Death Sentence #5

By Monty Nero & Mike Dowling

Things have really heated up in Death Sentence this month as Monty Nero delivers what may be the best issue so far. At this point, it is much clearer where the story may ultimately lead and the prospects are quite exciting.

Having exploited his G+ virus-given abilities for his own sadistic pleasures, Monty (the character, not the writer!) has all but decimated London. Now the rest of the world is ready for action, but the British government has a plan. Remember all that training Weasel and Verity have been undergoing? They’re about to put their abilities to good use while they still can. While previous issues have certainly been engaging, Death Sentence #5 was much more exciting as everybody is gearing up for action. Monty has reached new heights of destruction but it looks like his plans may be backfiring in more ways than one. The crass humor provided by Weasel is as rampant as ever and adds a lot to this otherwise grim story. Furthermore, the mystery surrounding the G+ virus has reached new depths as subtle hints of government involvement are further alluded to.

Mike Dowling has significantly stepped up his game since the first installment. While the visuals have been consistently good, issue #5 has the best artwork yet for this series. The attention to detail and realism is much more prominent this month regarding both characters and backgrounds. Once again, Dowling nails the facial expressions throughout the book which really helps to convey the character emotions without unnecessary words, especially the frightened look on Verity’s face as she describes what it felt like to use her powers. Aside from the great detail in the illustrations, the color work in Death Sentence #5 was top notch and added a lot of life to each panel. The colors really enhanced the depth of each image which gave this installment a particularly epic feel.

Death Sentence has definitely been an interesting book, but the latest installment really demonstrates how exciting things are getting. The character development has remained solid, the visuals just keep getting better, and there are big things on the horizon for this story.