REVIEW: ‘We Only Find Them When They’re Dead,’ Issue #5

We Only Find Them When They’re Dead #5 is published by BOOM! Studios. It comes from the creative team of writer Al Ewing, artist Simone Di Meo, coloring assists from Mariasara Miotti, and lettering by AndWorld Design. We begin in a flashback. The origin of Richter’s vendetta against Georges and his family is finally revealed. Georges’ brother Thierry had been Richter’s betrothed.

One day, when Thierry was on the Vihaan in Georges’ place, he and their family tried to make a run with contraband goods. This resulted in their deaths and severe injury to Richter. Now, standing before a living god, Richter confronts Georges about his role in the accident. But it will all come down to the hands of fate to decide how this standoff between two people with a messy past will end.

We Only Find Them When They’re Dead #5 is the brilliant, logical conclusion of the first arc in my favorite sci-fi series in years. It perfectly combines the outlandish concepts introduced with authentic human drama driven by social commentary. The primary conflict between Georges and Richter is largely influenced by poverty and socio-economic imbalance. Ewing weaves this commentary into the fabric of the story effortlessly. So much so that you almost forget that this story is essentially plucked from headlines. Minus the spaceships and dead gods, of course. As a result, this series is immensely compelling and satisfying once it reaches its first climax.

The art and colors continue to be dazzlingly beautiful. The way that the ships and characters are drawn does a brilliant job of conveying scale. Personal moments are close and tight between the characters. Scenes in space are distant and help highlight how tiny the players are on such a massive stage as space. The colors subtly portray locations thanks to the palettes.

Reds and Blues tend to be more common in space, while yellows are shown planetside (with one major distinction). This helps keep everything focused and clear and eliminates some of the potential confusion with frequent flashbacks and time skips. The letters are extremely well done and do a brilliant job guiding the reader’s eyes across the gorgeous artwork. It is never difficult to make out the text or tell who is speaking.

Overall, I found We Only Find Them When They’re Dead #5 to be a conclusion that makes a masterpiece out of its story’s whole. Ewing has delivered a five-issue arc that absolutely drips with style, tension, and drama. The story is exceedingly timely despite it taking place over three centuries in the future. If someone had told me that my favorite science fiction story in years would be a fable about poverty and the excess of capitalism framed around mining dead giants, I’d never have believed them. But here we are, looking at a gorgeous, well written, and just generally beautiful comic. You owe it to yourself to check this series out as soon as possible.

We Only Find Them When They’re Dead #5 is available now wherever comics are sold.