Review -- Tim Gibson's MOTH CITY #5

Moth City #5

(Tim Gibson)

It's been awhile since I last checked in on the goings-on in Tim Gibson's Moth City, and in the interim, all hell's broken loose.

DAMN.

What started out as political intrigue has blossomed into out-and-out horror. Gibson's got all his guns blazing in issue five, leaping over the half-way mark in this eight-issue series, and he's firing every bullet in this “guided view” digital format with deadly accuracy. Herein, as one of the main characters says, is “A city that appears to be eating itself alive, and an impatient Major with too much warship and too little time.” But that's only half of it.

This series is covering itself with gore while strapping on big themes and asking the bigger questions. What happens to small players in games organized by the larger order? What is the difference between brutality and savagery? What are the obligations of family? What are the obligations of government? What are the consequences of self-absorbency? Who is a hero? Who is a monster? What would you do? What would YOU DO?

And Gibson's providing no easy answers as his questions get harder and more complex. Moth City is that kind of series. Its narrative drops click by click, Gibson's art continues to draw you in wholly, and you can't possibly predict how this thing is going to end.

Every action so far has had a consequence; each character's decisions have had a motivation. There are tears in the midst of the blood, and it is hard to tell which is harder to drop. The politics of Moth City get more and more convoluted in this issue, but so do the decisions characters must make out of their love for each other. Which is the greater moving factor? What is justifiable in the end?

More questions, I know.... and to fill up a review with questions isn't really “reviewing” anything at all. But Gibson's series is doing this to me. I can't help it. I'm sorry.

The last time I reviewed Moth City for Digital Ash I spent more time talking about the medium than the message. Gibson's use of the digital format continues to be amazing and engaging and unique, but the story of Moth City has transcended its format becoming a thing of note in itself.

And it sure does lead you to mull quite a few questions.

Do it!

Check out the entire Moth City series on Comixology.