This week from BOOM! Studios comes the final installment of the first chapter – We Only Find Them When They Are Dead 5. I really enjoy the story both for its content as well as its pacing. This week’s issue doesn’t move the story forward so much as fill in some major gaps from the past. The truth finally reveals itself.

Overall, WOFTWTAD does a good job telling an ongoing story without needing to read all the issue as once. This issue reads fine by itself, but will read so much better sitting down with the whole stack and rereading them. The fact it tells more backstory than present story lends a lot of weight to this. Then of course being the final installment of the first chapter means it has one HELL of cliffhanger!

We Only Find Them 5 – The Full Story

For awhile now, the animosity between Richter and Georges has floated through the story, and now, when things are most desperate, we get the truth. When we last left our crew, Richter held Georges at gunpoint in a full rage. We know she blames him for the death of his brother, but the details remained vague at best. With ears listening on the Vihaan II, Georges comes clean with the full story, and the story’s repercussions will reverberate in the issues ahead.

The Malik family was a good family. They worked hard on the Vihaan I and tried to make a decent living, but times were tough. The Vihaan passed her prime years ago and following regulations made little money; However, when people broke regulations a killing could be made – on the black market. Doing so comes with extreme risk, authorities often gave one warning. After that ships tended to blow up.

It just so happens young Thierry Malik just engaged a young officer by the name of Paula Richter. The family plots to use this advantage to stay Richter’s hand and make a break for the fast money. We knew Georges called in sick that day and Thierry replaced him. Now we know why.

We Only Find Them 5 – Mistakes and Consequences

In the final pages of this issue, the comic fails to make a few points clear. The first involves that fateful day, and may not be important in the end. As Richter tries to get the Vihaan to stand down, Thierry interferes with his mother’s piloting. Something goes terribly wrong and the ship explodes. We now know the ghost that chase Georges and the guilt that plagues Richter. Richter initially received the blame for the incident. Recorders later proved her innocent, but the burden was laid on her shoulders from then on.

Unfortunately, back on the Vihaan II Jason hears everything. He and the Captain are/were lovers, so this news punches Jason in the gut. He sticks to the plan, but the doubt in his face is evident. The Captain may have just lost a key ally.

Then, in the final confusing event of the issue, something catches Richter in the face. It appears to be nothing more than an extremely small meteor, or was it a gun shot. If the thing that hits Richter in the face was indeed a small meteor, that draws the face-off to a rather quick and seemingly unfortunate end. Is Richter dead? Does Georges just leave her behind? Hopefully the answers aren’t the ones they appear to be.

We Only Find Them 5 – They Did What?!

Richter’s fate aside, I love how this issue closes itself out. Instead of just jumping to warp, they show Georges back in his chair, and the next several panels are ship displays showing the ship preparing to jump. Then the Vihaan II makes the jump, but the next panel shows a warning display, indicating something jsut went wrong. This comic does a wonderful job of showing story details instead of using exposition or sloppy dialog. The ship seems to drop out of warp, and there in front of them….!!!

What did you think of the final issue of chapter 1? Head on over to THS Comic Books on Facebook and let us know what you though of the revelations in We Only Find Them When They Are Dead 5.