4. Chew #39 by John Layman and Rob Guillory (Image)
As anyone who reads it already knows, Chew is a damn weird comic it's set in a post-bird flu world where millions have died of the avian virus and chicken is outlawed as a result. The hero is Tony Chu, a guy who can telepathically see the history of anything he bites into including people! And as weird as that setup is, the series has gotten weirder and weirder (definitely in a good way) since it started, and, at #39, it's getting weirder still! Tony's girlfriend, Amelia, revealed in the last issue she has the last remaining gallsaberry growing in her apartment, and, when she's been sampling the weird chicken-tasting plant, she's been writing a bizarre sci-fi novel about a cop in a future world with fire-writing in the sky, written entirely in a language she can't read. Amelia and Tony's comic-book-t-shirt-wearing daughter, Olive, sneak into the FDA offices to discover another strange piece of the puzzle psychedelic chogs! There's a food fight not nearly as innocent as it sounds and things get even more mind-bendingly nuts by the end! I love this comic. John Layman recently left Detective Comics to focus all his creative energies on Chew and, based on this one issue alone, I can see why he needs to - this plot is insane! Nevertheless, it's easy to follow, well-written (as always) and as funny as it's ever been, but the imagination that went into this single issue is really astonishing. No reader could've predicted this is where the series was heading when they picked it up, and I love that unpredictability about this. I especially love how Olive's developing as a character and becoming a big player in her own right at this point, Tony's barely figured in his own series but you don't mind because of the richness of the supporting cast. Rob Guillory continues to craft page after page of beautiful imagery giving us sci-fi brilliance, psychedelic awesomeness, and amazing fight scenes all in one issue. His designs for the chogs alone are terrific and that scene where Olive packed a bunch in a blender was hilarious! Psychedelic chogs... I can already sense those mad geniuses at Skeleton Crew Studio creating some wonderful new busts Chew merch. Obviously issue #39 isn't a great jumping-on point for new readers but if you've never tried Chew, give the first tpb volume a shot, it's one of the most original and entertaining titles out there. And for established readers? You don't need me to say it but I'm going to anyway Chew #39 is fantastic, go read it if you haven't already!