If you don't frequent you're local comic shop, your probably staring at me with a blank face right and wondering what exactly "Chew" is. Chew is a monthly full color comic, written by John Layman and illustrated by Rob Guillory.
Chew takes place in a world where all chicken products have been outlawed due to a massive bird flu outbreak. It tells the story of Tony Chu, a cop with the unique ability to get a psychic impression from whatever he eats. This ability is known as cibopathy. For example if he eats an apple he gets an impression of what pesticides and fertilizers were used on it and when it was harvested. If he eats a hamburger he sees a cow being slaughtered. Curiously enough the only food he can eat without having a psychic impression is beets. Tony works with the FDA (Food and Drug Association), solving murders and smuggling operations with his unique abilities. Tony's abilities lend themselves greatly to detective work as long as he doesn't mine dining on a murder victim to figure out who killed him or nibbling on a finger to find out who it belongs to. From there the story's get totally ridiculous involving vampires, alien life, luchador roosters, and anti-chicken prohibition terrorist groups.
The characters in Chew are also fantastic. Tony is pretty much the straightman by-the-book cop where as his current partner, John Colby is the loose canon of the duo. Oh and did I mention Colby is a cyborg? Tony's former partner, the sai weilding Mason Savoy, is eccentric and mysterious. Tony's girlfriend Amelia Mintz has the ability to write about food so accurately the reader can taste it. Chew has a great ensemble cast and each character is unique from the last.
What you're probably thinking is why should tell tale waste their time making this stupid cannibal cop game when they could be making Sam and Max Season 4/Monkey Island Season 2/Other thing you people want? It's because its practically a match made in heaven! Every issue of chew is self contained while adding to a larger story, which would lend its self perfect to tell tale's episodic release model. The art is cartoony and vibrant and would look fantastic rendered in 3D by telltale. Tony's cibopathic abilities would work almost exactly like Max's viewmaster in the devils playhouse. You could take a bite out of something and get a clue instead of emphasizing inventory puzzles. Also theirs obviously money to be made with the debut issues now going into their third or fourth printing, the reader base steadily growing every month and showtime adapting the comic into a tv show (KEN LEUNG 4 CHU!!!!).
So yeah... if there are any other CHEW fans who agree with me, let telltale hear your voice. And if you're not already acquainted with the warped world of Tony Chu I highly suggest you step outside your comfort zone and pick up the three available trades.
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chew_(comics)
http://chewcomic.blogspot.com/
http://www.tfaw.com/Profile/Chew-TPB-Vol.-01___369281
http://www.tfaw.com/Profile/Chew-TPB-Vol.-02-International-Flavor___359827
http://www.tfaw.com/Profile/Chew-TPB-Vol.-03-Just-Desserts___371294
Comments
Edit: This post was written after the original thread was merged with the "Tell Tale Dream Games" Thread. Puzzle Box has since moved the thread back to its original state.
There ya go then.
1.) Write to the following address telling them you would like too see this game happen:
letters@chewcomic.com
2.) Reply, express your opinions, let tell tale know that we want this. Try and keep the thread bumped to the top. I'm sure their are other comic book fans here who also enjoy CHEW so let your voices be heard!
In other news I should be starting a petition and linking to that as well as shopping it around to comic book websites and forums. Oh and for anyone still on the fence I've found the entire first issue online. Enjoy:
http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album_view.php?gid=1517&page=1
Well anyways, I found out recently that John Layman actually writes video games as his day job so he would probably be able to write the CHEW game if telltale picked up the license. I might still do the petition but unless the thread generates more interest I probably won't.
Perhaps Invader Zim? The stylized edgy look is not unlike Johen Vasquez.
I'd be interested in hearing what you think when your done.
https://comics.comixology.com/#/search/?q=chew
Once again the first issue is free and all issues except the most recent (#17) are available for 1.99 (1 dollar off of the shelf price). The e-reader format works great and purchased comics are transferable between platforms.
Another deal to consider if you're picking up CHEW is amazons 4 for 3 sale on books. Only first volumes are offered for comics but if you're a tell tale fan and have yet to give fables or walking dead a try it's a pretty sweet deal.
Its great to know someone else has read the books. I think this would have to come after all of the announced stuff and monkey island season 2 for sure, but probably before a new season of sam and max or strongbad. I think it would be a good idea to let the comics get to about issue 40 and have the TV series out before releasing a game. Still though I think Tell Tale should buy the rights to this now and make the game later down the road.
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/best-shots-advance-reviews-110405.html
http://www.cxpulp.com/content.php?1448-Chew-18-Advance-Review
http://www.multiversitycomics.com/2011/03/advance-review-chew-18-arriving-46.html
http://chewcomic.blogspot.com/2011/04/chew-up-for-three-eisner-awards.html
I've been told this is a really awesome series and I've been meaning to check it out, probably after I read a bit more Fables. And a movie is in the works. It's set to be directed by DJ Caruso, the director of Disturbia and I am Number 4. He also has the rights to Preacher if I'm correct. A game would be totally cool though. Same with a Preacher game now that I think about it.
I don't have the time to read the thread right now (will do later) but I would love to see that happen. I've read till issue 15 and there've just been 18 released so far but the story is evolving pretty fast iirc and it feels like a great fit for telltale, humour and storywise.
Y! hit me too but seeing that we'll have the rather serious JP and especially TWD that's sharing the breakdown-scenario with Y! I'd personally go for Chew and a breeze of what I'd call some kind of Sam and Max-like humor.
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e376/knoxblue02/Chew/CHEWTrade4CoverFinal.jpg
Its a new piece of art by Rob Guillory which is set to be used the cover for Chew Volume 4.
I didn't knew about about the upcoming tv-show adaption yet, thx for the info.
I'll be waiting till issue 20 is released and then getting the latest 5 all at once. While I appreciate the imo "supperior quality releases" of the monthly appearing comic-series I'm reading (compared to weekly-based mangas I've seen f.e.) I'm totally not made for reading just a single chapter followed by a whole month of waiting.
I'm loving the art style aswell. It feels like they took parts of the french bande-dessinée styles and american comic-styles I love, merged it into a series with fresh humour and a hilariously appearing story that seems to yet having been scratched on the surface only, put on top a protagonist with a special ability that's not making me snore right away, and I better stop now before getting too much into it...
My expactions are really high for this one and I'm hoping not to get decieved. As of yesterday it seems that I finally got my brother into starting chew aswell. Quite happy bout this since I don't have many comic-reading friends and as for TWD too my bro and the younger fellas just seem so focused on fancy manga stuff they won't even give it a try. At least till yesterday
What do you think about a great bird flew outbreak leading to a prohibition as a basic background of the story?
Imho the danger by an infection of the actual bird and pig flew viruses has been totally exagerated and the whole story was just about the pharma industry earning a ton of money and our dear beloved attentionwhore mass-media. Whatever there's clues that the bird flew disease might not be much of a danger for the human race in the chew universe (aswell). And the more I'm thinking about it I have to admit that the prohibition of such a common and lovely thing as (fried) chicken (sry to all the veggies
Best regards
Dom
Just wanted to voice my agreement. This comic book is such an obvious candidate for a TellTale game that i almost can't believe it isnt already in the pipeline. If i'd been told that it was atelltale game first and a comic book second i'd hve no problem believeing that either. DO IT, IT MUST HAPPEN!