With the current status quo of capitalism heavily affecting our societal standards, Shoplifters Will Be Liquidated is a wonderful reflective meditation on the purpose of our being within this economy. This book is a dissection of people being enslaved to capitalism. While the book establishes various plotlines, their lack of development inevitably serves the ending all the better in the last issue. In truth, the ending is a thesis of how this series has been thematically pinpointing certain societal problems we suffer currently.
Shoplifters Will Be Liquidated is co-created by writer Patrick Kindlon and artist/colorist Stefano Simone. There is a proper blend in how these two creators manage to sync their creative energies within the piece. There exists this pure teleological nature in the emptiness of protagonist Nussbaum. While he himself lacks any interior life or motivation for himself, the surrounding cast of characters and schemers simply conflate against him. These whole characters are a wonderful representation of how hyper-driven capitalism affects our modern-day life.
Artist Stefano Simone has a wonderfully adept style. His linework really proffers this unique level of grandeur and graphic design aesthetics, and his ability to carry the layout in this wonderful boisterous manner allows for a steady reading experience. Every panel grabs the reader’s attention with his lines managing to retain the attention to this work. The unique coloring stylized within each page is simply magnanimous. The colors are all reminiscent of things found in a huge chain store and really managed to catch the mood of this book.
Letterer Hassan-Otsmane Elhaou has some real fun with his balloons on this book. Certain flourishes, like the squared out balloons paired with these wonderful moments of onomatopoeia, really clarify a succinct turn of events. Most impressive is how the line work is being mimicked with the lettering along with the SFX capturing the flow of these lines.
Overall, Shoplifters Will Be Liquidated is a fun indictment of late-stage capitalism. It’s a good thrill while still managing to convey a message the way only comics can express.
