New To You Comics #126: Indulge Peculiar Tastes With ‘Eat The Rich’

Everyone has different tastes in comics, especially with such a rich variety of options. Here in New To You Comics we, Scott and Tony, dive into just what the title says, exploring comics that are new to you and often ourselves. It’s a good thing that taste was mentioned here because that’s the sense that is most important to our choice of reading this week. 

More and more focus has come on the inequalities in this world as our reach has grown by leaps and bounds over the years thanks to the internet and social media. Anyone that spends enough time being aware of our society, and the world at large, likely has heard the rallying cry that is often thrown out when speaking about the terrible things perpetrated by the rich. Eat the rich echoes through a great number of internet conversations, the perfect reply to any news story about greedy behaviors. 

What happens if that was literally happening, but was turned around against us by the rich? Turns out that makes for a pretty solid comic book series from Sarah Gailey, Pius Bak, Roman Titov, and Cardinal Roe. So grab your fork and knife and let’s head on down to Crestfall Bluffs for BOOM! Studios’ Eat The Rich. 

Scott: Having reviewed this book for the site, this was one that I definitely gushed about a ton in 2021 and beyond, Gailey being one of my new favorite writers. Did you get a chance to read this series when it came out?

Tony: I did not. A lot of new stuff from smaller publishers has slipped through the cracks for me since COVID. This is one you were such a cheerleader for, so I was glad you suggested it! Good opportunity to finally check it out.

And just… shit man. Shiiiiit.

Scott: Right! This series doesn’t hold back any of its punches that’s for sure. Gailey takes what is such a straightforward commonly seen story hook, a person in a relationship meets their partner’s family for the first time, and turns it on its head to create a powerful statement about the systems of society and oppression with a horror tinge to it. 

Speaking of which, what I really appreciate about this story is that the whole death and gore and cannibalism of it all that is horrific isn’t even the actual horror we’re focused on. Sure it’s terrible and important to the story, but the real horror that builds slowly through the story till it hits a tipping point is the horror of capitalism and the way the system is stacked against us all. That people must choose a system that will kill them by the end, in order to be able to access the simplest of needs such as healthcare, shelter, and food to eat. Truly chilling far too relatable stuff right there. 

Tony: You know, this is a concept that I’m surprised we haven’t seen before. The whole “outsider trying to fit in” is a common fiction trope, and especially in horror (I’m thinking specifically of recent films Get Out and Ready or Not). Seeing the rich as cannibals, literally feasting on the help is so novel that I’m at a loss. It’s a great mixture of the horror of class warfare and actually horror.

Scott: Very much so. It takes everything that we might darkly joke about with one another about what the rich probably wish they can and will do with us, and flips it to a place we would never think to go but in a very horrifically logical way. Of course, the rich would find a way to capitalize on our pain in a way that gives us the things that we want but also benefits them in the end. 

Tony: And they don’t just exploit the labor, they force “the help” into the worst parts of their lifestyle. The characters, especially Jo, are well developed. You feel sympathy for all of them (except the oldest of the adults, the ones perpetuating the horror). Even as she gets deeper and deeper, and maybe even buys in, you still feel for her. Petal even more so.

I did feel like there was one plothole that threw me- exactly how do the Crestfall elite trap people into the lifestyle, make them starve without cannibalism? Did I miss an explanation on exactly what it was?

Scott: Petal makes a mention at some point that it’s written into the contract of the help that they partake, if I recall correctly, tying it all to them getting the benefits that they desperately need. Prey on desperate people, truly a horrific yet far too realistic thing. 

 I mentioned previously about the slow build of the horror as well as the overall horror vibe, and a lot of that is thanks to the work that Bak, Titov, and Roe pull off here. Visually every aspect just nails the foreboding tone that this story needs. 

Tony: Oh definitely. Their work is slightly cartoony (Bak clearly is inspired a bit by Darwyn Cooke and Elsa Chaterrier), but it’s a stylistic touch that makes the horror slightly more palatable. You might even be able to see a few of the rich as redeemable up until the final issue. They’re a great team for this.

Scott: Even before we get to the reveal of what the retirement parties are, there are little red flags popping up in the art that are for us the reader to see but the characters totally ignore them. There are quite a few of these little gruesome reminders popping up throughout the whole series, like a severed hand on the roof during an important conversation that I didn’t even notice till my second read-through of that particular issue. Bak’s paneling and constant use of close-ups, add much of that emotional energy as we’re able to drink in every single detail.

Tony: The human jawbone that’s front and center most of the first issue was so unsettling. It reminded me of Twilight Zone episodes or Goosebumps books where everything is normal, even mundane, but there’s one disturbing or horrific element that lets us know it’s not normal. I dig it!

Scott: Oh and the way Titov can ratchet up and then quickly pull back on the ominous nature with the colors is chef kiss. We’re constantly shifting between lighter and darker shadowy spaces depending on the elements at play on the page, especially when Joey is fluctuating between playing a role or trying to break the system. While her pages with Petal come off so warm and almost hopeful, for a good reason that we find out along the way of course. 

Tony: The best color artists in horror books know when and how to use a splash of bright colors or an emphasis panel. Titov does a great job at that in a lot of places, making the horror blind in until the right moment in Bak’s layout, and then suddenly it pops off the page.

Scott: I know there is that whole thing about a good lettering job is lettering that one doesn’t even really notice, but I’m all about the lettering that is highly noticeable and adds so much to the story. Rae adds a ton to a lot of this series with thoughts being big ominous words hanging over Joey’s head or SFX that is hilarious, I mean the ‘Delicious’ that hangs around Joey and Petal near the end of the story is gross, hilarious, and powerful all at the same time. 

Tony: The big ominous words instead of captions or thought bubbles? That’s SUCH a cool touch by Rae. The lettering is really solid in general, but those moments of emphasis rule.

Scott: So overall what are your final thoughts about this story?

Tony: I liked it! It was creepy, unsettling, and ultimately cathartic. It had a great twist, and ultimately I was glad to have read it. Good pick!

Scott: Well said! Glad you enjoyed it. Definitely a series I’ll never tire of revisiting. 

Tony: We’re back next week with Boom! Studios’ hit House of Slaughter from James Tynion, Tate Bromball, and team!