A LEGACY OF VIOLENCE #5, from Mad Cave Studios on 5/10/23, delivers the shock & awe when Nick and Cayce find one of the killer’s horrific experiments in the middle of the hospital.
The Details
- Written by: Cullen Bunn
- Art by: Andrea Mutti
- Colors by: Andrea Mutti
- Letters by: Rus Wooton
- Cover art by: Andrea Mutti
- Comic Rating: Mature
- Cover price: $3.99
- Release date: MAY 10, 2023
Is It Good?
After nearly a four-month hiatus, A LEGACY OF VIOLENCE #5 for a shocking return and answers surrounding the enigmatic phrase “Unit 731.” No one can accuse Bunn of playing it safe, but if you have an aversion to decompressed storytelling, you might find the dopamine hit of a big shock is not enough to keep you engaged.
When last we left Nick, we learned he experienced life-altering trauma as a young boy after watching film reels stored in his grandfather’s house. In the present, the killer’s moves imply Nick is destined for an unseen purpose. Now, Nick and the rest of the doctors seriously consider leaving when they find a gruesome discovery, and we see exactly what young Nick saw.
To Cullen Bunn’s credit, one of the lingering challenges with this series has been the lack of information, and this issue goes a long way towards filling those gaps. We learn what young Nick saw that scrambled his noodle. The origin of the phrase “Unit 731” is made known. And the killer’s intentions toward Nick and his colleagues are starting to come into focus. If you wanted answers, this issue is a big one.
That said, the other criticism we made about the prior issues is the drawn-out, severely decompressed path Bunn is taking on the plot. The mood of dread and impending doom is fantastic, but the mood only carries you so far. Although this issue clarifies some of the backstories and (possibly) the killer’s intentions, we don’t know who the killer is nor his or her goals and motivations. We don’t know how the killer is connected to Nick or how leaving horribly mutilated bodies for Nick to find helps move Nick in the killer’s direction. If an outside cat leaves a dead mouse on your doorstep, that wouldn’t compel somebody to suddenly take up mouse hunting, and yet, that’s the picture Bunn appears to be painting here while taking an awfully long time to paint it.
That mood, which is the shining bright spot of this series, is mostly due to Andrea Mutti’s roughly unsettling art. The gore is disturbing in all the best ways, Mutti’s skill at depicting puke and blood is explicit enough to get the point across but suggestive enough to not be gratuitous, and the facial acting from the characters as they experience a shocking sight is perfect.
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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 #4 review to find out what happened to young Nick when he saw something he wasn’t supposed to see.
We begin Nick and Cayce walking toward the hospital as they discuss Andrew’s disappearance and the possibility of leaving town. When they enter the building and turn the corner, they find a grotesquely shocking site -a trio of men bound together by their own intestines and writhing in pain.
More doctors arrive when summoned by screams of pain, and the scene turns into chaos as the doctors desperately try to sedate the bound men. Barely does the scene calm down when an old man appears in the doorway with a bloody warning for Nick.
We conclude the issue with young Nick watching old films from WWII, the reveal of Unit 731, and merciful death.
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Final Thoughts
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A LEGACY OF VIOLENCE #5 returns from a four-month hiatus to deliver answers, gory shocks, and incredible mood. Mutti’s art is fantastic for this material, and Bunn’s imagination for horror is unparalleled in comics. That said, the decompression is a killer (*ahem*) because Bunn is taking a very long time to take very short steps.
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