Comic Review: Shoplifters Will Be Liquidated #3

Shoplifters Will Be Liquidated #3

AfterShock Comics

Writer: Patrick Kindlon

Artist: Stefano Simeone

Things ramp up in Shoplifters Will Be Liquidated #3, both above and below the Causcasus SuperStore. Nussbaum struggles to survive in the breakaway society that’s formed beneath shoppers’ feet. In the consumerist world above, there’s an even more concerning development. After his recent suicide attempt, Caucasus founder Mister Provo has decided that since life itself is a commodity, there’s only one new product left to sell. Death.

Nussbaum’s journey remains interesting, even if it’s lacking personal growth. He’s now a vehicle for world-building, such as suspended in the air acrobatic ascetics, and similarly entertaining scenarios. The strongest example is Nussbam locked in a life and death struggle with one of his “suspects.” The loss prevention specialist quickly loses the advantage but ends up in a deadlock once a kid shows up. Nussbaum’s adversary asking the child to turn around so he can brain his opponent with a rock is one of the better moments I’ve read in a comic this year.

Provo’s tragic situation offers a depth the single-minded Nussbaum lacks, while also incorporating just as much social commentary. Having lost everything, even the will to live, he’s coping the only way he knows how. Trying to make a profit. Provo trying to come up with a “not morbid” way to peddle DIY suicide kits is a great black comedy. It also delivers some much-needed reflection on where we are as a culture. The plotline also offers a strong, empathetic character piece that prevents this from becoming an overly absurd and cynical story.

Stefano Simeone’s art continues to be impressive. The art perfectly realizes the bizarre sights and sounds of the Causcasus SuperStore, to the point where it even has a strange majesty to it. The fundamentals are also sound, as the heavily stylized approach Simeone opts for doesn’t make the characters’ emotions any less apparent or convincing. This issue also puts negative space to good use, emphasizing Provo’s increasing isolation as he wanders around a blank page addressing an unseen board of directors. Similarly, the increasing use of reds and harsh pinks helps convey just how dire the situation is getting as Shoplifters Will Be Liquidated progresses.

If I have one complaint with Shoplifters Will Be Liquidated, it’s that the book keeps introducing new characters and plotlines. Nussbaum and Provo’s stories are heading in the right direction but the book as a whole is starting to wander a little too much. Even then, Shoplifters Will Be Liquidated continues a long tradition of speculative fiction critiquing consumerism, using characters as vapid, flawed and ultimately tragic as the values they represent.