You can never keep a good man down … even when Death is involved.
Creative Staff:
Writer: Joe Brusha
Artwork: Marc Rosete
Colors: Walter Pereyra
Letters: Fabio Amelia
What They Say:
Rick Murphy is a regular guy who’s starting a new family and new career as a Philadelphia police officer. But when the rookie cop stumbles onto the wrong case, it triggers a horrific tragedy as his life comes crumbling down around him.
Devastated and broken, Rick is given the chance to seek vengeance on those who have destroyed his life. Now, with a dark and mysterious power at his fingertips, Rick can seek the vengeance he thirsts for, but will the darkness ultimately be too much for him to control?
Content (please note that portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Former Officer Rick Murphy may have saved Philadelphia from Talon’s vile plan and thereafter survived the Black Dragon’s attack, but his trial is not yet over. He was given the Death Force by the Grim Reaper to seize the powers of that crime boss, but now that opportunity has passed. Even if he thinks his own need to save the city may have succeeded, at the same time, Murphy has not fulfilled his bargain with Death. Now the price for betrayal must be fulfilled and his Master is not one to overlook such disobedience. As this servant once again finds himself in the pits of Hell, Rick must face Death itself and the one who stands beside him, the Voodoo Queen Marie who will strike first by conjuring one of her reptilian minions. But as he struggles against such a monstrous foe, something inside his essence will not allow him to give up so easily.
Both of his divine challengers are surprised that the coils of the serpent are handily dispatched, until the Grim Reaper notices a change in his follower. The Death Force that was granted unto this deceased lawman has been transformed – the tainted power which allowed him to kill indiscriminately has now been purified. However, this is not the only shift from the contract for instead of only taking lives, he also restored one to the human named Missy Werner. Rick Murphy is a harbinger of Death, not a bringer of life, and as such, she too shall share his fate. While this corrupt agent fights against Marie to regain his freedom, he now sees that his blonde companion will also suffer unjustly due to her involvement. It is not only his life which hangs in the balance, but so too does hers if he fails to release them from this gruesome dilemma. Everything is tipping towards the grim one’s favor, so how can he even hope to win against such deadly odds?
In Summary:
Death Force was an interesting take on the redemption tale, but the early influences of Robocop and Spawn almost put me off the story. However as the narrative progressed, it did start to take on a more original theme, but you still could not discount the idea that writer Joe Brusha was gathering from similar elements and it all manifested in his personification of vengeance. Even in this issue, the concept of fighting out of Hell is not original, but what made it especially unsatisfying is what should have been a monumental battle against Death itself was watered down due to outside interference; why build up all of the tension, if you are going to wimp out and throw in a ringer to snatch victory away at the last minute? But the most glaring problem with this finale is loyal readers knew Murphy would escape, and this is all thanks to the narrative in Grimm Fairy Tales: Genesis Heroes Reborn. If this one-shot was released after the series finale, then we would still be guessing as to what would happen until the very end; however, thanks to the aforementioned book, we knew Death Force would survive since he is fighting a new foe in that issue. So, why spoil everything with this release when we the origin story which was yet to be finished? Of course you could have ignored it, but the publicity which Zenescope used to promote the book still supported the idea of Death Force still existing. So, either way, we knew the series would continue, with or without Rick Murphy. But the former’s state would be more likely since we have yet to see the company return a character from the dead, even if he wasn’t already in that decrepit state.
Even with my objections to the final story, Marc Rosete’s epic artwork still manages to transform this disappointing tale of a conflict into something marvelously amazing and Walter Pereyra’s phenomenal palette evolves it into a cinematic masterpiece. To open the issue with a hauntingly somber image of the Grim Reaper wonderfully sets the mood for the rest of the story and from there it flourishes into something even more. With each panel thereafter, Rosete and Pereyra build the audacity of Murphy to stand against such powerful beings, his austere appearance in graphite accented with crimson stands so plainly against the parallel cloaks of Death and the chilling beauty of Marie. But once the battle starts and electric blue lightning crackles in the distance, the allure of the voodoo priestess is consumed by her savagery, while still maintaining her glamor, she strikes with such viciousness, while her partner watches for his own moment to pounce. All of this ferocity is still managed within the morbid atmosphere of blood red rivers and ghoulish demons assaulting our heroes – which in itself brings a charm to this gruesome scene. Never before have I been stunned by the macabre ugliness of death and yet still in awe as to how Rosete and Pereyra are able to conduct it into such inspiring settings that they themselves were a character unto itself. This pair’s elusive compilation of unnatural elegance was the saving grace for this series and what kept us coming back for more.
Death Force was a charming tale of redemption, but it suffered by having too many references to other properties and relying on them too much to drive the story forward. While it did manage to gain some ground as it progressed, the ending was spoiled due to poor planning with the release of a related title and it turn the finale was also diluted due to an uninventive way to extend the title into the next volume. I sincerely hope that the succeeding title will be able to draw on more imaginative concepts now that the origin story is over and not linger with any more overused material.
Grade: B
Series Grade: B
Rating: For Mature Readers
Released By: Zenescope
Release Date: November 16th, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
