Sidekicks, Psychopaths And Sickos: ‘Nemesis: Rogues Gallery’ #5 Advance Review

Nemesis may very well be the baddest of the bad, but when his target is the elite — a group of people easily detested when their current poster boy is right-wing leaning, egomaniac Elon Musk —  you can’t help rooting for him. And not for the first time in this satisfying series that happily takes well-aimed potshots at billionaires through the medium of comics. It’s a collective form of therapy reading Nemesis: Rogues Gallery #5 and marvelling at the mayhem and murder, knowing it’s all make-believe. Even if the current crop of real-life billionaires,  for the first time in modern history, behave far worse than any comic book bad guy. And, subconsciously at least, the revenge fantasy being played out across the printed page is one we wouldn’t necessarily disagree with and probably harbour. 

Writer Mark Millar must love writing Nemesis. After waiting so long for a sequel to the original series, like buses, we now get not two, but three (the third series, Nemesis Forever, is promised at the end of this current miniseries). And after this darkly delightful series, I can’t wait for more. 

This final issue reveals Nemesis’ plans and, as ever, they involve a large body count. Although, if the victims of the world’s most elaborate mugging had stuck to the plan, they may have survived. But no one bet on the Nemesis Revenge Squad turning up to spoil the party and indirectly being responsible for the following bloodbath.

Valerio Giangiordano’s gritty, highly detailed, realistic artwork has been a boon to this new chapter in Nemesis’ life of crime. But, what I haven’t commented on before now if his ability to render the ugliness at the heart of the character. Especially Nemesis, as he rages against the very people he has come to make pay. The physical facial features of many characters can’t help, when angered, to reveal their very ugly souls. All are perfectly captured in Giangiordano’s art and accentuated by Lee Loughbridge’s colours.

But, when you come down to it, Nemesis is still a self-serving ass. But a self-serving ass with a plan. One we won’t see unfold until the next mini, but it that promises further fun at the expense of comic book clichés of the past. 

Nemesis: Rogues Gallery #5 is out on Wednesday 8th January from Dark Horse Comics