Suvudu Universe

CHEW #37
Written by John Layman and Illustrated by Rob Guillory
Published by Image Comics

Reviewed by Avril Brown

Ah, Antonelle, us CHEW readers just cannot get enough of you! Thankfully we are treated to a whole toe’s worth of the prettier Chu in this issue as Tony begins nibbling on his sister’s last remains.

There is a sort of time delay narration that accompanies Tony’s consumption of his twin’s digit, which comes in handy as yet another Chu sibling makes a guest appearance. This time the world renown chef Chow Chu, quite possibly Tony’s most antagonistic sibling, is in need of assistance from the sibling Chu…only he doesn’t know that Toni’s spectral self is tagging along for the ride. Chow is in some potentially steamy water as an eroscibopictaros (a photographer of food whose photos inspire tingly feelings in one’s nether regions) snagged some pictures of his culinary creations and is about to publish them in Food Luv magazine. Scandalous. With Chow’s reputation at stake the Chus team up and take down the food pornographer, scoring a win for the Chu clan.

Though there is a minutely tender moment between the estranged brothers, Tony is left more lost than ever after Toni the toe-ghost runs her course. Between yet another goodbye to the bubbliest person in CHEW and the opening sequence where we get a glimpse of the early stages of Tony and Min’s relationship (he accidentally took a bite out of his late wife’s toe before passing it along to his daughter Olive), CHEW yet again carved a chunk out of the bleeding hearts of its readers. Guillory absolutely nailed Tony’s mournful yet concentrated expression as he first tasted his sister’s flesh, trying to reach out and find her one more time. Only this creative team could make something so tender and tearful out of something so macabre and disturbing. Well played, gentlemen. Top it off with a trip behind bars to show not everything is as it seems with prisoner Savoy, and a background nugget in the form of a Happy Bunny sticker, CHEW’s ‘Family Recipes’ story arc is shaping up to be quite the epic reunion.