The last issue of Chew for the year came out this week. While the delays and slow pace of this series has been a bit disappointing. It’s only in that every issue is so damn good, waiting for the next every time is so frustrating because you know it’s always going to be near perfect. This issue is frankly no different and it’s all because of one man: Rob Guillory.

Let me give you some of my favorite ‘hidden jokes’ from this issue:

“You Like Sleep?? Us Either. That’s why we put crack in our…”-pg. 4

“Richard Simmons was Right”-pg.6

“I Kicked Rodney King”-pg.18

I don’t know any other artist that has this much creativity, humor, and more importantly so much freedom in his work. John Layman and the people at Image have so much confidence with Rob Guillory that I don’t know if anyone will ever get this much privilege ever again. If he’s not putting his own jokes, or who knows maybe a lot of it is Layman putting it in, he’s putting some of the most creative looking pages in comics today. Every panel is like a canvas to him to be honest. No matter what Layman puts in his script Guillory executes it like he has a pathway to the guy’s brain. I particularly loved how Guillory portrays the coffee shop worker’s powers that comes in the coffee. I have no idea how a TV show could portray the things that are drawn in each issues. It’s a challenge to any post-production company that’s for damn sure.

But let’s not forget there is a man who writes these issues mon–bi-monthly every year. Where does Layman comes up with these ideas it must be asked. He once again has a great opening sequence with agents getting involved with various criminal organizations. Of course they involve Circus Clown Chicken Smugglers, and Amish being encased in amber which continues to distinct this series from others. I mean there is a wealth of ideas in each page of this comic it might be the most creative book on the stands today along with being ‘the’ best. But there is a nice mystery going along through these issues as well. So while the overall story with Mason and Tony might be moving a bit slow, the wealth of entertainment in each issue hardly makes it unbearable. (In fact if this book was more straightforward it would probably hurt it)

So yeah it’s just another 5-star, POTW honored issue of Chew for me. Sure it may take a long time for each issue to come out but damnit it’s just impossible not to love each issue when it comes out. This issue has yet another great, hilarious script by John Layman and Rob Guillory’s gorgeous and also hilarious pencils make this ‘THE’ best comic on the stands right now. I won’t hear any ifs, ands, or buts in this case. It’s ‘THE’ best comic on the stands right now.