By Cat Wyatt

The second to last issue of Death of Love is here, and I have to admit it’s already a little bittersweet. I’ve been enjoying this series, so I’ll be sad to see it go. In the meantime, I’m going to do my very best to enjoy it while I have it! In the last issue, we saw Philo drugging his two (and possibly only) friends to prove that he wasn’t crazy (because that’s the sort of thing a sane and considerate person would do…oh wait), and well…they now understand what he’s been wailing about this whole time.

So, to recap: Philo, Bob, and Zoe are trapped in the panic room inside Zoe’s shop. There’s hundreds of cupidae trying to breach the room (which is an oddly terrifying though). Oh and Bob’s been shot. He seems okay, but it’s the principle of the thing.

Due to the urgency of the situation, Bob and Zoe are willing to overlook the whole Philo drugging them a bit, but it’s been made clear that this discussion has merely been tabled, and he will hear what they have to say about that. And boy, I hope that’s included in this series because I need to see Philo hear some hard truths right about now.

Anyway, back to the situation at hand. There’s a way out of the panic room, which Zoe leads them through. Not being trapped in that room sounds great and all, but without a longer-term plan for surviving I’m not sure how much that is going to help.

Not that they considered that; but I’m going to bet they wish they had, once they got on the road and had to deal with Zoe’s driving and hordes of ticked off cupidae shooting at them. I was expecting Zoe to drive into them all here (resulting in even more gore than we’ve already seen) but I ended up being wrong on that count. Probably for the best, I’m not sure how much that car could take.

They end up back at Bob’s place, for somewhat obvious reasons. Philo’s place is compromised (because of the brilliant plan he had that got everyone into this mess) and Zoe lives in an apartment (yeah…I’m betting that even if people can’t’ see the cupidae they can still get shot by them…but maybe not…that’s an interesting question. Regardless, Zoe and crew don’t know the answer to that, so they’re obviously not going to risk it).

So Bob’s place isn’t terribly fortified, because you know, it’s a house instead of a fortress. I feel like we should start a timer or a countdown for when shit starts hitting the fan again (without the added benefit of a panic room this time around).

They do have time to talk about what the hell is going on, and how they got into this mess to begin with. The short answer is obviously Philo is a dumb jerk; the full answer is significantly more complicated. You’ll remember that a strange guy named Eris gave him the drugs. Much to my joy Zoe actually recognizes the importance of this statement. Granted, she has to explain it to the guys.

Not that knowing the lore of Eros and Eris will really help them here, especially when Zoe can only speculate on the how and why of everything. All things considered she’s got some pretty sound theories. The problem is finding a way to confirm any of it (which would sort of require them to survive long enough to get any answers…so…).

Cue the ‘it’s too quiet’ statement followed by a dramatic attack. In all fairness this actually was one of those times where a statement like that was well used – those cupidae are small, fierce, and apparently stealthy when they want to be. So it works.

Philo definitely fared better than his friends here, probably because the last few days have really honed his survival instincts. While he goes straight for cover, immediately followed by kitchen spray and a lighter (which when aimed at small flying figures is oddly satisfying and pyrotechnic)…his friends found themselves surrounded by cupidae.

Philo now has a choice. He can stay and save his friends, or he can flee and live to fight another day. Um. I think we all know which reflex Philo went with. Yep! You guessed it. Philo, the man who literally dragged his friends into this, has officially bailed on them.

I give Bob credit here, he had complete faith that Philo would do the right thing in the end, and I guess in that sense he really does know Philo pretty well. I totally would have assumed he was gone for good. Anyway, the following scene is pretty satisfying, especially if you like gore and chainsaws (I’m sure you can guess which one preceded which).

Even after everything these guys have been through, I can safely say I wasn’t expecting what happened next. I hope the next (and sadly, last) issue picks up right where this one left off, because I have so many questions.

I know I’ve said it before, but I’m really enjoying this series. It’s fun, crazy, and has just the right amount of violence and gore. Plus it actually has some pretty important points it’s trying to make, which I totally respect. Philo isn’t a great person, but he is a great character, and that’s a very important distinction. One the author has done a brilliant job of.

There’s a letter and an ‘article’ included at the end of this issue. They’re both worth reading – trust me here. The author’s description for what they were aiming for with Eros is kind of amazing (hint: ‘Jason Mamoa in bondage gear”) and the article…just wow. I knew they were trying to make a point with Philo and his behavior, but this article really proves that I’m right. It’s all about their stance on the friend zone (they don’t believe it truly exists) and how to get out of it (either make a move or walk away), but they phrase the whole thing really wonderfully – it’s both funny and serious at the same time.

I adore the artwork for this series. I’m not one to intentionally seek out a gory series…but they’ve kind of nailed it here, if I may say so. The series started out showing more blood than viscera, but as things progress so do the graphic details. They’re essentially desensitizing us to what’s happening to the cupidae, and it’s pretty interesting (and just a bit cool).

Score: 4/5

Death of Love #4
Image Comics