John Layman talks all things Chew and his love of Plastic Man

Tony Chu, the star of Layman's Chew

John Layman has been weaving one interesting tale in his creator owned book Chew.  Rob Guillory (artist) and he have created Tony Chu, a character who can see the past of things when he eats them. That includes human flesh.

Lately, you have been adding more and more 'powers' in the Chew universe. Where did you get the idea for all of these?


John Layman: I don't know where my ideas come from. I always get asked that, and I have no good answer.

Are there a limit to the number of 'powers'? 


JL: Not so far!

(Laughs) ok.  Most creator owned books seem to have an end issue in mind, like Scalped ending with #60.  Does Chew have and end issue, or one that just goes as long as the ideas keep flowing?


JL: Yep, Ends at issue #60. And, yes, we already know the ending, and are working toward it.



Does that mean you have another book in the works?


JL: Not yet. I'll probably start getting nervous around issue #45.

There were some rumors a while back that Chew was in development as a series on Showtime as a half hour comedy. That still in the works?


JL:  Not a rumor. It's actually in development with Showtime. These things move slow.

Can't wait for it.  If you had to pick one actor to play Tony, available or unavailable, who'd you pick?


JL: Ken Leung. Miles from LOST.

The LOST fan in me approves of your choice.  In the current arc, Major League Chew, Dan Franks is using baseball players as a way to find sexual fantasies. Where did this twist come from?


JL: I have no idea where my ideas come from.

On Reddit recently, Rob Guillory said you both collaborate on the background jokes. Has there ever been a joke that you guys didn't agree on, or decided to use at a different time?


JL: Sometimes there are small things I'm not crazy about-- not often, but occasionally. But I've learned to pick my battles. Very rarely is there something I disagree with enough to make a stink about. My philosophy is both the artist and writer need to be happy, and have freedom to do what makes them happy. So I'm not gonna step in unless it really, REALLY matters.

Have you ever seen a panel/page and went, "Well, it could be more gruesome/disgusting."


JL: Nope. Again, I've learned not to overthink. At least, not on the art end. I'm sure Rob does that enough for the both of us, just like I do for the script.

Yummy

What's next for Tony and the rest of the cast?


JL: We're wrapping up Chew Vol 5, Major League Chew, and Tony's in for a long hospitalization after those events. The next arc, Space Cakes, will focus on his twin sister Toni.

We can finally see how it ties into last year's #27


JL: Yep!

Have there been any characters, teams, or books at the big two publishers that you have wanted to get your hands on?


JL: It's my dream to write Plastic Man.

Why's that?


JL: He's just always been my favorite, and I never feel like DC is willing to do justice to the character.