| International Flavor | |
|---|---|
| Date | November 2009 – April 2010 |
| No. of issues | 5 |
| Publisher | Image Comics |
| Creative team | |
| Writers | John Layman[1] |
| Artists | Rob Guillory[2] |
| Original publication | |
| Published in | Chew |
| ISBN | 978-1-6070-6260-8 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Taster's Choice |
| Followed by | Just Desserts |
International Flavor is agraphic novel written byJohn Layman, drawn byRob Guillory, and published byImage Comics as the second volume of theAmerican comic book seriesChew, set in theImage Universe. FollowingTony Chu, a CibopathicFood and Drug Administration (FDA) agent who solves crimes by receiving psychic impressions from whatever he eats, Chapter One was released November 25, 2009, Chapter Two,Meet Lin Sae Woo, was released December 23, 2009, Chapter Three,Introducing Poyo!, was released January 27, 2010, Chapter Four,WTF, Vampires?!?!?, was released March 3, 2010, and Chapter Five,Cannibal vs. Bloodsucker, was released April 14, 2010. Preceded byTaster's Choice, it is followed by the story arcJust Desserts.[2][3]
The series received a universally positive critical reception.[4][5][6][7] In 2010,Chew won theEisner Award for Best New Series forTaster's Choice andInternational Flavor, as well as twoHarvey Awards, and was nominated for twoEagle Awards.
Cibopathic federal agentTony Chu is reunited with his old partner turned-cyborg John Colby on a bizarre new case, as a newly discovered fruit takes the duo to a remote island full of secrets, strangeness-and a shadowy killer with a sinister appetite.[8]
Tony Chu finds himself pursued by Lin Sae Woo, a covert operative and one of the most lethal assassins in the employ of the United States Department of Agriculture, with the equivalent of black belts in four different disciplines ofmartial arts, an expert inhand-to-hand combat, and equally deadly with swords, throwing knives, sniper rifles and handguns, aiming to make a corpse out of anybody who tries to stand between her and completion of her current assignment.[9]
In the world ofchicken fighting, Poyo is almost undefeatable, making his owners absurdly rich, and more often than not dead, as he passes from owner to owner as one is killed by the other, as Tony Chu aims to track down the latest murderers to have stolen him.[10][11]
Tony Chu attempts to rescue food critic Amelia Mintz and his brother Chow from a prison camp, learning of the existence of vampires.[12][13]
Continuing off of his rescue attempt, Tony Chu encounters his nemesis The Vampire for the first time.[14][15]
On July 23, 2010,Chew won theEisner Award for Best New Series forTaster's Choice andInternational Flavor.[16] On July 26, 2011, it won two 2010Harvey Awards (Best New Series and Best New Talent) for the volume,[17] and was nominated for two 2010Eagle Awards.[18]
| Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chew: International Flavor | Chew (vol. 1) #6–10 | June 9, 2010[19] | ISBN 978-1-60706-260-8 |
| Chew: The Omnivore Edition: Volume One | Chew (vol. 1) #1–10 (Taster's Choice andInternational Flavor) | August 4, 2010 | ISBN 978-1-60706-293-6 |
| Chew: The Smorgasbord Edition: Volume One | Chew (vol. 1) #1–20 (Taster's Choice,International Flavor,Just Desserts, andFlambé) | November 14, 2013 | ISBN 978-1-60706-805-1 |