Liquidator

by Peter Milligan, Brad Simpson (Colorist), Piotr Kowalski (Illustrator)

A time-traveling fixer chasing an unpublished feminist classic, a servant girl transformed by a mysterious book, and a killer in Gilded Age New York… All bound by one impossible thread.

When Aubrey Street arrives in 1891 looking for a feminist masterpiece that won’t be published for almost 100 years, she worries that 1981 might be rejecting her. Aubrey is a Liquidator—her job is to fix glitches in time. She just wishes she could fix the glitches in her life. In another part of Gilded Age New York, John Hawksmore plans to kill a servant girl whose life has been turned upside down by the book she found in her employer’s library. Somehow, all their lives are connected. They just don’t know it yet…

Genres: Science Fiction, Graphic Novels

Kindle Edition

Published May 19, 2026

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Peter Milligan is a British writer, best known for his work on X-Force / X-Statix, the X-Men, & the Vertigo series Human Target. He is also a scriptwriter.

He has been writing comics for some time and he has somewhat of a reputation for writing material that is highly outlandish, bizarre and/or absurd.

His highest profile projects to date include a run on X-Men, and his X-Force revamp that relaunched as X-Statix.

Many of Milligan's best works have been from DC Vertigo. These include: The Extremist (4 issues with artist Ted McKeever) The Minx (8 issues with artist Sean Phillips) Face (Prestige one-shot with artist Duncan Fegredo) The Eaters (Prestige one-shot with artist Dean Ormston) Vertigo Pop London (4 issues with artist Philip Bond) Enigma (8 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo) and Girl (3 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo).

Series:
* Human Target
* Greek Street
* X-Force / X-Statix

Reviews

[Alex Sarll]

I'm not saying this is a Shade or Enigma. Hell, it's not even a Red Lanterns. But compared to the utter toss Peter Milligan has mostly been writing for the past decade, I'm cautiously welcoming it as a return to form. Time cops sorting out anomalies isn't a particularly original story, nor is having one turn against the organisation, but the specifics have that skewed Milligan flavour I've missed, whether it be the core discrepancy (a copy of The Feminine Mystique in the Astors' 1890s library), or the time travel method, in which Liquidators attempt to minimise temporal displacement and its unpleasant side-effects by acclimatising themselves in a room simulating the period to which they're headed – which of course also makes the experience feel even more unreal. The ending is a little pat, I'm not convinced the colours are doing Piotr Kowalski's art any favours, and given dreadful recent 2000AD series The Discarded I'm certainly not moving Milligan back from Lost It to Had It just yet. Still, a promising sign of renewal.

(Netgalley ARC)

[Amanda Iman · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. The premise is right up my alley. Time travel with a feminist book at the center? Sign me up! However, I feel like the creative team entirely consisting of men should have been my first clue that maybe it wouldn't live up to that premise.

They did make an effort with the inclusion of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique as the MacGuffin of this tale. But, it never really went beyond a surface level MacGuffin. No details, really, about the content of the book or how it was fully influencing Milly. Any female empowerment for either female lead felt performative at best.

For the most part, I liked the illustrations. Kowalski's depictions of the past were full of detail; like expert set dressing in a movie to really orient the reader to time and place. The more present-day settings in the 2000s were where I spotted some anachronisms. Which, in a book all about liquidating the anachronistic, felt particularly egregious.

The ending of this book left it open to possibly have a continuing run of comics, but despite all the glaring loose ends and time travel pardoxes left hanging, I don't think I'd read anything more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for access to this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[James W. Ware · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Liquidator" is a time travel adventure that sets up a very interesting world but has a plot that feels a little thin.

Aubrey Street, a time traveling liquidator responsible for eliminating anachronisms in the timeline, is sent back in time to 1891 where a servant girl has gotten her hands on a copy of a feminist book from the future. When she can’t bring herself to kill the girl, she is swept up into a vast web of intrigue, secrets, and dark magic.

📖 “Liquidator Volume 1”
📝 Writer: Peter Milligan
👨🏻‍🎨 Artist: Piotr Kowalski
🖍️ Colorist: Brad Simpson
🔡 Letterer: Simon Bowland
🏢 Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
🗓️ Published: May 19, 2026

Thank you for Mad Cave Studios for prolonging a free advance copy of this eComic for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

A mixed bag is the best way I can describe Liquidator.

The setup and world building of this comic is excellent. This time travel adventure almost feels more like an espionage thriller: Shadowy figures pull the strings of our protagonists and they very quickly learn they have very little real agency in the world. The world building is particularly strong. I found myself wishing for more time to explore the morally-gray agency responsible for liquidators. If you enjoyed the TVA in Disney+’s Loki, this will be right up your alley.

The time travel mechanics are really interesting. The liquidators have to spend weeks acclimating themselves in a simulation on a new time period so their bodies don’t reject it. It almost reminded me of Somewhere in Time.

This story has great thematic aspirations as well, exploring power dynamics, feminism, suicide, and the actions desperate people are willing to do to retake their agency. This comic is for adults and takes its subject matter seriously without a lot of gratuitous moments (other than one fan-servicey sexy page).

The art, too, is really pleasing. I enjoyed all of the different time periods we get to visit and the way Kowalski worked to make them feel distinct.

Unfortunately, at least for me, the plot itself felt rushed and incomplete. The last issue especially felt incomplete and left me with lingering questions, especially concerning the moral consequences for some of our characters’ actions.

Liquidator swings big with huge ideas and a compelling setting. For me, it felt like a swing and a miss that resulted in this comic feeling like a first chapter or a prequel - a great setup but with an incomplete payoff.

That said, if you enjoy time travel adventures and heaver supernatural comics, it might work better for you than it did for me.

