GVN Talking Comics Review: Mad Cave Studios ‘A Legacy of Violence’ Issue 7

Last Time

When we last left the horror that was Cullen Bunn and Andrea Mutti’s A Legacy of Violence, Nick and Cayce had found their friend and co-worker Monica. Kneeling on the floor with a scalpel in her hand. Blood covered the floor. This reason for this was evident as the dismembered body parts of Dr. Dylan Brown were everywhere. She told them that the Skull had made her do it. He told her that she would suffer the same fate if she didn’t. He was testing her. Testing to see if she could work amongst distraction. Like the distractions of Dylan’s screams as she cut. Because most living people will scream when cut into.

Nick’s Fault

Nick knelt next to Monica, trying to calm her down and make sense of what had happened. She told him that it was HIS fault. The masked man had told her that all of the doctors were important to his plan. But Nick was the most important one of all. He was the reason the rest of them were being tortured, killed. With their help, they would complete the work of Unit 731.

The Sheriff

As they spoke, the Sheriff approached. He too had followed the blood trail. He opened the door to see the carnage about. Body pieces scattered and Monica still holding the scalpel with blood on it. He aimed his pistol at her, telling her to drop the scalpel. Nick tried to intervene, telling him that it was not Monica’s fault. She had been coerced. He stood in front of Monica, blocking the Sheriff’s aim while asking her to surrender the blade. She eventually gave it to Nick.

Naturally, the Sheriff demanded to know what had happened. Cayce and Nick tried to tell the Sheriff that they had no idea the reasons behind this. They are as in the dark as the Sheriff. But all he knows is that this misery started when the doctors arrived. He finds it hard to believe with everything that has happened they do not know SOMETHING about the reasons behind it.

In the meantime, he was taking Monica into custody. Despite all of Cayce and Nick’s excuses, all he knew was that he had a mutilated body and Monica had been responsible. He WOULD get to the bottom of this. As for them, he warned them to not try to leave town. Because he couldn’t help but believe that it still involved them.

Nick’s Dream

After the Sheriff left, Cayce told Nick she would go check on Dr. Patel. He would want to know everything that had happened. When Nick offered to go with her, she refused. He asked her if she also blamed him for everything. She said she didn’t, but the circumstances made it hard to know WHAT to believe.

Later, Nick sat alone drinking. Perusing the documentation, he had on Unit 731 and his grandfather’s connection to it. As he sat, he found himself back in time. Walking down a corridor as a number of Nazi soldiers went by. They walked past as if he wasn’t even there. Among them, was his grandfather. He let them go on ahead and then followed, seeing the sign that designated Unit 731. Suddenly, another man came up to him, this time acknowledging his presence. He told Nick he would want to see what they had done.

Because They Could

He entered the crowded room to see a man chained to a wall. He had obviously been operated on many times, judging from the many stitches across his chest and abdomen. When he asked the man who brought him here why it was done, his answer was a simple one. “Because we can!” But just as it appeared the man’s entrails had been exposed; Nick woke to find himself on the floor. Apparently having fell asleep while drinking. But the dream had been so vivid.

Meanwhile, back at the jail, the Sheriff handed Monica a washcloth. Since she was there, she might as well clean herself off. When she asked about Dylan and his remains, the Sheriff told her he paid some locals to clean it up. She inquired if that was all the Sheriff intended to do. He responded by asking her what else she expected from him. He knew what she had told him about Dylan, but he couldn’t leave her unprotected. He said this as the man in the skull mask stood behind him with a scalpel.

Thoughts

The bloody mayhem continues but now, but now it has escalated to dismemberment. With each glimpse into the past, the story gets more and more disturbing. I had mentioned in my last review about the comparison to “The Angel of Death” Joseph Mengele. The further along we get, that comparison seems more and more applicable. Mengele felt no reservation about experimenting on his subjects in the ghastliest means during WWII.

Apparently, Unit 731 also had no qualms about their work and the pain it inflicted on their subjects. Work that seems to be continuing, whether all the doctors wanted to participate or not. In the world that Bunn and Mutti have created, you’re either part of the team, or you’re a test subject. Take your pick. Although by now, they are running out of doctors. I, however, am in it for the long haul.

Mad Cave Comics ‘A Legacy of Violence, Issue 7’ by Cullen Bunn, Andrea Mutti and Rus Wooton is available now on the Mad Cave Subscription site and where all great digital comics are sold.