Review: Murder Falcon #6

One of the best aspects of comics is how as a medium it can take the most absolute ludicrous off the wall idea and make it work without diminishing the absurdity. Yes, you can have your superpowered demon cake with sprinkles from another alternate dimension and eat it too.Â Case and point Daniel Warren Johnson“s Murder Falcon, which tells a story centering on saving the world from interdimensional beings through the power of Metal music. Johnson clearly has an affinity for those that shred as this story tries to literally showcase the power of music. Throughout this series, Johnson has grounded the insanity with a human story of the complexity of trauma and its effects. Here the focus was on the lasting effects of watching the suffering of those you care for while you are powerless to do anything about it.

After the group“s failure in the last issue Magnum Khaos is on the brink of taking over the planet. Reinforcements have a arrived as Hjelmdar and his enormous friend Aslang have come to join forces with Jake, Brooticus, and the rest of their band. They all travel to Japan to take on Khaos head-on in hopes of rocking him back where they came from. Quickly though their plan goes array and much of the group becomes captured by Khaos and his forces.

As indicated a major throughline with this issue is the helpless feeling of having to witness the misery of your family and friends. Anne and Hjelmdar are the lynchpins to that theme as they share similar experiences. Hjelmdar is still reeling from losing his fellow bandmates during their battle with Khaos, and Anne can relate after watching Jake battle cancer for some long. Anne is the counterbalance to all of the bravado that exists, yet at the same time, she has strength even she underestimates.

These past two issues are textbook in how you develop characters. Although Hjelmdar“s has only been in two issue his arc is still emotionally satisfying. It does happen quick and perhaps it would have been even better if it had time to ruminate, but when the time comes for him to come full circle it worked on every level. Again showing that you do not have to sacrifice storytelling for the sake of massive over the top action. You can have both.

Hjelmdar’s moment of glory may have been epic but the emotional gut-punch came when Anne finds her voice. Johnson framed the scene with extreme skill. Intercutting between past and present to build to a climactic burst of raw emotion. Euphoria is exemplified in an unlikely form as Johnson finds more and more ways to expand upon this concept. Even the climax aided in continuing the momentum.

One of Daniel Warren Johnson“s greatest skills as a storyteller is how he conveys scale. You get a sense for just how massive all these different creatures are, which amplifies the danger as the only thing standing in front of normal humans and gigantic creatures bent on the destruction of all humanity is their ability to rock hard. That is the one element that has not year fully click with this series is how the music directly relates to empowering each avatar. It may be the right choice to keep it more abstract as trying to over explain it may just needlessly confusing. Still, considering the connection between each character is so vital to the story if it was slightly improved the impact would carry a great deal of weight.Â

Rus Wooton“s letters play a key role as well. With music being the driving force in all of this you need to find ways to represent its power. Through Wooton“s inventive use of sound effects, he does just that by giving a sense of chaos and edge. There is a level of imperfection that enhances their impact as they become organic with the scene. Within the smaller more dialog driven moments the letter appears more subdued and personal. Letter and dialog boxes appear hand drawn to increase the level of intimacy. The general dialog is tightly compacted, but once the chords start it opens up like a massive burst of energy.

Final Thoughts:

Comics favor the bold, and that is exactly what Daniel Warren Johnson has been with his Extremity series and now Murder Falcon. Issue six brings with it the massive action you would expect with this series along with an emotional journey centered on the power of support and how to weaponize empathy for the power of good. Never would have imaged one could tear up from a book about a giant humanoid Falcon who is powered by Metal, but here we are. It is books like this that remind you of why comics are awesome.

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Writer/Artist: Daniel Warren Johnson

Colorist: Mike Spicer

Letterer: Rus Wooton

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Daniel Clark

A fan of all things comics. Growing up on a healthy diet of 90's Batman and X-Men cartoon series ignited a love for the medium that remains strong today.