Review: Billionaire Island #1

Mark Russell is one of the most thoughtful political satirists of the modern era of fiction. He takes simple concepts and uses them to embody larger principles and discussion of sociopolitical importance. Unlike many writers, he does not seek to couch his perspectives in long exposition and speeches. Instead he presents extreme versions of our political realities and conflicts and allows them to speak for him.

In Billionaire Island, Russell presents a world where the rich freely poison the poor even while separating themselves from the ugliness they’ve created on a private island tax shelter in international waters. Rick Canto is a social media mogul and owner of Aggrocorp foods. In 2044, the wealthy have ruined mainland America through climate change, health care costs and low paying jobs. Even as the people live in misery and strike out around them in anger, the rich are able to escape to Canto’s island ‘Freedom Unlimited’.

Freedom Unlimited is an artificial, moving island able to evade pesky things such as refugees, immigrants, taxes and reporters. Trent is a man driven to change the system. Trent attacks Corey Spagnola, the CEO of Aggrocorp on the mainland. Trent’s family was poisoned when they share poisoned food with refugees in Angola. In increasing horror, Trent relives the death of his family and the people of Angola before Spagnola reveals Rick Canto was behind the destruction. Trent kills Spagnola with the poisoned food before moving on to find Billionaire Island and Canto.

At the same time Shelly Bly is a reporter who visits Billionaire Island to interview Canto but is quickly captured after asking uncomfortable questions. She is imprisoned in a giant squirrel cage with a cast of corporate victims too willing to remain caged. The prisoners are unusual and interesting enough to give the series some broader potential going forward. The issue ends with Trent finding a way to get onto Billionaire Island.

The art by Steve Pugh is exactly right. Every panel tells a story. Each character has a distinctive look and presence. The scenes on and off the island as well as the flashback scenes are separated artistically as well as through the amazing color work by Chris Chuckry. The art takes what could be a slow story visually and elevates them with a unexpected fluidity and sense of movement.

What would be an average story in lesser hands, is an interesting and thoughtful issue by a creative team that knows its craft well. Russell and Pugh set up an interesting future where class warfare is pronounced. The only short-coming of this book is allowing readers to see this warfare as being between individuals, rather than focusing at all on the system that allowed for them. Larger questions of the morality of a system that encourages unending accumulation of wealth are left behind for the specific villainy of Canto. This is just the beginning of our tale and the hope is that the story becomes broader than simply blaming one billionaire villain for the ills of society within this cleaver allegory.

Story: 4 of 5 Stars
Art: 5 of 5 Stars
Colors: 5 of 5 Stars

Overall: 4.7 of 5 Stars

Writer: Mark Russell
Artist: Steve Pugh
Colors: Chris Chuckry
Publisher: Ahoy Comics

Author Profile

M.R. Jafri

M.R. Jafri was born and raised in Niagara Falls New York and now lives with his family in Detroit Michigan. He's a talkative introvert and argumentative geek. His loves include Star Wars, Star Trek, Superheroes, Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Transformers, GI Joe, Films, Comics, TV Shows, Action Figures and Twizzlers.