Eat The Rich #2
Jo learns the truth behind what she saw at the party in Eat The Rich #2, by writer Sarah Gailey, artist Pius Bak, colorist Roman Titov, and letterer Cardinal Rae. This issue throws an intriguing twist at readers before ending on a chilling note.
Jo struggles with what she saw at the party and tries to wake up Astor, who took Klonopin to calm down and passed out. She’s afraid he won’t believe her, so she snoops around the house, trying to find something that will convince him. She sneaks into his father’s office and is caught by Petal, who lays a bombshell on Jo. Jo and Astor go to the next party the next day, but Astor’s stepmom wants to talk to Jo about what she saw the night before.
The first issue was pretty boilerplate for this type of story. It didn’t really do anything unexpected, but Gailey did such a great job with the tone of the whole thing that it worked better than it should. It was greater than the sum of its parts. The second issue is even better. Gailey keeps up the atmosphere but adds a brilliant twist to the whole thing in the middle of the comic that makes everything all the more interesting. It doesn’t make cannibalism any easier to stomach, but it’s certainly different from what one would expect from this type of story. It throws a wrench into the works. Jo was ready to blow the whole thing open, but she learns one thing from Petal that changes the entire story.
It’s such an expert twist that it does leave readers wondering what could happen next. What happens when one learns the system is terrible and beneficial? How does one react? Eat The Rich looks to answer that question, and where Gailey takes it will make the book more fascinating than before. Petal becomes even more interesting in this issue and becomes an even more critical part of the story. The ending adds menace back to the story, and where Gailey takes it next issue is going to say a lot about how this book plays out.
Bak’s artworks very well for the script, with great character acting and strong linework. Titov’s colors are hugely important to the whole comic. Bak’s linework is great, but without Titov’s colors, the atmosphere of the book wouldn’t be the same. Titov understands how to color a scene to get the maximum menace out of the pencils. It makes the script hit just right. Bak and Titov together are a potent team.
Eat The Rich #2 changes the game. Gailey throws a great twist into the story that makes the whole thing that much better, taking a story that could have been cliche but still good and making it into something different. Bak and Titov bring the whole thing to life, really playing up the emotion and the atmosphere of Gailey’s script. Eat The Rich is shaping up into something different than expected, and that’s great.