Chew #1 pg17 (1st Appearance of Tony Chu)

In 2011, I took a year off to find myself. Burned out, questioning my faith, and unsure what came next beyond material success—I did what any reasonable person would do: I flew to Vancouver, rented a car, and drove north. Past the Yukon Territories, up to Fairbanks, circling back through Mt. Denali to Anchorage, and finally catching a ferry from a small town back to Seattle. Then back to Vancouver to return a car with an extra 9000+ miles on it!

It was on that journey—of all places, in a comic shop in Fairbanks—where I rediscovered my love for comics. A young shop clerk recommended Chew, and I took the trade paperback on the road with me. I was blown away by how far the medium had come. It wasn’t just nostalgia anymore—it was storytelling with teeth.

Thanks to my friend James (who also owns the original cover art to that very issue), I’m now adding this piece of my personal history into the collection. Forever grateful.