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A comiXologist recommends:
Death Sentence: London #1
by: Harris Smith
In the near future, a sexually transmitted disease known as the G-Virus gives the infected superhuman powers…for six months, then they die. One victim of the disease, David “Monty” Montgomery, has gone mad in the face of his empowerment and mortality, slaughtering the heads of the British government and inciting chaos and destruction that have left London in a state of ruin unseen since World War 2, with thousands dead and many more infected with what appears to be a mutation of the G-Virus.
Picking up right where the first Death Sentence* series left off, Death Sentence: London #1 is a smart, action-packed comic that will appeal to fans of the genre-bending work of Warren Ellis and Grant Morrison. Writer Monty Nero, like Ellis and Morrison, has been a contributor to the popular, long-running British comic 2000AD, and the tale he crafts here is very much in keeping with the aesthetic of that mag and it’s brazen, satirical brand of dystopian sci-fi stories (most famously Judge Dredd). Nero and artist Martin Simmonds keep things meaty throughout, maintaining a taut balance between action (there’s a lot of it!), political intrigue and character development.
In many ways, Death Sentence: London reminds me of one of my favorite recent TV shows, Black Mirror (also a UK import). It takes a truly original idea, one that’s fantastical but also fairly plausible when you stop and think about it, and splits its energies between crafting a compelling story around that idea while simultaneously exploring it a conceptual level. Here, we’re confronted with questions of power and mortality. If you suddenly have an unbelievable amount of power, but only a limited time to use it before you die, do you try to make an impact of lasting good, or do you use your powers selfishly, and get what you can while you’re around to enjoy it? Both of these ideologies collide throughout Death Sentence: London, and it’s a hell of a sight to see what happens when they do.
[Check out Death Sentence: London #1 on comiXology]
Harris Smith is a Brooklyn-based comics and media professional. In addition to his role as a Senior Production Coordinator at comiXology, he edits several comics anthologies, including Jeans and Felony Comics, under the banner of Negative Pleasure Publications. He’s also the host of the weekly radio show Neagtive Pleasure on Newtown Radio.
*Ed Note: There is a sale on the first arc of Death Sentence running through 6/14.