Exclusive Preview: The Dregs Serves Up Cannibal Cuisine with a Side of Class Consciousness

Black Mask has had horror at its heart since day one, with the involvement of 30 Days of Night co-creator Steve Niles and early titles like punk-zombie bash Toe Tag Riot. The Dregs, the publisher’s next mini-series, continues that gory lineage with an opening scene of human butchery that’ll test even the most iron-clad of stomachs. Co-writers Zac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler and artist Eric Zawadzki aren’t pulling any bloody punches with the book, which focuses on a homeless man who uncovers the disgusting secrets behind a gentrifying community’s latest trendy dining options.

Zawadzki will be a new name to most readers, but his confident linework and adeptness with gross anatomy will likely earn him well-deserved comparisons to The Walking Dead’s Charlie Adlard, while Thompson and Nadler interweave their hyper-gory plot with potent and timely social metaphor. In advance of the series’ January debut, Paste got an exclusive look at interior pages, as well as a host of variant covers. Reserve your seat at the table for The Dregs when it hits shelves January 25th, 2017.

The Dregs #1 Interior Art by Eric Zawadzki & Dee Cunniffe

The Dregs #1 Variant Cover Art by Ryan Ferrier