In the first significant update in a while on Showtime's planned adaptation of Chew, artist Rob Guillory reveals the project has "an awesome script" by Brian Duffield (Jane Got a Gun) that's "shockingly loyal to the comic."

"All the favorite characters are there, and the tone is dead on," he tells Mancave Daily. "Stylistically, it’s about as close as you can get to something as weird as Chew. So right now, we’re basically going back and forth with Showtime. Network stuff, which can move super-slow. But the good news is that we’re taking our time with it. If it does happen, it will be good. It won’t be something we just crap." out."

Created by Guillory and writer John Layman, Chew tells the story of special agent Tony Chu, a cibopath -- he can see the life and eventual death of anything he eats -- who lives in a world where poultry is outlawed thanks to a sweeping bird flu pandemic. The series debuted in 2009 from Image Comics.

Guillory also notes that, while the Showtime adaptation initially was envisioned as a half-hour comedy, it has since evolved into an hour-long series. "It’s just something that happens as we experiment with getting the adaptation right," he says.

One thing that hasn't changed is the desire for Lost alum Ken Leung to play Tony Chu, possibly joined by former castmate Josh Holloway as his partner John Colby. "That’s our dream cast," Guillory says. "I don’t know about Holloway’s availability, but we’ve been in touch with Ken Leung, and we send him books periodically. [...] He’s a fan, and if the timing came together, he would be our Tony. But it’s Hollywood, and there are a million other factors. So we’ll see."