Advance Review — ‘If Destruction Be Our Lot’ #1 Uses Robots To Examine The Human Condition
by Tom Smithyman
Overview
You don’t need to be a fan of Abraham Lincoln to like this new series, but it probably doesn’t hurt. By using a mechanized version of Honest Abe, the creators are able to ask questions like “Why are we here?” and “What is the point of it all?” without introducing actual humans into the mix.
Overall
9/10A new series about artificial intelligence and sentient machines has found an unlikely hero in…Abraham Lincoln. Or rather a mechanical doppelganger of Honest Abe.
If Destruction Be Our Lot #1 opens with a gang of robots coming across a simulated version of the 16th president. It’s been 87 years (that’s right, fourscore and seven years ago) since all human life was destroyed, leaving only the machines to wander the planet. Exactly what happened to the humans is still unknown. Instead, we’re left with machines that behave like the best and worst of humans.
Abe is one of the best. Like many of us, he’s living through an existential crisis. As a stand-in for the real president, Lincoln recites speech after speech from the real historical figure. (The title of the series is pulled from one of his famous addresses.) But even that soaring prose leaves him empty and question his other robot companions.
Writers Matthew and Mark Elijah Rosenberg understand that an outside-in approach often works best when examining the human condition. In other words, it takes a robot for us to better understand why we humans are like we are.
This oversized premiere issue gives readers plenty to chew on. The Rosenbergs give Abe different companions in this first chapter, including a cooking droid as well as a sentient bus. There is also a mysterious monster that keeps showing up. Is it the cause of humanity’s downfall? Hopefully time will tell.
Artist Andy Macdonald seems to be having a lot of fun in illustrating the robots and the strange new world. His Lincoln is spot on, which is likely why he dedicates his initial splash page to Honest Abe.
The creative team gives us plenty to think about as we wait for the next issue. Are humans really gone, and if so, what killed them? And if they are still around, will they give him purpose, or send him spiraling? This first chapter is strong enough to guarantee that readers will want to stick around for the answers.
If Destruction Be Our Lot #1 — written by Matthew and Mark Elijah Rosenberg, illustrated by Andy Macdonald, colored by Francesco Segala, and lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou – will be available Wednesday in comic books stores and on digital platforms from Image Comics.
