John Layman will return to the world her created with artist Rob Guillory in Chu, a new series featuring the sister of Chew‘s lead Tony Chu. Dan Boultwood will draw the spinoff series.
“After more than 60 issues of Chew, it was never a matter of if I would return to the world Rob Guillory and I created, but when,” Layman said. “I needed a break after the book ended, but it wasn’t too long after that I started missing the characters and the world, and had the itch to return. It was something I approached cautiously because, while Chew was a complete story, I wanted to return to it in such a way it would be new and say something different, and it took a while to find the right angle. Outer Darkness/Chew was a step in that direction, as well a coda, a flower on the grave that was the story of Tony Chu. Chu is a different take on the Chu family and the Chew-universe, and in many ways it is a mirror, the flip side. I’m confident readers of Chew will enjoy it, but it’s also something totally new, the story of Saffron Chu, not Tony Chu. She was completely absent from Chew, and this first story arc will tell the story of why that is.”
According to the press release, “While Chew’s Tony Chu is a cibopath—able to get psychic impressions from what he eats—Chu’s Saffron Chu is a cibopars—able to learn secrets from who she eats with. Tony is a cop. Saffron is a criminal. They are brother and sister, and they are on a collision course.”
Chew ran for 60 issues from 2009 through 2016, telling the story of Tony Chu and his family. The new series, Chu, starts in June.