A LEGACY OF VIOLENCE #3, from Mad Cave Studios on December 21st, 2022, finds Dr. Nick Shaw spiraling into agitation and confusion when the realization hits him that a serial killer is targeting him.
The Details
- Written by: Cullen Bunn
- Art by: Andrea Mutti
- Colors by: Andrea Mutti
- Letters by: Rus Wooton
- Cover art by: Andrea Mutti
- Cover price: $3.99
- Release date: December 21, 2022
Is It Good?
A LEGACY OF VIOLENCE #3 is going to be a make-or-break for some readers. Up to this point, Cullen Bunn has crafted a tension-filled, intriguing story about a doctor inexplicably linked to a brutal serial killer and the enigmatic phrase “Unit 731.” Tension, however, only goes so far. A 12-issue series can’t lean entirely on mood and atmosphere before readers start checking out, and issue #3 may be the issue that tests that theory.
A LEGACY OF VIOLENCE #3 is a struggle to get through because a few small events happen, but nothing is important or revealing enough to hook you. We learn something unpleasant happened to Dr. Nick Shaw when he was a boy, something related to his grandfather. Adult Dr. Nick Shaw starts cracking under stress, and Nick sees the serial killer in person.
Combined, this issue is a collection of pieces and moments, but there’s no clear sense of beginning, middle, or end, and the pacing is leisurely. Again, Bunn masterfully delivers tension so thick you could cut it with a knife, but what’s missing is any sense of momentum or movement toward any particular direction. At points, the tension feels oppressive because the plot is standing still.
Does that mean this is a bad comic? Not necessarily. If you’re the type of reader that revels in a horror story that makes you sit uncomfortably still, suffocating you with tension and mood, this one’s right up your alley.
Credit for the unbearably suffocating tension (that’s a compliment) belongs to Andrea Mutti’s off-kilter art style. Mutti’s use of watercolors covers the surroundings with a wet fog, adding to the oppressive feeling, and Mutti’s use of silhouettes is outstanding.
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What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Check out our A LEGACY OF VIOLENCE #2 review to find out what happened to the killer’s latest victim.
We begin with Dr. Nick Shaw, Cayce, and their fellow doctors questioned by the sheriff after the discovery of the skinned body during their get-together at the local bar. The sheriff is not pleased with the lack of helpful information, and Nick lets the sheriff’s harsh words get under his skin.
The next day, Nick returns to work to help with an inoculation program. His walk through the clinic halls is interrupted when he hears somebody say “Unit 731,” sending Nick into a rage. The clinic admin sees Nick is losing it and gives him the day off to recenter himself. Nick uses his downtime to walk around the town’s streets, looking for a clue about the killer.
We conclude the issue with a bloody discovery, a confrontation, and a temporary reprieve.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
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A LEGACY OF VIOLENCE #3 continues Dr. Nick Shaw’s descent into paranoid anxiety when the serial killer appears to be taunting him at every turn. The atmosphere of tension and dread is thick enough to touch, but the plot barely moves at a snail’s pace, leaving little to hold onto that’s memorable beyond a feeling of tension.
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