Review: ‘Under The Influence’ #5 Rings Truer Than You Want To Believe

Welcome to the table,

Upon reading Under the Influence #5 from Mad Cave Studios, I’m reminded of a poem titled A Legend of Truth by Rudyard Kipling.

Once on a time, the ancient legends tell,
Truth, rising from the bottom of her well,
Looked on the world, but, hearing how it lied,
Returned to her seclusion horrified…

Eliot Rahal is a fucking brilliant storyteller. The profanity, while crass, felt well deserved to express the absolute delight I have experienced finishing this story. For those of you who have been following my exploits for a while, outside of journalistic work I have a very heavy hand in production and social media spaces. The brilliant tale that Under The Influence has told thus far is so timely and relevant to the world around us that it should be required reading for marketing and media courses in school.

This is the kind of book that, once experienced, will no doubt elicit all manner of conversation about the nature of truth, media, the news, and how it fits into the narrative we tell ourselves about the world around us. I can’t stress this enough, if you are a student of history and how marketing, organizations, and media can manipulate the masses in a very non-tinfoil hat sort of way this book speaks truth to power.

Throughout this issue, Stefano Simeone delivers some truly spectacular art. Each page is packed full of energy and emotion. Even the quiet and tense moments stand out due to the spectacular panel choices being made.

The parallel is there and I am going to make it, but I want to preface this by saying that this is not intended for the type of audience who bullied certain kids in high school because they thought they were “Jack’s imaginary friend.”

Under the Influence feels in many ways like Fight Club did when I first read it. It hits close to home and maintains a narrative voice that seems to sync perfectly with the events in the world around us. So many comics and stories, even ones I adore, take place out of sync with our current time. Far-flung tales of yore with Sword & Sorcery or things so far in the future that technology and magic seem one and the same.

Under the Influence is now. It’s me and you, it’s all of us living day to day in a webwork of what is true or untrue delivered to us 24/7 by the supercomputer in our pocket, on our desk, or strapped to our head, wrist, or walls. It’s the situation that is unfolding around us every day down to the brightly colored packaging it is delivered in and for me, it is one of the most poignant and timely books of our generation.

I don’t know if Eliot set out to make something like this, I don’t know if any author does. What I do know is that I’ve worked in and around the space as the tip of the spear for a long time now. This book, more than much else out there I’ve seen, should be given to marketing and media students and should live on the shelves of those who engage in social engineering even if it is just a means to reflect on the nature of Truth and the impact the work we do has upon the very nature of it.

Until next time, if you find yourself doom scrolling TikTok or Insta, maybe put down the phone and go find a copy of Under the Influence… give it a read. It’s really that good.