January in comics

Chew Vol. 1: Taster’s Choice by John Layman and Rob Guillory

I got this recommendation from RonLit’s vlog. Chew’s wacky premise: Tony Chu gets psychic impressions from whatever he eats (except beets). This is very useful for his job at the Special Crimes Division of the FDA, but he often has to eat rather, er… unsavory things.

In the background we’re introduced to a conspiracy theory around the government’s ban on poultry due to a recent Bird Flue pandemic and the FDA’s power growth.

Written like this it sounds very weird and kind of gross, but trust me: it is absolutely disgusting at times and absolutely hilarious practically always. There are cannibal serial-killer chefs and speakeasy restaurants, an old-fashioned cop that speaks like a Victorian and… llama sex (don’t ask, just read).

As Kat said, you’ll be “fascinated but repulsed at the same time. And you will enjoy every little bit” Couldn’t have put it better myself.

Saga Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples 

Hurrah – Saga lives up to the hype! The first five-stars of the year. The amazing art comes hand in hand with a great story and greater storytelling – there’s humour and serious stuff, background information and hints about big mysteries to be unfolded in the future, just as I like it.

Staples’s personal style is realistic, but the lines are not clean (you can see her scratching), giving the art a lot of personality. The coloring is vibrant and adds to the story, especially in the impressive 2-page-wide drawings.

The pace has a good mix of action and background information, but for me it was the characterization that did it. Apart from the kick-ass main characters, I sort of developed a crush on bounty-hunter The Will and was utterly spellbound by Gwendolyn. I never get as emotionally invested with audio or comics as I do with a paper books, so Saga was ground-breaking for me. I got a serious Firefly vibe about it all, which is by no means a bad thing.

I’ll going to NY for work next week and plan a big comics shopping spree. The remaining volumes of Saga are already on the wish-list.

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Read for the Graphic Novels Challange