Murder Falcon #4
John Jack
Recap
A giant crab has crawled out of Lake Michigan and only the Brooticus crew can stop it from total destruction of the Earth. Meanwhile Jake confronts some heavy stuff of his own in this action packed issue!
Review
This series has to be one of the more ridiculous things on the shelves at the moment, between epic visuals, amaaazing monster fights and dialogue reminiscent of 90s heavy metal comics. That said this issue did display more depth than one would expect from a book that primarily features a 3 way Giant Crab/ Sea Monster/ Mastodon fight in terms of character development. The dialogue is a bit on the cheesy side but considering the subject material it’s kind of an in for a penny in for a pound kinda thing.
Surprisingly considering the insane amounts of action Daniel Warren Johnson has done a phenomenal job of balancing action with backstory, a lot of the characters feel well fleshed out and we’re really getting to know the band as a whole. The backstory with Jake’s mom was pretty brutal (although I was a bit confused by the wedding ring and the final page reveal) and his pain well mirrors Jimi’s difficulties with her sick father, both very sad. Jake’s distancing himself and lashing out makes so much sense now that we’ve received some context. It wasn’t very clear if it was Jake or his mother who was sick, I might be upset if we get to the end of this series and it’s some coma dream nonsense.
The giant crab was rad and pretty topical as Aquaman just came out and I was really disappointed to hear it isn’t a 2 hour giant crab fight as that’s pretty much all I want. This book has done a great job of scratching that epic battle itch that is so rarely flexed in other books, sometimes you just want to see an 8 foot tall falcon with a robot arm wail on a giant crab for a while. (or vice versa!)
The art is just perfect for the story, DWJ is a beast on these giant sweeping action scenes that are ubiquitous in this book and Extremity. I really appreciate his flare for character and creature design which is damn impressive. Also worth mentioning is the sound effect work (which could be Johnson or Russ Wooton, with both credited for letters) is phenomenal, with huge crashes and the creature’s screeching cries taking front stage at several points in the issue, which I love!
The colors by Mike Spicer are absolutely vibrant and beautiful in every panel, this issue is a treat to look at.
Final Thoughts
A really great book if you're looking for a good time, it isn't Watchmen or Citizen Kane but it isn't trying to be. This is a comic that feels like a comic should. Maybe not quite kid appropriate but still something I would have read and enjoyed as a kid. I'm not sure how old Daniel Warren Johnson is but I wager he grew up watching Voltron, Transformers and Power Rangers much like I did.
Murder Falcon #4: Epic Crab Battle!
- Writing - 8/108/10
- Storyline - 9/109/10
- Art - 10/1010/10
- Color - 10/1010/10
- Cover Art - 9/109/10