Reviewed by Avril Brown

CHEW’s latest story arc ‘Major League Chew’ is in full swing with parts two and three covering a lot of (rather painful) ground for our hero. Just when Tony Chu thinks he will be able to settle in nicely in his new position as a traffic cop where he is beloved, appreciated and celebrated, he gets the living shit beaten out of him by a blast from the recent past.

Before readers are given the story behind Chu’s run in with a baseball bat, issue #22 covers the variety of shit assignments Agent Caesar Valenzano has found himself saddled with since Chu’s transfer to traffic, and what Caesar’s former partner, Savoy, has been trying to accomplish with Chu’s daughter since he kidnapped young Olive. When that issue wraps up, you can practically hear the ominous music playing in the background as Olive finally shows us what she’s got.

Issue #23 shows readers what Colby’s been up to since his transfer…to the all-female (and animal) operated USDA. We got a glimpse of these badass chicks and their animal partners in the final showdown involving Poyo, the homicidal rooster, and they are unsurprisingly a little frosty towards their new male recruit. Colby is left trying to solve cases with his new partner, Buttercup the lion, and having to deal with his cantankerous boss (a peace with he is hoping to achieve by utilizing a method we’ve seen before), all the while trying to get a hold of Chu, who seems to have disappeared.

Back to the baseball bat, as Tony is being held hostage by a rather unstable gentleman with an unorthodox mission which is so bizarre, even by CHEW standards, that you have to read it to believe it. CHEW continues to score points on all the boards it has become famous for, and as always delivers a great story while leaving readers hungry for more.