The latest issue of Chew comes out next week and I was so thrilled to get to read it a week ahead of time. John Layman continues his insane writing that just leaves me completely at a loss for what to expect when he starts writing Detective Comics next month. This issue continues to ramp up the insanity and, interestingly enough, the cover is not really a lie.
With this issue we are three issues into the five issue arc of Space Cakes. It appears that there isn’t really any one, strong story for this arc. Unlike the early issues of Chew, this arc seems to be a series of unrelated stories with the unifying factor being Toni. Just as in the previous issue we get a glimpse of just how crazy NASA is in the world of Chew. I love Layman's view of what goes on at these top institutions. Some of my favorite gags early on involved the observatory. That said, Toni takes a backseat to the main story in this issue. We have the return of Poyo to the regular Chew storyline as Agent Colby appears to have ditched his lion partner in favor of the demonic, cyborg rooster.
While each individual issue of Chew continues to rock, the series as a whole appears to have lost its momentum. Ever since Tony Chu and Mason Savoy parted ways the story doesn’t seem to have the same drive towards a story that transcends all the arcs. It’s possible that it’s not so much that Layman has lost the plot as that as I have gone from reading Chew trades to reading individual issues it tends to feel more fragmented. It’ll certainly be interesting to read all sixty issues back to back when the series has ended.
I’m still strongly recommending Chew. Even though this issue doesn’t seem to advance the story, it’s still full of fun and fascinating characters. Layman continues to surprise me with how adept he is at coming up with cases for the cast of Chew to solve. Every time I read the prologue to an issue I can’t wait to see just how it all ties in and how the agents will solve the mystery. So pick this issue up when it comes out next week on 12 September.
