Eat the Rich #1 Review

Writer: Sarah Gailey / Artist: Pius Bak / Boom! Studios While I have partook in many horror comics, it’s usually as the secondary modifier of the genre. I gravitate very heavily towards science-fiction horror and fantasy-horror, and often times pure “horror-horror” type of comics are more of a curiosity to me. That said, this week I was intrigued by the provocative title of Eat the Rich (even though given recent news, I think compost the rich is probably the correct course of action when the time comes, but that’s neither here nor there). The subdued sepia and deep reds of the cover belie the vibrant, almost art-deco style of art. Bak’s pencils and Titov’s colors pop off the page with a retro-adjacent palette. Bright pinks and dark blues juxtaposed against the orange pastel of the sky. Heavy shading that gives the shadows an all consuming type of feel and deep, rich contrasts make it visually compelling.

And Gailey’s story channels this energy with its premise: Joey is going on a trip with her boyfriend, the could-ever-be-a-trust-fund-kid’s name Astor, to meet his parent at a fancy beach house, and generalized anxiety of both parties aside, there also seems to be something more sinister a foot. Gailey’s introduction is a familiar set up for even casual horror fans, and the slow revelation of the more horrific things to come play out well. The “twist” is not a true twist given how telegraphed everything is, but the tension is there and palpable. I like Joey’s character a l…