Mark Russell has created some of the most important and thought-provoking satirical comics of all time, and come May 29th, we can add Death Ratio’d to that list. Published by AWA Studios, it is a hard look at social media through the lens of a possible nightmare future. It’s not quite a dystopia — people still have creature comforts and plenty of food — but the social constructs that dictate everything are a nightmare and then some. The new one-shot is so good that you might be begging for a limited series once you finish it.
In an age where conspiracies are more rampant than ever, politics seems more corrupt by the day, and celebrities have taken on idol-worship status, satire is more important than ever. This is why I found Death Ratio’d smart, but more importantly, an important read. It dives into a possible future where social media is connected to everything as people live and, quite literally, die by peer approval.
The story opens in Boston in 2046, so it’s a plausible amount of time for the nightmare of social media to infect all areas of life. We soon meet a man who has been in a coma long enough to know what it was like before the great change and learns everyone he knows is dead. A great war took place, and now everyone is pleasantly laid back and happy with the way things are. He also learns there’s an economy set up surrounding likes and downvotes, so everyone must be on their best behavior. If you get too many downvotes, your head literally explodes, thanks to a collar that tracks everything. It’s a scary notion but not so far-fetched, given how much people care about being seen on social media.
Frightening and not that hard to believe could happen.
Credit: AWA Studios
This setup allows Mark Russell and artist Laci to plug in tons of jokes and references. Some of these humorous moments are simply things in the background. In contrast, others deal with the incredibly scary idea of people being totally fine with a system that doesn’t seem far and is overly superficial. It all feels very close to a possible reality, especially with ideas like digital clothes that change on a whim, but if you can’t afford a skin, it’ll play an annoying ad every so often.
Laci’s art is highly detailed, making it even easier to believe a world like this could exist. From the giant ads to drones with believable builds, there’s a lot here that’s not so far off from reality. Above all else, the character acting sells much of the humor, from the protagonist’s angry reactions to the borderline evil nature of the characters who walk him through what he’s in store for.
Paired with the comedy is darker reveals and a lack of empathy and humanity in everyone. That includes those who oppose the system and how people act to avoid getting their final deadly downvote. There is some hope, but plenty of room for further exploration.
If you’ve liked Russell’s previous satirical work, you’ll likely put this one at the top of the list of best yet. That’s partly due to the horrific nature of social media, something that’s far scarier by the day, but also due to the many clever and sometimes laugh-out-loud hilarious twists on how much worse social media could be. Death Ratio’d is a fantastic one-shot that you’ll put down and, deep down, wish you had more. Orwellian, absurdly funny, and existential in its brilliance.
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