AIPT Comics Podcast episode 372: No reboot, just evolution: Matthew Rosenberg on Spawn and ‘If Destruction Be Our Lot’

On this week’s AIPT Comics Podcast, we’re joined by Matthew Rosenberg to talk about one of the most ambitious creator-owned books on the horizon: If Destruction Be Our Lot.

For a story about the end of humanity, this one is surprisingly full of life. We dig into how the series came together, from its strange and instantly compelling premise of a robotic Abraham Lincoln wandering a post-human world, to the deeper themes driving it. Rosenberg opens up about how the book grew out of his own creative evolution, how it responds to the current moment for artists, and why this isn’t a bleak dystopia so much as a story about connection, purpose, and trying to find meaning when the system no longer makes sense.

We also get into the craft behind it all, including the long development process, the collaboration with his brother Mark Elijah Rosenberg, and why artist Andy Macdonald might be doing some of the most exciting work in comics right now.

Of course, we also talk Spawn and what it means to step into that world, but the heart of this conversation is If Destruction Be Our Lot and why it might be Rosenberg’s most personal and layered work yet.

After that, we break down the biggest comics news and releases of the week, so you’re fully caught up on everything happening across the industry

You can stream the AIPT Comics podcast below or find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.

AIPT Comics Best Books of the Week:

Dave:

1. Sai: Dimensional Rivals #3 (Momoko, Mundo, Casagrande, Bengal)
2. Iron Man #3 (Joshua Williamson, Carmen Carnero)

Alex:​​

1. Is Ted Ok? #2 (Dave Chisholm)
2. Absolute Wonder Woman #18 (Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman)
3. Sai: Dimensional Rivals #3 (Mike del Mundo story)

Standout KAPOW moment of the week:

Alex: Punisher #2 (José Luis Soares Pinto)

Dave: Knull #3 (Al Ewing, Tom Waltz, Juanan Ramírez)

In the Judging by the Cover segment, Dave loves Nick Pitarra’s Bizarro: Year None #1 cover, and Alex loves Batman / Superman: World’s Finest #50 by Rahzzah. Check out both below!