By d. emerson eddy — This week's selection from AfterShock Comics is one of my absolute favourites in recent years. It's a series that I still firmly believe should have won an Eisner award (at the very least it should have been nominated) and stands as a brilliant use of the medium, giving readers a layered tale of family drama and inept criminals, Hot Lunch Special by Eliot Rahal, Jorge Fornés, and Taylor Esposito.

The story is a crime drama in the vein of Fargo, introducing us to the Khoury family, who run a food empire in Minnesota, looking to expand into neighbouring states. This expansion triggers the ire of one of their business partners, an Irish mobster, resulting in the death of one of the younger Khoury members and a darkly funny comedy of errors nestled in a revenge tale ensues.

There's a real depth to the characters that Eliot Rahal pens here, elaborating on the dysfunctional family members, some of their peculiar idiosyncrasies with one another, that really make them feel like real people. The dialogue never falls into the trap of being either a Minnesotan or crime drama caricature, while still delving into patterns of banter, mocking, and incrimination that can only come within tight knit family structures. It's rounded out with a cast of familiar characters within the genre, from small town cops to business rivals, but with some twists that upend the traditional narrative beats. This latter bit very nicely ensuring that nothing ever quite becomes predictable.

Then there's Jorge Fornés. There's a reason why he's gone on to high profile projects like Batman and it's fully on display here in this story. He utilizes a style that's reminiscent of the fine-lined, shadowy style that David Mazzucchelli used for Batman: Year One and Daredevil, maybe a little bit thicker lines for character outlines and somewhat more suggestive in some of the details, mixed with some incredible layouts and panel pacing, that's just a joy to read. Fornés also colours his own work, choosing mostly blues and muted earth tones, leading to a sombre atmosphere that fits with the crime drama aspect of the story. Taking in how the story flows visually is worth it on its own, as it gels with the dark humor of the dialogue and unexpected turns of the plot, Rahal and Fornés just prove that they're a storytelling force to be reckoned with.

Taylor Esposito rounds out the creative team with his letters, adding some interesting pacing to the dialogue with overlapping word balloons, especially during the family squabbles. It helps visually give the feel of the characters interrupting and talking over one another, fleshing out the characters furthers.

Hot Lunch Special from Rahal, Fornés, and Esposito is a must for anyone who likes offbeat crime dramas, laden with dark humor. Anyone who likes the Coen Brothers absolutely needs to read this. Even if you don't, this is still a perfect storm of comics storytelling, mixing compelling characters with phenomenal artwork in one hell of yarn.

Hot Lunch Special
Writer: Eliot Rahal
Artist: Jorge Fornés
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
Publisher: AfterShock
The Khourys are a classic immigrant success story: a Lebanese family who carved their slice of the American Dream by becoming the largest distributors of vending machine sandwiches in the upper northern Midwest.
Unfortunately, the Khourys’ gains have been ill-gotten, and a branch of the Chicago Irish Mob has come back to collect a past debt. Fealty is demanded, shots are fired and long-hidden family secrets are fully revealed. Now Dorothy Khoury, the daughter of the family patriarch, is forced to unite her splintered bloodline and fight back.
Release Date: April 10, 2019
Price: $14.99
More Info: Hot Lunch Special

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d. emerson eddy is a student and writer of things. He fell in love with comics during Moore, Bissette, & Totleben's run on Swamp Thing and it has been a torrid affair ever since. His madness typically manifests itself on Twitter @93418.