and then continued elsewhere, which makes it a tough story to follow for readers of this book, or for people who picked up the first issue, and would have had no clue what was going on (the DHP stories were printed again in a '0' issue).

I bring this up, because the 'concluding' chapter to Steve Niles and Christopher Mittens's Criminal Macabre story this month just stops; it doesn't really end.  At least the Occultist, which also concludes this month, more or less finished its story, while still setting things up to be returned to later down the road.

On the positive side, and worth the purchase of the book, is the new Finder story by Carla Speed McNeil.  She is continuing to examine the lives of Ascians in the region called Third World, as Jaeger and his new friend help an artist trying to sell her paintings.  At the contemporary museum, her work is too 'archaeological' and indigenous, but at the archaeology museum, her work is too contemporary, a trap which many indigenous and minority painters find themselves in.  There is a surprise return of an older character at the end of the story, which made me happy, but which would be utterly puzzling to a new reader.  I wish that McNeil was providing footnotes to these stories.

Also of interest this month is the continuation of Dean Motter's Mister X story, and John Arcudi and Jonathan Case's The Creep, which is excellent.  The Aliens story, by John Layman and Sam Kieth is a little better than its debut chapter, and Francesco Francavilla's Black Beetle is pretty, if also pretty standard.

The return of The Ghost, by Kelly Sue DeConnick didn't excite me too much, but it's an interesting story created by two very gifted comics creators; I'm going to see where it leads before I pass judgement. 

Andrew Vachss's prose story of child predators on the internet and the motley collection of freaks who hunt them down for profit was disturbing and weird, but not in a good way.  Nexus is boring.

Dark Horse Presents #12

Written by John Layman, John Arcudi, Carla Speed McNeil, Steve Niles, Evan Dorkin, Tim Seeley, Francesco Francavilla, Dean Motter, Mike Baron, Harlan Ellison, and Mike Russell
Art by Sam Kieth, Jonathan Case, Carla Speed McNeil, Christopher Mitten, Evan Dorkin, Victor Drujiniu, Francisco Francavilla, Dean Motter, Steve Rude, Richard Corben, Mike Russell, and Geof Darrow

A few new serials begin with this issue of Dark Horse Presents, which is always a good thing, as it shows that this title is constantly evolving and trying new things, or as is more the case with this issue, returning to its roots.

One of the new series is Mister X, Dean Motter's classic examination of the effect of architecture on weak minds, set in a Deco-styled environment.  I've been a fan of this series for a long time, so it's very nice to see it come back, even if this first installment is mostly just set-up for a new story involving the kidnapping of an heir to a pyschotropic pharmaceutical empire.

We also see the return of Aliens to DHP.  This property is one of the ones that Dark Horse made its name by publishing back in the day, but this first chapter didn't do much for me.  John Layman's writing was fine (if miles away from the tone he uses on Chew), but Sam Kieth couldn't make up his mind between drawing beautiful and detailed images (the first three pages) or aping Kyle Baker at his worst (the rest of it).

Also showing up for the first time in many years is Mike Baron and Steve Rude's Nexus, which I've never read before now.  I wasn't too impressed, really.  This reads like an Adam Strange story, and while Rude's art is always lovely, I wouldn't pursue this story into its own title.

There is also a prose story by Harlan Ellison, with a couple of illustrations by Richard Corben.  I've always admired Ellison more in terms of reputation than his actual writing, and this story did not hold my interests.  Likewise, I had to give up on Evan Dorkin's story about zombie cosplayers, which was way too wordy for me.

The new chapter of Finder, however, was brilliant once again.  Carla Speed McNeil has Jaeger examining the region called Third World, and this leads to some interesting conversations about class distinction, 'First World' ego, and the place of nomadic tribes like the Ascians in the world.  I miss her detailed footnotes, but am extremely happy whenever another chapter of Finder shows up.

I also enjoyed the new chapters of Francavilla's Black Beetle and Seeley and Drujiniu's The Occultist.  Arcudi and Case's The Creep was also very good.  The Criminal Macabre story held my interests more than it usually does too.

In all, another successful issue for this meaty anthology comic.

Chew #26

Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory

You know the drill by now - a new issue of Chew comes out, and it's excellent.  One could almost get bored of the whole thing, except that this book is never boring, and constantly moves in different directions, to keep things fresh, and to move forward Layman's large story - the new story arc that begins (and ends?) here, 'Space Cakes', is the one that marks the middle of the series, story arc wise, if not in terms of issue numbers.

This issue stars Toni Chu, Tony's twin sister.  She works for NASA, and has some food-related powers, like her brother.  She is asked by her older brother Chow to help him stop a rival chef from destroying a pile of very special paintings, but things are not all that they seem.

Layman has a lot more going on in this issue than just that.  We get a glimpse of Toni's relationship with her boss at NASA (including a splash page that seems very familiar), and check in on Tony in the hospital.  Once again, artist Rob Guillory impresses me with his art, and the numerous humorous signs he posts all over his backgrounds.

Chew is a great comic.  I'm a little miffed at having to skip the next issue (which was curiously already published a while back in an odd little gimmick), as I would have thought that the creators would have jumped straight to issue 28, instead of reprinting issue 27.  It's hard to wait a month for each new issue of Chew - it's even more difficult when the wait is going to longer.

Chew #25

Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory

I don't know how Layman and Guillory are just so good at giving Chew fans what they want (even when they don't know that they wanted it until after it happened) with each and every issue.  There are so many terrific moments in this comic, that it's difficult to list them all.

Here are some reasons to buy this comic, more or less in order:

-  The first page is chill inducing in the utter horror that it evokes, while also being hilarious.
-  There is a flash-forward to the final issue of the series (number 60) that suggests great changes in Tony Chu's future, while showing that other things will remain constant.
-  Amelia Mintz, Tony's girlfriend, is the only person who seems to notice and/or care that Tony has been missing for ages, and takes on the mantle of hero, in her quest to go find him.
-  The auction that Amelia's ex-boyfriend is holding to sell Tony and his cibopath abilities to the highest bidder is attended by some of the most visually interesting special interest groups you can imagine (and the two old guys from the Muppets).
-  Tony kicks ass, using a new manifestation of his abilities.
-  A fan favourite character makes his triumphant return (I'm not saying who, but it made me very happy) on the last page.

I absolutely love this comic.  Each issue cracks me up, but also maintains great consistency in terms of advancing its larger plot, and never gets lost in the jokes and endless asides. The next issue promises a Toni and Chow team-up.  I can't wait!

Chew #24

Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory

How many comics are being published today that are as consistently excellent as Chew?  I think of Scalped, The Walking Dead, Invincible (I know how it looks, but unlike Olive in this comic, I don't have a Robert Kirkman poster on any of my walls), The Unwritten, and that's about it.

The consequence of this is that it's hard to write something new about this comic each month.  John Layman's story is becoming ever more sprawling, yet always very character-driven. 

This month, the focus is on Tony Chu's daughter Olive.  She's started working with Savoy and Velazano, who are following a Xocoscalpere in the hopes that he can lead them to the Russian or Serbian vampire guy who has been lurking in the shadows of this title for quite some time.  A Xocoscalpere is someone who can sculpt machinery out of chocolate (and only chocolate) that works just like items made of steel or plastic.

As usual, the story is quite amusing, and Rob Guillory's art is fantastic.  Chew is wonderful.  There's not much more to say about it than that.

Chew #27

Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory

Layman and Guillory like to push the boundaries on Chew, and this issue is no exception, as they decide to jump a year in the future (accounting for some delays) and give us issue 27 (last month we read #18).

It's an interesting storytelling technique, as we get some interesting hints as to what will happen to Tony, but don't find out too much more than that he's going to be badly injured, and won't be working for the FDA much longer.  There's no sign of Colby or Amelia, and the main character of the issue is Toni, Tony's sister who works for NASA.

It seems that Toni has a friend who collects rare breeds of frog (who doesn't), and acquired some of the Chog (chicken/frog hybrids who have shown up in the book before).  Well, Chog's breed like crazy, and have reproduced with some hallucinogenic frogs, who have now been acquired by our old friend D-Bear.  Much of this issue is designed to echo the events of Chew #1, which is pretty funny.

I'm not sure how necessary this future issue gimmick really is, but it's all good.  The one thing that can always be counted on is that this book is going to stay fresh and unpredictable, while also having a very tightly-plotted, large story.  Good stuff.

EDIT:  I have no idea why this post has jumped up in time to today, when it was written when the comic originally came out months ago...

Chew #23

Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory

Only John Layman could come up with a plot as twisted as the one that sportswriter Don Frank has concocted in this issue of Chew.  We know Don as the former boyfriend of Amelia Nitz, Tony Chu's girlfriend.  Last issue, he and a group of his friends kidnapped Tony, and the reason is brilliant.

You see, Tony's a cibopath - when he eats something, he learns its entire history.  Don wants to write a book about the sex lives of famous dead baseball players, and he's realized that, were he to exhume the bodies of Babe Ruth and his contemporaries, and force-feed them to Tony, he'd be set.  So simple, it's amazing no one's ever thought of it before, right?

So, while Tony is being held captive, and his daughter is missing, we also get to check in on his former partner, Colby, who has been reassigned to the USDA.  We've seen this government agency in this comic before - USDA agents are partnered with animals, so Colby's is now working with Agent Buttercup, a lion.  His career trajectory is taking a similar path to Tony's at the FDA, as his superior clearly has it out for him.  Of course, Colby has a way of dealing with people...

As always, this book is wickedly funny.  Layman and Guillory are the Brubaker and Phillips of food-based comic science fiction.

Chew #22

Written by John Layman
Art by Rob Guillory

Month after month, Chew is one of the most satisfying comics on the stands.  This current arc, Major League Chew, is a little different from previous ones, in that the story directly continues from one issue to the other, whereas lately, each arc has been made up on done-in-one comics.  I like that, as Layman's story becomes ever more complex, that the stories are going to start getting longer.

This month, Tony is trying to figure out what has happened to his daughter, Olive, who has gone missing.  As a traffic cop now, Tony has very few resources at his disposal, so he turns to his former colleague at the FDA, Caesar Valenzano, who is being run ragged since Tony was transferred, and has to do all of the awful jobs that his boss used to dump on Tony.

Most of the issue is centred on Caesar and his new partner's investigation of a coffee shop that is believed to be influencing a crime spree.  Instructions are being given to people in the foam of their latte, and the explanation of how Casear is saved from a bad situation is one of the funniest moments in the comic.

As always, this is a great book.