Eat the Rich #1
Sarah Gailey creates rich, dynamic worlds with grounded characters. In her novel, Magic for Liars, she created a suspenseful thriller within a wizarding school populated with flawed characters. Sarah Gailey applies this same suspenseful craft to her new BOOM! Studios series, Eat the Rich.
By: BOOM! Studios
Written by: Sarah Gailey
Illustrated by: Pius Bak
Colors by: Roman Titov
Letters by: Cardinal Rae
Joey Dorsey is transplanted into the foreign world of her boyfriend’s ultra-rich family. Even though Joey senses something is wrong, her boyfriend dismisses the feeling. Gailey structures these internal and external conflicts into this tense and unsettling environment brought to life by artists Pius Bak and Roman Titov. Page after page, Eat the Rich gives readers something to identify with and worry about.
Eat the Rich starts gently as a young couple, Joey and her boyfriend, worry about meeting his parents. But then, as she meets the parents, they create an eerie and suspicious vibe. However, the boyfriend, Astor, pushes the impressions aside as normal. Joey’s emotions of testing her relationship against family dynamics are relatable, and consequently, illustrator Pius Bak visibly conveys this through the depiction of facial expressions and body language. Resulting in an undercurrent of tension.
Eat the Rich is a horror series, and the reader knows something more will happen. However, what is really happening is left unknown until the final few pages. Moreover, Gailey’s delivery of this plot creates a disturbing cliffhanger that begs for the next issue.
Pius Bak depicts an affluent society detached from the concerns and realities of average income brackets. Roman Titov’s colors bring a haunting sense of mystery to each panel. The reader is on edge through shadows and silhouettes, even in benign interactions.
The combination of Sarah Gailey’s pacing, world-building, and characters combined with Bak and Titov’s art creates a compelling first issue of Eat the Rich and builds anticipation for the series.