If there were ever a time to “wage war on billionaires”, as the promo blurb for Patrick Horvath’s Free For All puts it, it is right here and now. This one-shot from the Eisner-nominated cartoonist, and publisher Oni Press. provides “a brutal new vision of capitalism by combat”. The premise is one that most readers will no doubt relish. Somewhere in the near-ish future the World Finance League – an organisation with a remit to benefit all of humanity – randomly selects billionaires and gives them an ultimatum. Either give away half their wealth or defend everything they possess in a battle to the death in a future sports-style gladiatorial arena.
In this self-contained story the main narrative thrust is the combat between the reigning champion Ted Brooks and his ex-wife Luella Dominguez. There is no love lost between the pair after Ted betrayed Luella years ago through his manipulative business scheming. She, in turn, has been training for this moment. But when the two meet what hope can she have against the 22-times-winning crowd-pleasing champ?
As you can imagine, Free For All #1 is not subtle. But in 2025 we are way beyond the point of subtlety or nuance. It’s not even particularly involved in turns of plot, and even characterisation to a degree takes second place to spectacle. What it is though, and this is indeed its greatest strength, is that it’s wonderfully cathartic. A pre-big match battle between Ted and another selfish billionaire who has, among many other obscenities, been withholding cancer drugs for kids to push the price up, is an almost gleeful depiction of someone finally getting their rightful comeuppance. And while at story’s end we know we have perhaps been somewhat morally compromised by taking such delight at the gruesome fates of the obscenely rich we also leave Free For All’s pages knowing that the ruthlessness herein may be mere fantasy for us but is the everyday behavioural reality for them in the real world.
Horvath’s art has a gritty, grainy quality here that blends a sense of realism with grotesquerie. The battle sequences are flowing in their choreography as unlikely weapons and wanton violence alternate with dexterous combat and sometimes graceful movement. And that sense of gruesome pageantry is enhanced by his colour choices. A comic for our current world of obscene wealth-hoarding if ever there was one.
Patrick Horvath (W/A) • Oni Press, $7.99
Review by Andy Oliver
