What Did It All Amount To? ‘Shoplifters Will Be Liquidated #5’ Reviewed
by Josh Davison
Mild Spoilers Ahead
The man, the child, and the hermit continue their pursuit of Nussbaum, who has been captured by Ambrosia and her people, Comrade Fellowship. The grand inquisitor of the Comrade Fellowship has been interrogating Nussbaum in the hopes that he can exploit a weakness in his allegiance to Caucasus and turn him into a sleeper agent. Unfortunately, Nussbaum is a true believer and he breaks free of his bondage. He beelines for the surface with Ambrosia close behind. Meanwhile, Lyhard and her people have stirred the farmers into rebelling against the Comrade Fellowship. On the surface, Provo is finally rolling out his Right to Die initiative and Lance and Bryce have hired student protestors to cause a distraction in Caucasus while they complete their insider trading scheme.
Shoplifters Will Be Liquidated #5 concludes the volume with a funny, shocking, and nihilistic finale that provides a brilliant satire to the world we live in and even those who seek to change it.
That’s not to say that Shoplifters Will Be Liquidated #5 lambasts the will to change things for the better; it just takes a sideways glance at some of the types of people who’ve tried to enact change and some of their methods.
Regardless, this issue brings its plots to a bombastic finale that then looks inwards and asks if any of this really meant anything.
Nussbaum, Provo, Ambrosia, Lyhard, and the others receive an ending that, while maybe not deserved, certainly seemed inevitable. The man, the boy, and the hermit are left to be semi-passive observers wondering what to make of it all.
Stefano Simeone gives the issue another fluid and surreal treatment that nevertheless remains clear and easy to follow. The lithe and bending figures give the book a unique appeal that fits the satirical nature of the tale. The color palette is similarly surreal and strange and it looks good–if a bit blindingly bright at times.
Shoplifters Will Be Liquidated #5 brings the story to a close with a tense and bombastic blowout of a finale worthy of a Coen Brothers movie. It’s funny, violent, and nihilistic. It gels wonderfully with the rest of the tale and this one easily earns a strong recommendation. Give it a read.
Shoplifters Will Be Liquidated #5 comes to us from writer Patrick Kindlon, artist and cover artist Stefano Simeone, and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.
Final Score: 9.5/10
