John Layman, the writer of “Chew,” is one of our favorites around the Multiversity offices. Not only is he a great writer, but he’s just a funny, personable guy. So when we had the chance to chat him up about next week’s second release of “Chew” #27 (co-starring myself and my 4 Color teammate Brandon), we couldn’t miss the opportunity. Check out our talk with Layman, as we discuss the re-release of this issue and what else is coming down the path for the book and beyond.
The next issue that is going to see release is #27 again. We talked to you briefly about this issue before you released it, but going back to it, why did you and Rob decide to make the leap forward at first, and why should those who picked it up the first time get it again? Well, besides to see me in the issue again.
John Layman: A few new things. A new cover, first of all. We’re reprinting the 5 page “View to a Pill” Tony-takes-a-designer-drug story that originally appeared in the Hero Comics 2011 anthology. And, because people like to peek behind the curtain, we’re including the script to that story as well.
Given the attention to detail you and Rob both have in your storytelling, I could always see the two of you slightly altering the story but in a way that isn’t obviously apparent. Is there anything for eagle eyed readers to pay attention for in this issue?
JL: Nah. Honestly, if you don’t want to buy #27 a second time, you don’t have to. I think it would be sorta unfair to change the actual story. Then people will feel obligated to buy it again, and that’s sorta a dick move. We want people to WANT to buy it again, but not feel like they HAVE to, y’know?
Was making the leap ahead to #27 like you did originally a one-time thing, or could you foresee doing it again as a fun little adventure for the non-trade waiters?
JL: I dunno. It was a fun experiment. I’m not sure there is a reason to do it again. We might do a half issue at some point.
When the eventual “Space Cakes” trade is released, will it include all of the bonus material that the second release of #27 features, or are those materials simply for the issue itself?
JL: Yeah, it will all be in the trade. Between that back matter and Secret Agent Poyo, also being collected in Vol 6, this will be, by far, the biggest chew softcover trade yet.
One of my favorite things about the most recent issue, #26, was the usage of Toni – Antonelle – as the lead, and how everything about her, from her relationship with Chow to her powers to just her general demeanor, is kind of the opposite of Tony. Sort of un-twin like for a pair of twins. Post Tony waking up, can we still expect Toni to stick around as part of the cast with the sprawling family Chu?
JL: I’ve definitely got long-range plans for Toni. But, like most CHEW characters, I know how it eventually ends for her.
Perhaps even more surprising than jumping ahead to issue #27 was the inclusion of one panel of #60, the final issue, in a recent issue. How did the two of you decide to do that, and given the very specific nature of that panel, does that mean you might already have that issue written?
JL: I’m ahead on CHEW, but I’m not THAT far ahead. I’ve written through 30, the first half. And I’m sorta bracing myself for the second half– for everything that spins out of issue #30. However, I DO know how CHEW ends. I’ve said before that three characters are “safe” to make it to the last issue. One of them is Tony. Another is Applebee.
One of the things that Chew has become really well known for is being one of the funniest of all of the funny books out there. Many books have a hard time balancing the humor with the storytelling, or at the very least, integrating it in a way that doesn’t take away from the overall narrative. Others have a hard time keeping that aspect up over time. Working on Chew, does that just stem naturally from how you write, or is that something you actively look to keep as a significant part of the book?
Continued belowJL: I dunno. Some issues are funnier than others. And after the fact, I will notice, and worry a bit, that an issue is not as funny as another. The good thing is CHEW has established itself well enough that I can do issues that feel a little bit different. I was really worried about CHEW #26. There was no violence, little profanity, and the climax of the book was a hug. But people seemed to like it. So I worry less that every issue of CHEW HAS to be a certain amount of this, certain amount of that. Y’know?
I totally understand what you’re saying. I personally loved #26, and I think it was because it took the story in such a different way. That said, what can we expect from the rest of Space Cakes and beyond? How does having your lead character in a coma change your approach to the narrative, if at all?
JL: Not really. I mean, Tony wasn’t in a whole lot of Major League Chew, at least half of it, so I’m sort of used to it. If anything, it will be a weird adjustment when he comes back to a more predominate role Post Issue 30.
What can you tell us about Secret Agent Poyo? Besides the fact it will be amazing, because we know that.
JL: Only that IT’S THE GREATEST FUCKING THING IN THE HISTORY OF COMICS, and possibly all humanity. I expect it may be the last comic most people ever read, because of reading Secret Agent Poyo, there may be no point in reading any more. In fact, I fully expect to see a rash of suicides, as most people will see it as the high point of their very existence, and after that, it’s all downhill from there.
Secret Agent Poyo: so good it will make you quit comics. I wonder if Image will allow something like that to make it as a tagline. That seems bad for business!
Are there any other characters you could see spinning off into a one-shot, or was Poyo the only one just because of how much of a breakout he has been?
JL: Oddly enough, I’ve never even considered that. Something to think on, I suppose, but nobody leaps immediately to mind.
So let’s say theoretically I don’t quit comics after reading Secret Agent Poyo, out of the sheer joy tied to the experience. Is there anything else you have coming down the path, or is it all Chew, all the time?
JL: Mars Attacks is turning out pretty damn great. Gonna do ten issue of that, with John McCrea and Andrew Elder for IDW, and I think people who like John Layman comics are gonna be pretty happy with the madness and violence within. May or may not have another project developing as well.
Ah! I wanted to ask you about that as well. For the new Mars Attacks series, are you pretty much just looking at the old card series as an influence, or does a little Burton get in there? And what can you tell us about the story, at least in the first arc?
JL: I can’t even remember the TIm Burton movie, other than I thought it was 10% great and 90% awful. Everything I am doing owes to the card series. Martian come down, blow shit up, and different, eccentric, plucky humans fight back.
Also, as a big Hitman fan, I love that John McCrea is on this book. What do you feel makes him such a great fit for it?
JL: John does great violence, never failing to keep it fun, and a little tongue-in-cheek.
