By Cat Wyatt

The conclusion for Death of Love is finally here, and it’s a bittersweet moment to be sure. The last time we saw our characters, they were facing off against Eros. Eros, as a gentle reminder, is the god of love and is almost literally designed to look like Jason Mamoa in bondage. So this isn’t something you want to be missing.

This issue starts off in a rather…interesting manner. The first page is showing five different scenes, showing a variety of creatures…and they’re all getting it on, to put it mildly. Sorry if you were expecting this issue to start with a fight, but this is Eros we’re talking about. He’s basically a walking aphrodisiac.

At least this explains Eros’ confused as to why our three main characters aren’t getting it on. Apparently, they’re the only living beings in a five-mile radius that aren’t feeling compelled to indulge. It makes sense: fear of death is a pretty good mood killer. Or it could be the drugs Eris gave them. Yeah, that one sounds more likely, doesn’t it? If they’re strong enough to negate whatever spells force humans not to notice the cupidae it stands to reason that they may help protect against other spells by Eros.

Once Eros has moved past his confusion, which admittedly he doesn’t spend too much time dwelling on, he shifts back to being upset about his ‘bros’ getting smashed. Again, if you were expecting a fight to start at this exact moment… well… we’re getting there. For the moment Eros is content to try and pick up the cupidae pieces, and sob like the world is ending.

 So let’s play a theoretical game here. Say you managed to royally tick off a god by killing off a ton of his minions. And let’s say that rather than killing you instantly he decides to take a moment to mourn them. How would you spend this reprieve? Would you: a.) try and talk him down;  b.) run away; c.) take the time to coordinate a plan; or d.) hit him in the back with a chainsaw. If you picked option d, then there’s a chance that your name is Philo.

In case you were wondering: while chainsaws are alarmingly effective against a swarm of angry cupidae they’re not so effective against gods. Who’d have thought? On the bright side, Philo unintentionally did a fantastic job of distracting Eros so his friends could go grab Zoe’s car.

Now Zoe’s car?  That’s a slightly better weapon against a god. Again, it isn’t great, but at least that has the chance of knocking the breath out of someone that size. Though they did start off one of the craziest car chases in comic book history. Picture it: this pitiful blue beetle with three humans inside, dashing off and away from a swarm of cupidae being led by a giant god with wings.

Thankfully while Philo was being a dumb dumb earlier and wasting their precious time, Zoe had the brains to form a plan. Her plan is a multi-step one, and the complexity of it is borderline alarming, especially when one considers how much luck would have to play into it. Step one of the plan is to get her car. Step two, added last minute: save Philo from Eros. Step three: drive to Megamart. Step four: drive into Megamart. Yes, you read that right. Step five: arm up and prepare for battle. Step six: fend off the hoard of cupidae.

Would you believe that there’s actually even more to Zoe’s plan than this? This is where things start depending alarmingly on luck. The next step on the plan involves drugging Eros with the very same drugs they’ve been ingesting this whole time. That should be fun and interesting.

But it’s also an interesting theory. The person that gave Philo the drugs was also a god, Eris. Despite how she appeared, she is in fact the goddess of chaos, so theoretically creating a whole mass of chaos may force her to appear. If nothing else she may come and clean up the mess her brother is making…at least one can hope!

Things get pretty crazy (and hilarious) from here…but a lot of it is better read in the actual comic itself. Seriously. No words can do justice for explain what Eros tripping on his sister’s drugs looks like. Promise!

This was a really funny and poignant series. The creators had a specific story they wanted to tell us and never once did they deviate from that. The series was really quite hilarious at times, but there were heavy points being made as well, such as the myth behind ‘the friend zone’ and toxic viewpoints on love and relationships.

Philo may have become a slightly better person by the end, but that doesn’t make him a good person. Likewise that doesn’t mean he deserved to get the girl. The fact of the matter is he risked her and his best friend’s lives by drugging them without consent to prove a point. That is not something a healthy, considerate, or compassionate person does. And the creators never once shied away from that fact. Nor did they reward him for it either, which is fantastic.

The whole Eros/Eris twist on the story was admittedly somewhat unexpected. Sure, going into this series we knew that it’d be a comedy about love and cupids, but it’s hard to imagine that they would be meddling gods as well. Despite that they fit into the story really well. Having Eros be a total ‘dude bro’ sort of guy was alarming at first, but it’s the sort of interpretation that settles on you with time.

The art style was consistent throughout the series, and truly it was perfect for the story being told. There were a lot of graphic fight scenes that could have been worse, but the artist chose to imply the gore by showing lots of red and blood. Yet they also showed gore as needed. It’s an interesting and fine balance. Likewise, the character designs were perfect. Zoe looks like a total ‘girl next door’ type but with her own quirks to hint at the personality Philo is forgetting about. Philo himself looks like a guy that thinks a lot of himself, and even that changes throughout the series. His expressions become more open and concerned, more human. In short, the art supported this series perfectly.

Score: 4/5

Death of Love #5
Image Comics