Destiny Gate #1 Review

Destiny Gate #1 Review

Do you ever sit up at night and ponder the life or void after the length of your mortality has dwindled? Maybe you binge-watch non-believers sharing their stories about believing in hell because they died and went there. You probably even cursed someone to a place where the most diabolical get tortured for spiting you in the most heinous of ways.

Well, have no fear, because Ryan Cady and Paul Limon have got you covered. Not that I’m advocating a television commercial for sending your enemies to a bad, bad place, but if I were, that place is Destiny Gate, and they don’t hand out leis when you arrive.

“What turns a respectable man into a bum? Same answer as always—bad decisions.”

 Is redemption possible, even for the most crooked of human souls? Are we all damned to the darkened depravity and visceral evenings of an endless void if we step out of line? There is a dance taking place inside the pages of Destiny Gate that might get the cogs of your right brain turning, lighting your way to an unpopular conversation. I believe all stories told are just adapted messages to be delivered because everything comes from something and nothing happens without cause and effect, right? If you haven’t read Destiny Gate #1, then I’ll recall it for you here, and it starts with a train ride.

This first issue gives some depth to the country song Long Black Train, but where it’s going isn’t where Mitchell Slate thought it was. Is what he sees as a construct of his own volition. All bad decisions come with consequences, or at least not all decisions have good outcomes. Either way, what bad decision did he make to unleash the embodiment of torment on him? A tall, hulking form of terror obscured by bandages that weave and slither like snakes hissing to their master’s command.

If the ferryman of the river Styx were a foreboding host to the afterlife, then this fiend would give the willies nine times over. You get the idea that maybe this guy, who seems so innocent and carries a picture of his family around, is not someone worthy of forgiveness. But this story isn’t about forgiveness; it’s about those who make bad decisions and need to feel the consequences, and it’s a far cry for them, but for the lives they might have affected, man, I wouldn’t want to be Mitchell anytime soon.

Unfortunately, Mitchell is trapped on a moving train going backward as issue two introduces the conductor. He’s not very helpful, but like the spirit of Christmas past, he provides Mitch with some hope, but he’s got to go through it to understand how tomorrow can work.

Destiny Gate is a uniquely grotesque story existing in a place where our bad decisions dwell as representatives of our consequences in incarnate form. Maybe you’ll be happy you visited Destiny Gate, but you damn sure wouldn’t want to stay there, and if Mitch is lucky enough, he won’t have to, but the only way to be sure is to pick up issue three. If this comic is based on the idea of a game, then I’d love to see how it could be played. Don’t forget to support your local comic store or visit your favorite artists and creators at cons. As always, stay geeky, share the network, and don’t forget to catch me on the latest episode of Comics’N’Poptarts.