Chu vol. 1: The First Course

I don’t want to say that the existence of this series is proof that we’re living in the worst timeline.  It’s just that if we were in a better timeline then I’d be writing about the fourth volume of writer John Layman and Afu Chan’s “Outer Darkness” instead of mourning its demise in this one.  Instead, I’m writing about Layman’s return to the universe of his signature series “Chew,” with new artist Dan Boultwood.  Whose existence is actually proof that we’re not quite living in the worst timeline.  This may be another case where the first volume winds up feeling like the first issue of the series, but it’s a welcome return to this crazy, zany world that brings a different perspective along with it.

If you’re unfamiliar with how good of a series “Chew” was, then I’ve got you covered.  “The First Course” picks up a few years before the start of that title as we’re introduced to Saffron Chu.  She’s the sister of Tony Chu, the straight-arrow cop from the previous series who gets psychic impressions from whatever he eats (except for beets).  Saffron also has her own food-based powers as well:  She can find out secrets from anyone who she shares a meal with.  While you might think that the two of them would be able to bond over their food-based powers, that would actually be far from the truth.

This is because when we’re first introduced to Saffron, she’s taking part in a heist in order to help her no-good boyfriend Eddie get the money he needs to pay off some debts.  Things wind up going badly in a way that will be immediately familiar to anyone who read the first series.  It leads to a hitman being sicced on Eddie, a showdown at the old folks’ home where Saffron’s grandfather lives, the introduction of one John Colby to Tony, Saffron sharing drinks at a jewlers convention, and a shark burping up a human leg.  None of which is out of the ordinary when you’re in the “Chewniverse” *rimshot*.

So the good news is that “Chu” manages to capture much of the zaniness and dark humor that drove its predecessor.  “Chew” may have gone to some strange places over the course of its run, but Layman always made sure there was always some logic underpinning his madness.  That remains true here in scenes like the one that opens the volume as everyone gets on the same page by eating specific meals relative to their part in the heist.  Meals with a higher-than-usual beet content, in fact.  That this is all coming from the criminal element of this world also helps distinguish all this from how we saw it previously.  It’s darker, to be sure, but not to the extent that it smothers the comedy.

Then there’s the matter of how the series looks.  Rob Guillory set a very high artistic bar with his work on “Chew” as it was so relentlessly creative and funny that it’s hard to imagine how he could be topped.  New artist Dan Boultwood doesn’t top him, but he does have a style that works well for the series.  It’s very clean with linework that gives the whole volume the look of something pulled from animation, but also with its own distinctly exaggerated look.  Boultwood’s work is also confident, as he makes everything that Layman asks him to draw look like it belongs in this world.  More importantly, everyone from the previous series who shows up here is still easily recognizable when they show up here.  I have no doubt that Guillory would’ve killed it had he done this series, yet Boultwood makes a great first impression here.

The only thing that really holds this volume back in my opinion is that the entirety of this five-issue collection reads like a first issue.  I say this in the sense that while the actual first issue of this series sets up the conflict between Saffron and Tony, it isn’t until the final issue that we get a sense of what the actual direction for the series is going to be.  Which means that a lot of what goes on here feels like setup.  Entertainingly demented setup with a side of explosive family drama, but setup nonetheless.

Still, the “Post-Credits Sequence” does imply that things are going to get interesting with the second volume now that Saffron has been set loose upon the world.  She’s a likeably devious protagonist and it’s interesting that she’s being set up here to become even more ruthless than she’s seen to be here.  Even with the first-issue-ness of this volume aside, “The First Course” winds up being a welcome return to the world of “Chew.”  I’m not quite sure if I’m ready for another eleven volumes after this one, but the possibility for that is certainly there.