Announced earlier this summer, The Body Trade is a neo-noir thriller written by Zac Thompson (Cemetery Kids Don’t Die, Into The Unbeing), drawn by Jok (Forty Coffins), and lettered by EISNER AWARD WINNING letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (so many comics). In the press release, Thompson says: “The Body Trade is a raw and unflinching neo-noir where an ex-convict goes up against the intense might of corporate power and will do anything to win. But what when there’s nothing illegal about what you’re up against – how do you expose the truth? And will anyone care when you do?” After being lucky enough to get a peek at the first two issues, I can say that the descriptors, raw and unflinching, do a hell of a good job boiling down this comic.
To be honest, of Thompson’s slate of new creator-owned books this year, this one was the one I was initially cold on. I didn’t know the artist’s previous work and at first glance the concept didn’t really pull me in. And usually if I’m cold like this, then the reading of it goes exactly how I expected. Let me tell you now, this book is special. I find that if I’m cold going into a book then it’s not easy to find a reason to put it down. The Body Trade does the exact opposite. The opening pages gave me multiple reasons to lean in.
I don’t want to go too deep into spoilers as the book is not out yet (I’ll be doing a full review later) but going off of the preview released by publisher Mad Cave Studios, you can see the first thing that sucked me in.
The birds in the trees are singing. I’ve never seen that before and immediately it brings the whole scene to life. I’m there, at this funeral listening to the birds. It’s alive and I know exactly what I’m looking at. Which is an inspired choice because I’m talking about life at a funeral. But that’s just it, it is part of life. Then there’s the quiet page with our protagonist and I feel like so many comics are so heavy up front because there’s this desperation to get your attention. Two pages in and I feel like I know this character better than I do at the end of other issue 1’s. Look at it. He’s slowly exiting the truck and then hanging there as long as he can. Then he sighs.
The Body Trade is a dense read. There’s a lot going on in the pages here because it’s a heavy subject and I think the team does an excellent job of conveying that here. The lettering is dense and Otsmane-Elhaou probably doesn’t have to do all that he’s doing but isn’t that his motto? I can recognize his work at a glance because it’s not just words slapped on top of art. Every single thing he puts on the page is necessary and elevates the work.
Jok is the only member of the team here that I wasn’t familiar with ahead of time and after reading these 2 issues, I’m beyond impressed at the level of detail he is capable of putting on the page. It’s ultra-detailed and even when there’s a ton of panels on the page, the quality of the art doesn’t suffer in the slightest. You have to see this.
So when you’re at your local comic shop picking up the latest Brubaker/Phillips joint, tell your shop that you’re going to need The Body Trade. It’s perfect for fans of True Detective and Breaking Bad.
Final Order Cutoff: August 19th, 2024
Release Date: September 18th, 2024
