Review – The Body Trade #1 (Mad Cave Studios)

September 19, 2024

3 minutes

Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
Writer: Zac Thompson
Artist: Jok
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Release Date: 18th September 2024

On sale this week from Mad Cave Studios, The Body Trade is a revenge story set against the backdrop of an insidious black market for human bodies. When grieving ex-con Kim Krillic returns home to bury his estranged son, he finds nothing but resentment, accusations and questions – the main question being, where the hell is his son’s body?! No grave, no coffin, just a slightly twisted ‘planter’ marked with the logo of a company called Bio-Mem. So, being the highly motivated and single-mindedly obsessed person that he is, Kim makes it his mission to find out exactly where his boy Charlie ended up, no matter the cost.

If you’ve been around the Big Comic Page for any length of time, you’ll know that we absolutely love Zac Thompson here. For me personally, I first fell in love with his distinctive style of storytelling with The Dregs back in 2017, a series with a lot of thematic and aesthetic parallels to The Body Trade. Much like the Dregs, what we have here is a bleak look at the seedy underbelly of corporate America and the desire for private companies to use whatever situation they can, no matter now obscene, to turn a profit.

Speaking of the aesthetic, Argentinian artist Jok does a fantastic job of conveying the frantic energy that goes hand-in-hand with Kim Krillic and his complete lack of impulse control. Everything is jagged and almost frenzied at times, and whether it’s the quiet, frantic scratching as he is forced to listen to some painful home truths or Kim’s frequent angry outbursts, Jok’s stylised and energetic (and, dare I say Mignola-esque?) artwork is a perfect fit for the tone of this story. Oh, and it probably goes without saying – but I’m going to say it anyway – that Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou’s lettering is absolutely world-class as always, echoing the frenetic energy of the story and matching the emotional beats of this first issue seamlessly.

As a leading man, Kim is fairly easy to get behind while at the same time not necessarily being particularly likeable. Indeed, if his ex-wife is to be believed, he was absolutely complicit in the events that put his son in a coma in the first place, and clearly has several deeply-rooted issues, which his frequent calls to his sponsor Cal only help to underscore. We do love a flawed protagonist, and I get the feeling you’re not going to find one much more flawed than ol’ Kim.

A strong first issue that lays out the premise and distinctive style and aesthetic of this new series, featuring a great creative partnership working together beautifully. The overall success of the series is going to hinge on how well Thompson and Jok manage to keep things interesting now that the shocking premise is established, but with a belligerent ball of righteous fury like Kim Krillic to root for, this is a grim, violent revenge thriller that you should most definitely be checking out.

Rating: 4/5.

[PREVIEW ARTWORK – CLICK TO ENLARGE]