An interesting experiment in the realm of mutants without their powers.

Holding true to the “noir” style, “X-men Noir” has gangsters, gang girls, twists, thrills, spills and dark one-liners throughout it’s four issue run. At the end of every issue is an added 1940’s pulp fiction story in book format. (a’la Alan Moore homage?)

The series is interesting, with a storyline that parallels “Farewell My Lovely” (and “A Dame to Kill For”) more than “Days of Future Past”. However, most of the magic may be lost to those not already very familiar with the X-men. Half the fun of these alternate reality series is seeing what has been done to our personal favorites in a different time and place.

Conversely, those fans who are familar will probably not recgonize some of their old friends except for the physical attributes that are staples of the originals. Some characters are transported very well into the 1940’s, some are merely their names and bodies with no inner remnant of the mutants we know and love. However, it stands to reason and stands in “X-men Noir” that no one has any X-tra physical abilities…but they got guns and the fists fly to keep things interesting.

Also, the ending suffers slightly from an attempt at a “one-two punch”. While the first big reveal may be strong, the second may be more confusing than it’s worth. But, all in all, a decent read with a lot of nods to the canon ...especially within the pulp fiction story.

Oh, and a note about the art. As you can see from the example panels, it reads more like a film noir than a comic one. Good if you like that cinematic style, but may add to the confusion of certain moments on paper.

I don’t want to be the only review here, but if you haven’t been reading/heard of “Chew” than you should probably pull up a chair and dig in.

The newest player from Image comics came so far out of left field that the first issue had to be reprinted three times to fill demand. The series is savoringly simple, strangely elegant with a just a hint of disturbing. In a word: Delicious.

If you’re wondering about all the food analogies, “Chew” is the story of Tony Chu (ha-ha-ha) an agent of the FDA in a world where a government ban on most meat products has made fried-chicken speakeasys and Food and Drugs Administrators with liscenses to kill an everyday part of the food-smuggling, criminal underground.

The disturbing element? Tony Chu is Cibopathic, which means he gets psychic impressions from whatever he eats. So, a piece of broccoli brings up images of pesticides and dirt. A hamburger brings up images of cows being shoved, still kicing, into the grinder. And, nibbling on the body of a corpse/killer brings up their memories…the essential ingrediants needed for an investigator to close a case.

For a point of reference, think a more whimsical “Wormwood, Gentlemen Corpse”. The key to the whole thing is Tony Chu, who is as charming a loveable loser as he is a dedicated agent. Intended for mature audiences, it’s a young series. So, hop on the bandwagon and see what other morsels John Lahman (of Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness and PUFFED fame) and Rob Guillory have under under a heat lamp waiting for us.