If Destruction Be Our Lot #5: Abe’s Odyssey

Abe’s journey outside of the city has begun, and the world is much more dangerous than he originally believed. After being caught in a sandstorm, encountering mutated monsters, and almost getting assimilated into a roaming superintelligence it might have been best if Abe had just stayed home.

Abe’s sojourn into the desert wilderness comes with a lot of surprises that will no doubt be a focus of the next arc of the story. There is a lot we still don’t know about how this world became the way it is, but there is one rather large potential hint when Abe goes to literally recharge his battery in an abandoned electronics store.

There are monsters in the desert, specifically what appear to be mutated humans, but by Abe’s reaction this is something that was seemingly unknown to him before now. While this issue only introduces these menacing creatures, it does give a greater context as to why the bots are sealed inside the bubble surrounding the city as well as how human society might have fallen. It’s a bit of a twist, but one that is very welcome at this part of the story as it adds a small layer of depth to the narrative.

The Rosenbergs lean more into dark comedy in this issue, but there are some serious moments as well that dive deeper into Abe’s connection to the real Abraham Lincoln. Abe’s encounter with the giant machine gives both the most of the comedy and drama , with the at first ominous narration boxes becoming more and more flippant as the pages go on. Its like something out of a modern Deadpool comic in a sense. Abe’s continued confusion of what is happening to him makes him a great viewpoint character for the reader as we are just as lost as he is. This world is just as new to him as it is to us.

Andy MacDonald’s art isn’t as strong as it was in previous issues, but it still more than does its job to sell you on the desolation of the wasteland outside of the city walls. The monster design feels Lovecraftian in nature with all the tentacles. Abe’s attempted assimilation also gives a few interesting visual flairs as well when events start to repeat themselves helped along with Francesco Segala’s deep colors.