Death Ratio'd Interview: Likes or Death
Apr 23, 2024
Interview by Troy-Jeffrey Allen
In this futuristic dark comedy by Eisner and 'Ringo Award-winning writer Mark Russell, life and death are ruled by social media. One too many dislikes...and you're dead.
In the following interview, Mark Russell describes the online hell we are destined to face!
Let’s get into Death Ratio'd. What is the story about?
The story is about a man (Arnold) who makes up after being in a coma for twenty-some-odd years to find that there are no governments anymore as the world is ruled by social media. Which, frankly, is sort of the way I felt.
What if you don’t want to be on social media? I’m assuming it’s forced?
The social media in this world is not only online but in real life, so people can give you “likes” or “dislikes” while you’re at work or walking your dog. So, in that sense, there’s no opting out of social media because it’s just society.
What can you tell us about Arnold? Do we discover who he was before he went into a coma?
Yes, he was an MIT student, as were his brother and fiance, when he fell into his coma. And all three had big and very different ideas about what the future would hold and how they should hold the future in return.
Do you think people would behave differently on social media if their lives depended on it?
I think at some point, people started behaving differently on social media when they realized it wasn’t just for their friends and well-wishers. Though this story is less a parable about “cancel culture” than it is about the various online prison gangs that emerge as people form survival strategies and hunting packs to exist online. About how the incentives created by social media forge trolls and toxic rabbit holes more than they compel politeness.
What made you team up with artist Rahzzah for this?
Razzah is one of AWA’s go-to cover artists. And you can see why.
Tell us about the rest of the collaborators on the book. Who are the art teams?
Laci does the art, and the interior art is incredible. Some of the best I’ve ever been graced with. And Marco Lesko is the colorist and he does a great job of really sort of underscoring the candy-colored dystopia that this story takes place in.
In terms of audience, who is Death Ratio'd for?
I think Death Ratio'd is for people who enjoy edgy sort of post-modern sci fi and satire. Basically, I think the audience that enjoyed Not All Robots will also enjoy this.
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When Arnold awakes from a coma twenty years into the future, he discovers that society is now ruled by social media. Enough "likes" and "upvotes" can unlock fame and fortune but - watch your step! - enough "thumbs down" clicks and the collar around your neck explodes. And you're done. Now, confused and running on his last Like, Arnold must navigate a world in which the slightest online misstep can have fatal consequences.
When Arnold awakes from a coma twenty years into the future, he discovers that society is now ruled by social media. Enough "likes" and "upvotes" can unlock fame and fortune but - watch your step! - enough "thumbs down" clicks and the collar around your neck explodes. And you're done. Now, confused and running on his last Like, Arnold must navigate a world in which the slightest online misstep can have fatal consequences.
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Troy-Jeffrey Allen is the producer and co-host of PREVIEWSworld Weekly. His comics work includes MF DOOM: All Caps, Public Enemy's Apocalypse '91, Fight of the Century, the Harvey Award-nominated District Comics, and the Ringo Awards-nominated Magic Bullet.
