Welcome back to the comic book corner. This week I’ll be taking a look at a single-volume graphic novel, Murder Falcon. A series such as this is a great place to start for anyone looking to get into comics, as they provide an entire storyline with a relatively low time commitment.

The story of Murder Falcon is eight issues in length, but this collection contains a bonus short story that I would also consider an important chapter in the narrative. Created, written, and illustrated by Daniel Warren Johnson, with colors by Mike Spicer, and published by Image comics. Murder Falcon tells the tale of former guitarist Jake, who finds himself chosen to save the world from disaster with the power of Metal.

In order to prevail, Jake must get help from his bandmates who each channel the power of a magical spirit through legendary instruments. Together they form the last line of defense in the fight against the monstrous forces of Magnum Khaos, who preys off the darkest feelings of human emotion to fuel his onslaught.

If this all sounds incredibly goofy, that’s because it is. Murder Falcon never takes itself very seriously and is filled with over-the-top action and characters. Nonetheless, it still manages to touch on some deeper themes that really hit home for me. The entire story is an allegory for one man’s internal struggle with his own mortality and provides some thoughtful insights into the healing power of music. Though the story is certainly not subtle with its themes and symbolism, I feel this is intentional, as the musical genre it seeks to replicate embraces extremes.

Murder Falcon is just pure, unregulated fun from beginning to end, and I had a huge smile on my face the entire time I read through each chapter. The artwork is also fantastic. Actions scenes blast across the pages at a lightning pace while backgrounds and characters are bursting with color. The paneling is utilized effectively to further convey the epic tone, which pervades throughout the narrative. While action set pieces and settings are so big they often take up a majority of the page. There are dozens of jaw-dropping two-page art pieces, each filled with tons of personality and style.

If I really wanted to nitpick and find flaws here, I could mention that the dialogue can be a little cheesy, or the pacing can be a little too fast at times. Additionally, necessary exposition is also clumsily dumped on the reader in order to reserve time for more exciting action. Nonetheless, I wasn’t bothered by these issues because Murder Falcon as a series is exactly the kind of thing I read comics for. Sometimes, I just want to have fun and enjoy some great artwork, with an out-of-this-world story, and some endearing characters that can inspire me in my daily life.

For Metal fans of any capacity, I would highly recommend this series. It has everything great about the genre all wrapped into one easy-to-digest package. For the best reading experience, I would also recommend listening to your favorite metal album in the background or the official soundtrack. Daniel Warren Johnson composed and released a song to accompany each chapter and ties the entire narrative together.

It’s little touches such as this, that show just how much passion went into the creation of Murder Falcon. While the narrative isn’t objectively perfect, I have a deep respect for the artistic vision displayed here and would be lying if I tried to call this anything less than a masterpiece in my heart. I can only hope to one day make a series that can capture the essence of this epic tale.

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Murder Falcon

$29.99

10

Score

10.0/10

Pros

• Engaging character writing
• Flawless artwork
• Face melting action

Cons

• Metal has no weakness