It’s finally summer! This means warm weather, clear skies, and more time to spend with your friends. Arguably, one of the perfect summer activities to do with your friends is hiking and camping. Then again, you never know what’s out there in the wilderness, waiting for the perfect chance to strike! That’s the danger we find three backpackers facing in The Rite.
The Rite is incredibly short, spanning only twelve pages of actual content. Writer Aaron McGrath affirms that it’s a single-issue story. That means we can’t expect a second or third issue to update us on the ending. The Rite follows Ray and another unnamed hiker. Ray and his unnamed friend pick up Neil, an experienced outdoorsman. Neil joins them on their trip as Ray assures his unnamed friend that he’s chill. But the unnamed friend has doubts right out of the gate. They set out for the desert and spend a night drinking and tripping out. By the next day, they struggle to return to their car.
One night, lights appear on the horizon. Ray exclaims that a search party has finally found them. Turns out, it’s not a search party at all. It’s a group of people donning red cloaks and torches. They’re clearly not there to help with directions! Things get even creepier from then on. Neil eventually apologizes to Ray and his unnamed friend. He then puts on a red cloak and says that the Rite has only just begun. Yay, twist villain! However, we never get to see what this Rite is because that’s where the story ends.
As said before, The Rite is only twelve pages long. You might think that’s too short to tell a good story. On the contrary, it’s perfect. There’s never a dull moment in the dialogue; I never feel like the pacing is slow or boring. The story isn’t even fast-paced! It finds a perfectly balanced speed and sticks with it the entire way through. The only downside to its length is that the characters aren’t as well-established. Well, aside from Neil of course. I get Ray and his unnamed friend mixed up a few times. I think it might’ve helped to name Ray’s friend just to distinguish them from each other. Neil is fine; he’s blonde and wears red while the other two have black hair and the same greenish blue shirts. At least make one of them wear a hat or something.
There are no hints to what the Rite is. Nor are there any answers on who the people in the red cloaks are and what they’ll do. Personally, I think Ray and his unnamed friend don’t have a good chance at surviving the ordeal. I also have to wonder if Neil is the leader of this cult. He does an outstanding job of not arousing suspicion. Although, I think he may have drugged Ray and his friend in the beginning thanks to a trippy two-page sequence. How long has Neil been taking advantage of inexperienced hikers? Where does Ray get the tip that Neil is an experienced outdoorsman?
Overall, I think The Rite is a wonderfully quick read. The art style is gritty and captivating, and I never feel bored. It’s a perfect comic to pick up when you want something to finish quickly. While it leaves a lot of unanswered questions, the ending still feels satisfying. I have my questions, certainly, but I don’t feel like the answers are necessary for my enjoyment. Everything feels like it makes sense while still keeping you hooked. It’s super impressive how contained this short comic truly is! Now, do me a favor. Watch your back next time you go backpacking, and don’t drink anything suspicious! Or, even better, don’t bring along complete strangers just because they say they’re experienced. They might turn out to be a cult leader, and nobody wants a cult leader on their camping trip.
What did you think of The Rite? Is this a perfect stand-alone story, or do you think the story is missing something? The Rite is available on Aaron McGrath’s website. Show us some summer love and talk to us about The Rite over in the comments down below or on our Facebook or Twitter!
