If Destruction Be Our Lot #1 // Review
Abraham Lincoln is reciting the Lyceum Address of 1838. Only it’s not 1838. And he’s not Lincoln. He’s a Lincoln simulacrum. He’s a robot from the future who has been programmed to have a simulation of the mind of Lincoln. There’s something that he’s trying to remember as he works his way through another day that isn’t like any other day in If Destruction Be Our Lot #1. The writing team of Matthew and Mark Elijah Rosenberg open a science fiction action drama with artist Andy MacDonald and colorist Francesco Segala. It’s an interesting opening for a series that feels like its borrowing from Philip K. Dick and Ray Bradbury.
The Lincoln simulacrum is malfunctioning. Still trying to remember the speech he’s trying to deliver. A small mob of robots recognize him for what he is: a fake human. The world seems to be populated exclusively by robots now. Why would one need to look human anymore? There aren’t any humans around to look human for. So when it turns out that the Lincoln simulacrum isn’t actually terminally malfunctioned, the rest of the robot mob moves on in disappointment. The Lincoln simulacrum is having some problem understanding his purpose. It’s the perfect time for a little adventure.
The Rosenbergs follow the Lincoln simulacrum on a day in which a great many things seem to be malfunctioning in his presence. Maybe he is the cause of them. He is the one who is thinking for himself. Everyone else is moving along their programming without really considering why it is that they're doing what they're doing. Clearly there is an allegory here about contemporary society, and the possibility that humanity has completely collapsed a midst all of the automation that we find ourselves surrounded by. It's a theme that's been explored countless times before in science fiction. It will be interesting to see where the Rosenberg's take it in this series.
MacDonald has a hell of a task in bringing a Lincoln simulacrum to the page. Abraham Lincoln is one of the most instantly recognizable figures in popular culture. He is the very visual definition of a thoughtful and compassionate leader of a nation. It's kind of hard to take that imagery and turn it into anything else. MacDonald does an excellent job of bringing a fresh image to an old icon in a city populated entirely by classically-appearing science fiction style robots.
Back in 1962, Philip K. Dick wrote a novel involving an android simulation of Abraham Lincoln. It was first serialized as A. Lincoln Simulacrum in 1969 in Amazing Stories magazine and later collected as the novel We Can Build You. Further back in 1950, Ray Bradbury published the short story “There Will Come Soft Rains.” It was set in August of 2026 after a nuclear catastrophe. An automated house continues its duties for people who will never return. The Rosenberg’s new series feels like a charming fusion of the two premises that shows a lot of promise.
