It only gets worse for Nussbaum.
Creative Staff:
Story: Patrick Kindlon
Art: Stefano Simeone
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
What They Say:
Future cowboys, peaceful warlords, and pudgy children are all hurdles on Nussbaum’s path to a corporate-led monoculture! But he’s no quitter. It’s time to purge this bucolic underground society, and he’s got the training to get the job done!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
One of the things I’ve learned from just a couple of series that I’ve read of Patrick Kindlon’s is that they will be fairly nuts. They’re the kind of series that I can really enjoy but more in the monthly format than the compiled format because that would just be too much all at once. So I definitely value the singles for this property as we delve more into what a dark disaster this place is. Stefano Simeone definitely brings it to life in the way I imagine it must look in Kindlon’s head with all these things going on and just the surreal aspect of it. I particularly like how minimal things get when dealing with Judy or her boss as they feel like they exist just outside of the chaos and oversea it, which reflects well in the visual design.
The main storylines that unfold here are definitely interesting for what different elements they bring to it. Judy, overseeing things while her boss is in a padded medical cell for the moment, is getting the store back in working order and ensuring the proper terms are being used so that it’s tightly controlled and managed. It’s amusing to watch this as she realizes Nussbaum is missing in action even as things go back to something resembling normal because he is such a key player here. But it also sets the stage for her to be really done in toward the end as her boss is released and gets updated on how everything is progressing, leaving him wanting to meet the man that saved his life. With him nowhere to be found, how long until Judy ends up below the store?
Nussbaum, for his part, is in a world of shit that’s just getting worse. While tracking a few people he’s come across down there we end up getting a kind of stilted series of events that has him being chained up and taken with others only to be freed for this free love types that are down there. It has a neat couple of moments but it doesn’t take long again for it turn where Nussbaum is trying to get away. I do like that he keeps rattling off infractions because he is completely a Store man at this point. I felt like there was a page or two missing from what’s going on down here in how the story flows but getting an idea of the diverse groups that exist here is certainly interesting. I really just wanted more structure in how it was presented and a great visual understanding of it.
In Summary:
Shoplifters Will Be Liquidated continues to be an interesting title and I’m enjoying the kind of weird projects he’s bringing out like this. It’s weird and silly and strange in all the right ways but it’s also just lacking something to really cement it at this point, to tie it together and give us the narrative. That said, I’m enjoying watching Judry navigating the store side of things while Nussbaum, after being shown his skill as a company man in the store, now has to survive in a very different place all while not having most of his usual tools. At least he’s mentally keeping track of infractions!
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: AfterShock Comics
Release Date: November 6th, 2019
MSRP: $3.99
