In the basement of Grimaldi Manor, the family patriarch says a prayer and stabs himself in the throat. Blood falls. The demon watches. A woman tries to scream. Upstairs, three generations of the Grimaldi family and a snapping turtle fill the house with unfulfilled promise and joyful childhood shrieks. These are tremendous, terrible times for the lineage! The Grimaldis hold a contract with Their Lord Below for ten more years of prodigious wealth and glory. But old contracts can sour. Monsters can misbehave. And a filthy little lamb can still have teeth. Filthy Lambs! #1 builds things nicely until all hell breaks loose and defies your expectations.

Written by Pallie Paul Allor, Filthy Lambs! #1 sets up a concept we’ve seen many times before. A group has made a pact with a dark force and in return they get wealth and power. But, Allor has a lot of fun with that simple concept by focusing on a group of characters who are all kind of assholes. That emphasis on bad people doing bad sets up for the twist to the comic and really enhances what’s to come.

But more importantly, Filthy Lambs! #1 defies where you think it’s going to go. It breaks the conventional direction and flips the script. And, with such terrible people front and center, the comic also allows the reader to not just enjoy the chaos to come but cheer it on. Allor does it so well, there’s deaths that don’t even hit the reader. There’s little as far as redeeming that has been shown so when the blood starts flowing and bodies start piling up, no matter who it is, the reader doesn’t mind.

But, there’s an underlying theme and concept of Filthy Lambs! #1 that captures the moment. Here, we have a group of individuals who have done terrible things to gain power. They have little care for others and show little care for each other. Those rich, broken individuals, are presented with payment for their deeds, reciprocation that tumbles their ivory tower.

The art by Chris Evenhuis is solid and captures the concept and characters quite well. There’s a punchable quality to everyone and with color by Sjan Weijers and letters by Allor, the comic’s visuals really builds on the negative that Allor focuses on in setting up these characters. But, where the comic really excels is when the shit hits the fan and chaos ensues. It takes a horrific moment and turns it into an almost comical experience as the blood splatters. It’s over the top but done so in a way that doesn’t distract.

Filthy Lambs! #1 is terrible things happening to terrible people. With that terrible happenings focused on rich individuals with little care for others, it’s something that captures the frustration from so many today. It gives us the guillotine so many of us are cheering for and want to see. The debut issue teases what could be a cathartic body count readers can cheer for.

Story: Pallie Paul Allor Art: Chris Evenhuis
Color: Sjan Weijers Letters: Pallie Paul Allor
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy

Mad Cave Studios provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle