SPILERS AHEAD
Initial Thoughts
What do you get when you combine Lethal Weapon, a scroller beat-em-up game, and drugs? Death Fight Forever #5. In the final issue of the series, Marla Mendoza and Bash Bigle finally face off against Lord Slyther as they try to get revenge for their eye and their brother. I believe this was a fitting conclusion to a bat-s*** crazy story that, funny enough, left the door open for a second chapter in this crazy series. Death Fight Forever #5 had all the elements of a fantastic indie/cult classic comic book that could be animated and shown on our TVs.
Recently, at least as far as I've noticed, there's been a trend where endings are rushed and aren't given enough time to breathe. This issue is the complete opposite. The entire issue was devoted to our heroes' battle against the villain in a larger-than-life fight for revenge. The art was just as crazy as the story, and with a continued rotating cast of artists, the entire series was fresh and new every issue. Not every comic book series needs to be like Death Fight Forever, but I am glad this one exists, and Death Fight Forever #5 was the perfect sendoff.
The Long Awaited Fight is Here!
We finally get the long-awaited fight between Marla Mendoza, Bag Biggle, and Lord Slyther, and it was as dimensional-smashing as it was built up to be over the last four issues. It was a slow, hilarious start to the fight, as Marla and Biggle, on a golf course, found Lord Slyther -- or, I guess, a lesser vessel of Megalord Slyther -- and beat the absolute dog crap out of him before they found out that was his final form. The fight itself was massive, bombastic, colorful, and violent, something that I expected after the buildup. Marla and Bag wanted nothing short of revenge, so of course, the final fight was going to reflect that.
What did our team of Mendoza and Biggle win for defeating Lord Slyther? Well, besides Mendoza’s eye -- The Phantom Realm. This brings us completely full circle to the first panel of the series, where we already knew that Biggle and Mendoza were the Masters of the Phantom Realm. I think this is where the door is left open for a sequel. There will undoubtedly be challengers for the Phantom Realm, from within Slyther Corp. or other entities. Having the roles reversed, having Bag and Marla be the hunted and not the hunters, can be just as fun and diabolical as Death Fight Forever is.
No Words, No Problem
The fight between Biggle and Mendoza vs. Lord Slyther took up the entire issue, and it never felt like filler. As mentioned in my opening thoughts, there have been a slew of rushed endings in a lot of comics right now, which has been a detriment to the series as a whole. The entirety of Death Fight Forever was used for the big-fight finale, which provided enough space to showcase the epic clash between mortal enemies. I think the scroller video game aspect of the story benefited the ending tremendously. There was a lack of plot in this story, but the premise was a revenge tour, and that was ultimately achieved.
All of it worked so well together. We didn't even see any dialogue until 1/3 of the way through the book, but we didn't need it. The art carried most of the story; it was seamless, and you knew exactly what was going on. When there was dialogue, not once did the reader get lost in what was happening, and the mix of art and dialogue — or lack thereof —was the perfect way to make their fight look never-ending and cosmic in scale. The story itself was small, but the fight was galactic.
The Art was Part Edible, Part Acid
What can I say about the art that a good edible can't? The art is like those 1990s RoseArt fuzzy posters we all got as kids, but with acid when we were 8. Healthy? Probably not. Fun and cool as hell? Oh yeah. Erwin Papa’s turn showed us what he had as the rotating doors of new artists continued into DDF #5, and Papa did not disappoint. While each chapter before this had grandiose fight scenes and scenery, nothing compared to what we saw in DDF #5. The character designs were out of this world, quite literally, and made the fighting space for all three fighters endless.
Just as impressive as Papa's use of space with his pencil was the neon colors, which made this look like the early 1990s, specifically 1992. The use of monocolors in certain areas and detailed coloring in others lends gravitas and a sense of spatial use in the fight. With Megalord Slyther using lightning throughout the fight, the single color use makes it look and feel like a thunderstorm. That use of color is perhaps the most cinematic aspect of a very cartoonish (compliment) series. The art is a major reason why I want to read another chapter of this story!
Final Verdict
Death Fight Forever #5 was the perfect chaotic ending to an insane series that made its mark on me, and hopefully on the rest of the comic book industry. Writer Andrew MacLean created a world unlike any other, and this was a satisfying conclusion to what will become a cult classic. The revolving door of artists throughout the series brought fresh ideas, and that was the case for Death Fight Forever #5, with the stylings of Erwin Papa, who brought major scale and amazing retro/neon coloring. The plot leaned heavily on Papa’s shoulders; fortunately, he knocked it out of the park.
I am so glad Death Fight Forever, as a series, came out when it did, because it gave us another option for a different kind of book. We are in a very good spot in the comic book industry, and the more variety we can get, the more we can support them, the more off-the-wall stuff we can get, like Andrew Maclean’s world. That variety is exactly why this series matters.