Chew #1

History

Writer John Layman conceived the series out of the avian-flu panic of the mid-2000s, building a satirical near-future in which the U.S. government has outlawed all poultry and the FDA has become the most powerful law-enforcement agency on the planet. After pitching the book unsuccessfully elsewhere, Layman was reluctant to approach Image Comics — his 'last refuge,' as he put it — but eventually got the title greenlit after fellow Image creator Robert Kirkman intervened with publisher Eric Stephenson on his behalf. Layman had originally envisioned more restrained artwork, but artist Rob Guillory's exuberantly cartoony Louisiana-bred style turned out to be precisely what the book needed, and Guillory handled both pencils and inks while Layman lettered the series himself. The first two printings of issue #1 — totaling roughly 9,000 copies combined — sold out on their June 2009 release date, prompting at least four standard printings, a limited black-and-white variant through Larry's Comics, and a promotional flipbook edition bundled with The Walking Dead #63 — the latter arranged personally by Robert Kirkman to put the sold-out issue into as many hands as possible at no extra cost to readers.

Trivia · 10 facts

• First appearance of Tony Chu, a Philadelphia Police Department officer who is 'cibopathic' — able to receive psychic impressions from anything he eats or touches with his mouth.
• First appearance of supporting cast members John Colby (Tony's police partner), Mason Savoy (FDA agent), Chow Chu (Tony's brother, a disgraced TV chef), and villain D-Bear.
• First appearance of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a major in-universe institution, established in the story as the most powerful law-enforcement body in a world where chicken is prohibited following an avian-flu catastrophe.
• Written by John Layman and illustrated by Rob Guillory; Layman also served as letterer throughout the entire series run.
• Published June 3, 2009, by Image Comics; the first arc 'Taster's Choice' collected issues #1–5 as the debut trade paperback.
• The first issue went through at least four printings, each distinguished by a different logo color: red (1st print), light green (2nd), blue (3rd), and off-white (4th).
• A promotional flipbook edition paired a black-and-white reprint of Chew #1 with The Walking Dead #63 (July 2009), arranged by Robert Kirkman to give sold-out readers free access to the debut issue.
• The series earned the Eisner Award for Best New Series (2010) and Best Ongoing Series (2011), plus the Harvey Award for Best New Series (2010) and a Harvey Award for Best New Talent for Rob Guillory; it was also named IGN Best Indie Series and MTV Best New Series for 2009.
• A live-action adaptation was announced for Showtime circa 2010–2011 but did not proceed; an animated feature with Steven Yeun as Tony Chu was announced in 2014 but also did not go into production.
• The series concluded at issue #60 in November 2016 and spawned a spin-off series, Chu (2020), following Tony's sister Saffron Chu, written by Layman.

Full credits

Variants (4)