IF DESTRUCTION BE OUR LOT #5 (IMAGE COMICS/ASHCAN PRESS)
Abe continues to try and find the human girl, even though his journey has taken him to a wasteland. Low on battery power, Abe needs to find a power source or he risks shutting down. This low power mood seems to have Abe hallucinating and having fever dreams of a past he has in his head.
If Destruction Be Our Lot #5 - Written By Matthew & Mark Elijah Rosenberg – Art By Andy MacDonald – Colors By Francesco Segala – Letters By Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou - Published By Image Comics/Ashcan Press
Credit: Image Comics/Ashcan Press
*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***
WRITING:
This issue is a fever dream of a story that at times makes you question what is real and what isn’t. Matthew & Mark Elijah Rosenberg take the reader on a trippy ride with this issue. As Abe finds himself low powered in a dessert wasteland, it feels like he starts to hallucinate a bit. The weird “flashbacks” seem to be more of a fever dream than a reality. But the Rosenbergs blur those lines by adding some crazy monster that attacks Abe in the real world or is it the real world. By the time you get to the end of the issue you’re still trying to figure out what really happened and what isn’t real. This confusion and uneasiness add to the allure of this world and create an air of mystery for what will happen next. Although, I’m sure some readers may be too confused by what’s going on in this issue, which may make it frustrating to some.
ARTWORK:
The artwork in this issue does a lot of the heavy lifting as it is a very visual story issue. Andy Macdonald creates this sprawling dessert wasteland that has a beauty to it. As Abe wanders the landscape, Macdonald adds some unique touches to the background. When the story enters the fever dream stage, Macdonald really escalates his artwork showing the reader that we are in some uncharted territory. The masterful part of this is he never truly gives away what is real and what may be not. Sure at times we know we are in a flashback of sorts, but the actual style of the artwork keeps its look and feel. This issue relies on the confusion of the reader to make them feel as uneasy as Abe is in the story. The artwork not only delivers that visually, but it also creates clues and context to what we should be truly following in the story.
CHECK OUT MY REVIEW OF IF DESTRUCTION BE OUR LOT #4
Final Thoughts:
If Destruction Be Our Lot #5 is a surreal and unsettling issue that pulls readers deeper into Abe’s fractured perspective. The Rosenbergs use his dwindling power and fever-dream visions to blur the line between memory, hallucination, and reality, while Andy MacDonald’s stark, expansive wasteland and increasingly strange imagery heighten the mystery. The ambiguity may frustrate readers looking for clear answers, but it effectively captures Abe’s confusion and leaves compelling questions about what he has experienced and what awaits him next. Strange, atmospheric, and visually driven, this issue keeps the series moving in an intriguing direction.
FINAL GRADE: 8.6/10
Let me know your thoughts on If Destruction Be Our Lot #5 in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
