First Course (Chu)

First Course, also known as The First Course, is a 2020 graphic novel written by John Layman, drawn by Dan Boultwood, and published by Image Comics as the first volume of the American comic book series Chu, set in the Image Universe. Following Ciboparsic criminal Saffron Chu, able to learn secrets from whoever she eats in the company of, as she faces off against her brother Tony Chu, a Cibopathic police officer who solves crimes by receiving psychic impressions from whatever he eats, Chapter One was released July 22, 2020, Chapter Two was released August 26, 2020, Chapter Three was released September 30, 2020, Chapter Four was released October 28, 2020, and Chapter Five was released November 25, 2020. Preceded by Chew, to which it serves as a prequel, it is followed by the story arc (She) Drunk History.

First Course
Date	July 20 – November 25, 2020
No. of issues	5
Main characters	Saffron Chu Tony Chu
Page count	128 pages
Publisher	Image Comics
Creative team
Writers	John Layman[1]
Artists	Dan Boultwood[2]
Original publication
Published in	Chu
ISBN	978-1-5343-1774-1
Chronology
Preceded by	Sour Grapes and Fusion Cuisine
Followed by	(She) Drunk History

The series received a universally positive critical reception.^[3][4][5][6]

Premise

Chapter One

Long before the events of Chew and joining the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Cibopathic police officer Tony Chu finds himself on a collision course with his Ciboparsic criminal sister Saffron Chu.^{[7][8][9][10][11][12]}

Chapter Two

As bodies begin to pile up for Saffron, Tony Chu meets John Colby for the first time.^[13]

Chapter Three

As Saffron Chu wars with her twin sister Sage Chu, massacre is enacted at the old folks' home where the Chu family patriarch is committed to.^[14]

Chapter Four

Saffron must dispose of a yet another body, finding body disposal to not be what it used to be.^[15]

Chapter Five

Tony and Saffron face off for the last time, with Tony sending Saffron to prison for years, hoping for her to be rehabilitated on her way out. Instead, she learns everyone's secrets, and leaves Tony waiting outside the prison walls on eventually being released, leaving the siblings to potentially never speak again.^[16]

Collected editions

Title	Material collected	Published date	ISBN
Chu: First Course	Chu (vol. 1) #1–5	January 20, 2021[17]	978-1534317741