Falconspeare by Warwick Johnson-Cadwell (he is writer and artist here) is based on a previous collaboration with Mike Mignola (who does the cover for this) and it is very good. I should start by saying I really admired the looser drawings at the start, they reminded me of a child’s drawing and I’m sure that is the idea here, but they definitely drew me into the story quickly.
(can I also say that throwing pottery at a vampire is my new most favorite comic thing ever?)
Falconspeare is the story of James Falconspeare, a good, honorable man, who when unable to do what needs to be done, turns to a sort of villainy. It is also the story of a trio who support him and then end him, when his job is done. Amidst these pages there are vampires in the truest sense of the word; vile, undead creatures who prey on humans and then there are the real monsters. Humans, despicable, gluttonous humans, who prey on humans, and who do so without a care for the atrocities they commit. Falconspeare and his trio fight against both.
Everything about this comic is delightful. The characters are written to maximum snarkiness and are, in one of my favorite panels, drawn that way too. I mean, who doesn’t shrug when in the midst of a mysterious journey you’ve been sent on by a mysterious person? Also, the pottery! That was an ingenious bit of storytelling.
This issue is set up as a one off. There is a beginning, a middle and a solid end, but if there are going to be more, I will eagerly await them. I’m not super acquainted with Johnson-Cadwell and his work, but this one comic alone has made me a fan. It’s always a fun time when you mix horror, the paranormal, comedy and sarcasm.
Falconspeare was released today, January 25th from Dark Horse Comics.
