I’m back! Convention season is over for me (for now), so let’s get right back to the weekly reviews! Pick Of The Week goes to Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli for Amazing Spider-Man #683 (Marvel)! Fast Five picks include Swamp Thing #8 (DC), Invincible #90 (Image), Avengers Academy #28 (Marvel), Sweet Tooth #32 (Vertigo), and CHEW #25 (Image). Spoilers!

Episode 200! Damn it feels good to be a gangsta! The Pick Of The Week for this momentous episode goes to John Layman & Rob Guillory for CHEW #24 (Image)! Fast Five picks include American Vampire #24 (Vertigo), Wolverine & The X-Men #6 (Marvel), Prophet #22 (Image), All-Star Western #6 (DC), and Fantastic Four #603 (Marvel). Spoilers!

Big thanks to all the fans and creators for 200 amazing episodes! I feel like the prettiest belle at the ball!

How much do I love thee, comics? Allow me to count the ways…Pick Of The Week goes to John Layman and Rob Guillory for CHEW #23 (Image). Fast Five picks include Batman #5 (DC), Daredevil #8 (Marvel), Wonder Woman #5 (DC), Moon Knight #9 (Marvel) and Catwoman #5 (DC). Spoilers!

It’s on like Diddy Kong! Pick Of The Week goes to Dan DiDio, Keith Giffen and Scott Koblish for O.M.A.C. #2 (DC)! Fast Five picks include Action Comics #2 (DC), CHEW #21 (Image), Detective Comics #2 (DC), Casanova: Avaritia #2 (Icon), and Justice League International #2 (DC).

No pick this week, be we do have a super awesome Fast Five! Picks include Sweet Tooth #23 (Vertigo), Flashpoint #3 (DC), CHEW #19 (Image), Jonah Hex #69 (DC), and Batman: Knight of Vengeance #2 (DC).

No Pick Of The Week, but we have a wonderful Fast Five! Picks include Daredevil: Reborn #4 (Marvel), Batman Incorporated #6 (DC), CHEW #27 (Image), FF #3 (Marvel), and R.E.B.E.L.S. #28 (DC).

This episode has been brought to you by, VALKYRIE SQUADRON!

The review episodes are back! No pick this week, but we do have a Fast Five! Affordable Fast Five picks include Chew #18 (Image), Jonah Hex #66 (DC), Nonplayer #1 (Image), Sweet Tooth #20 (Vertigo), and Who Is Jake Ellis? #3 (Image).

It’s been a hectic week, so I’ll have the Book Of The Month show up within the next few days!

In this special episode, Cammy the elf helps you with some gift suggestions for that special geek in your life.

Chew – The Omnivore Edition Vol. 1

Written by John Layman

Illustrated by Rob Guillory

Image Comics

Now usually I don’t do themed Book Of The Month selections. I mean October is always fun to review a horror comic, but that’s about as usually far as I’ll go theme-wise. However when you see a holiday and a graphic novel go together like Native Americans & Pilgrims, you just have to take advantage of it. That’s why I decided to choose the first hardcover of Chew by John Layman and Rob Guillory. I can’t help it if I think of Thanksgiving and eating & Chew. After you’ve read the graphic novel, it’ll all make sense to you. Trust me.

Chew debuted back in 2009 and became an instant success. So much so, that the first issue alone went back for multiple printings. Now that may be normal for some series, but for a comic nobody heard anything about? That’s pretty fantastic. The story takes place in a world where chicken is illegal. There was an avian flu outbreak that killed tens of thousands of people across the country, and the FDA is the government agency in charge of keeping the peace. The main character of the series, Tony Chu, is a police detective from Philadelphia who has an uncanny ability to get psychic impressions of anything he eats. He’s cibopathic, which means if he eats a burger, he gets the entire history of where it came from. The only food he’s able to eat to keep from getting these horrible images is beets. They’re boring, bland, and bearable. After a recent bust on a restaurant serving chicken, he’s scooped-up by a special section of the FDA dedicated to investigating food and anything weird or bizarre involving it. Along the way we’re introduced to the rest of the players; his veteran new partner Mason Savoy, the love of his life Amelia Mintz, and so on and so forth.

Each character is truly unique in this ingenious setting. While cibopaths like Tony and Mason can get a mental image of food when eaten, Amelia is a saboscrinver, who can write about food so vividly and precisely, that you can taste what she’s writing about. It doesn’t stop there! All throughout this volume you’re introduced to several characters along the same vein of Tony and Amelia, only they’re abilities are slightly different but still revolving around food. I can just imagine John Layman giggling like a little school girl in front of his typewriter, thinking up the abilities no one has dared to think-up yet.

The art in this book is to die for. Rob Guillory’s designs are fun yet action-packed page after page. Each character has his or her own quirky style, and it never strays from the original design; consistency is a dish best served warm. One of my favorite parts about the art is the things that you don’t notice at first in the background. You might catch it on the second read, and suddenly burst out laughing like I’m one to do. I don’t want to ruin the little jokes, so I’ll just leave it at this; inspect every little sign, bottle logo, or writing on papers. It’s little Easter eggs like those that add the cherry on top of this cake of awesome.

The hardcover itself is wonderful quality. Myself owning all of The Walking Dead hard covers, I’ve come to love Image’s consistency from volume to volume. It makes my bookshelves look nice, with some feel of organization and unity. And the extras in the back are well worth the purchase too; you get scripts, sketches, and the original pitch. I love me some DVD-esque extras!

So in conclusion, this series is one of my new favorites that I look forward to every month. Humor, action and romance all rolled-into one floppy comic for $3. However, it’s so good that I also plan on buying all the hard covers to lend to friends and family in the future. It’s just that good to buy twice. Of all the independent comics that have come out in the past decade, I put Chew in my Top 5, no question. It’s one of those comics that anyone can enjoy, and I’ve already had reports of people getting hooked on the plot alone, who have never picked-up a comic before in their life. We need more comics like that; fun, and a gateway comic to several thousand other stories hidden away in local comic shops across the globe, waiting to be read by virgin eyes.

This Thanksgiving, be thankful you’re not a cibopath, and pass along the stuffing to Aunt Sally, followed by the Chew – Omnivore Edition Vol. 1. She’ll like it so much, she’ll want seconds.

Book Of The Month – June – LOCAL

Book Of The Month – July – Sub-Mariner: The Depths

Book Of The Month – August – Superman: Secret Identity

Book Of The Month – October – Welcome To Hoxford

Book Of The Month – November – The Nightly News

Book Of The Month – December – CLA$$WAR

Book Of The Month – January – The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite

Book Of The Month – February – Locke & Key: Welcome To Lovecraft

Book Of The Month – March – Mini Marvels Ultimate Collection

Book Of The Month – April – Asterios Polyp

Book Of The Month – May – Green Lantern: Secret Origin

Book Of The Month – June – Titanium Rain: Book One

Book Of The Month – July – Irredeemable Vol. 1

Book Of The Month – August – Marsh Rocket

Book Of The Month – September – Invincible Ultimate Collection 1

Book Of The Month – October – The God Machine Vol. 1

In this special episode, I interview writer extraordinaire John Layman. We discuss influences, his experience as an editor at WildStorm, and the monumental success of CHEW from Image.