2.5/5 Stars

[Lukasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Time cops (the Horai) are making sure the timeline behaves, and if it doesn’t, boom, they send in a Liquidator. Like Aubrey - a self-destructive person tasked with handling temporal surgery. What could possibly go wrong?

Quite a lot, as it turns out. The comic moves fast, hopping through time, juggling a killer in Gilded Age New York, a feminist book that shouldn't get into hands of a maid, and a mission that starts to wobble the more you look at it. There’s always something happening, and the artwork is great.

Unfortunately, it feels like the story tries to cram a full season of TV into a short run. Character decisions come out of nowhere, motivations get fuzzy, and some threads just drift off into the timestream. The big ideas are cool, but not always fully thought through.

Still, I had a good time. As long as you don’t poke it too hard, it’s a stylish, engaging ride.

ARC through NetGalley

[Leanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC.

This was the definition of "okay." I thought there was a really strong beginning and foundation, following Aubrey and having a female driven story line. The idea of hopping through time and essentially "taking care" of things in the past to make for a good and accurate future is super interesting, which made me want to keep reading. That being said, once the half way point was passed, I started to lose interest. The character development I was expecting just never happened. I feel like we saw so much of Aubrey but never actually knew anything about her. The story overall was interesting enough to continue, but I do not think that I will continue the series as I was kind of disappointed by the way the second half was taken care of. It got away from the time jumping and more into a ritualistic plot line and I just wasn't really interested overall.

[Amelia Suedel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Mad Cave studios and NetGalley for a digital copy of this graphic novel in exchange for my review!

The art in this graphic novel was amazing! I really appreciate when illustrators go the extra mile to make the backgrounds detailed as well as the character's outfits and everything. That was by far the most impressive thing to me and I will have to check out the authors other works. The description interested me and I thought there would be a bit more time spent on the effects of feminist literature if it was published earlier in history. However, this story was more about the time travelers themselves and their shifting allegiances. I wish I connected more to the characters; I didn't really understand their motivations throughout.

[✩｡°⋆ Lala ⋆｡°✩ · Rating 3 out of 5]

• ARC Review •

[Liquidator]
🔥 Release Date: [May 19 2026] 🔥
Thank you to Mad Cave Studios, Peter Milligan, and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
★★★☆☆

This one had me confused right out of the gate. The beginning is so disjointed and chaotic that I kept flipping back pages wondering if I’d missed something. It does eventually settle into a rhythm, but it felt like it was trying to figure out what kind of story it wanted to be. The potential is definitely there, the art is genuinely fantastic, and the ending finally pulls the threads together, but the journey getting there felt uneven. I’m glad I read it, but I don’t think I’ll be continuing the series.

[Marie Sinadjan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

This was really good! The art was much better than I expected, mostly because I was on mobile when I browsed and requested this title, so the cover didn't look all that impressive.

Conceptually, this has been done before, kind of. The Liquidators are more lethal versions of the TimeRiders, and there are also similarities to the MCU's TVA. But the execution was really fun, and a lot of ground was covered within 120 pages. And what I liked most? Women being the core of the story.

If this will be a series, sign me up! 🫡

[Simone G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley & Mad Cave Studios for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5⭐️ This story about time traveling cleaners, reminiscent of the TVA really had me confused at the beginning. But it all started to come together the more you read. It was a revelation and that actually really worked for me. It had unique and very detailed art. The plot was such an interesting concept but overall I didn’t feel connected with the characters and their motivations. However, the ending is a bit ambiguous so maybe with more issues, if there are to be more, it will come together much like the story did.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s Milligan and Kowalski, so no suprise that I really enjoyed this.
It’s quite odd in that it feels like Milligan has taken quite a loose approach to telling it. Although perhaps it’s by design given the nature of the time travel elements and the the main character feeling displaced and disoriented.
Comics rarely stick the landing and in this instance I love how it wrapped up, so that’s an extra star from me.
Recommended.

[norm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you netgalley for this graphic novel the cover really caught my eye and i didnt read the synopsis so i went into it not knowing much i will say i dont read alot of time travel books or genres like this but i did enjoy it and the story and it kept me reading because i wanted to see how it ended i will say it did confuse me sometimes but i did like the history elements and the different time jumps in this book it was a quick read!

[Curious Madra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for allowing me to read this whole graphic novel.

Honestly story was pretty badly disjointed that the character Aubrey might as well have done a speed run through different eras and stopping famous murders from happening. I really felt it was rushed for the sake to be this trippy. I just couldn’t get to like anyone on here man, even Aubrey here unfortunately as it was a friggin mess!

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the concept of a timeline that has to “behave” in the “correct way” for a specific group of people(time cops). Often because the time cops are usually not correct in their views on the timeline. This graphic novel is very reminiscent of the TVA from the Loki series. The art is great, the backgrounds were full of life and movement. It does suffer as a story from putting too much with too little. It comes off as disjointed.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC.

[Lucsbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I loved "Liquidator" for what it could have been, but I wasn't that impressed with what it turned out to be. I liked the themes this story touched and how original it was, but there was nothing about it that grabbed me and made it memorable.

If you liked "The Umbrella Academy" and time travel stories, you might like this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for this DRC.

[agus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one has an interesting plot, about time travel and 'Liquidators', who fix glitches in different times. The art is okay, it didn't blow my mind. The ending was okay, too, but I felt like there were too many loose ends.
Thank you Mad Cave Studios and Netgalley for this ARC.

[Nicole Geub · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm will for more.

[doowopapocalypse · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s FINE. Just, and only fine. You’ve already read this book.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is alright and for Peter Milligan that's saying it's the greatest thing ever compared to the dreck he typically writes. It's a time travel book about these liquidators who go back in time and liquidate anomalies. Don't think too much about the actual logistics or it'll all fall apart.