Book Review: The Dregs
Today I’d like to highlight this detective noir gem from the brilliant minds of @zacbethompson and @lonnienadler (currently two of my favorite writers in comics, coincidentally), with art and letters by @xyz_eric and colors by @deezoid.
SUMMARY: A gentrified city. Its homeless population restricted to six square blocks called The Dregs. When people start disappearing, a drug-addled homeless man obsessed with detective fiction becomes addicted to solving the mystery. Equal parts Raymond Chandler and Don Quixote set in a thriving metropolis that literally cannibalizes the homeless, The Dregs is the first homeless meta noir ever made.
Set in modern day Vancouver, THE DREGS is about one homeless man’s quest to find out why homeless people have started disappearing. Hooked on drugs and obsessed with detective stories, Marlowe finds himself caught up in a spiral of seedy characters and horrifying revelations.
The writing is smart, nuanced, and loaded with subtext. With a provocative concept and a sprawling storyline, the comic is based in real world issues but painted over with a darkly satirical brush. Coined as “the first homeless meta noir,” it’s a literary blend of Jonathan Swift, Raymond Chandler, and Warren Ellis (oh, and a dash of Bazterrica’s Tender is the Flesh 😳).
In other words, go read this graphic novel!
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Reading Vicariously 