Punk Rock Jesus #6 Review - Mobile Edition

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Punk Rock Jesus #6 Review
By Andy Frisk
January 13, 2013 - 19:03

DC Comics
Writer(s): Sean Murphy
Penciller(s): Sean Murphy
$2.99 US

Chris, the "Punk Rock Jesus" of Punk Rock Jesus and supposed clone of Jesus Christ, brings his anti-religious punk rock message to Jerusalem with dire consequences and lives out the martyr's life...meanwhile, Thomas "The Cemetery" McKael, Chris' bodyguard and former IRA operative, completes his travel of faith, doubt, enlightenment, and redemption.

Sean Murphy's incredibly dense and analogy and metaphor laden Punk Rock Jesus comes to its rather predictable end with issue #6, but this story has been anything but predictable along its journey to its final issue and panel. Murphy packed so much social, religious, political, and economic commentary into Punk Rock Jesus that sequential art scholars, grad students in the arts like literature or social or political science, and armchair philosophers will be tied up in endless argument and debate over the imagery, authorial intent, and literary merit of this series, and that's what makes Punk Rock Jesus so great. While it at times felt rushed, (Punk Rock Jesus really could have been an ongoing-and I wished that it was), Murphy's tale of a Christ figure for the 21st Century was brilliant, infuriating, and enlightening all at the same time. The real beauty and power of the story lies in the tale of McKael though. Representing humanity in microcosm with all its glory, brilliance, ignorance, and, at times, benevolence on display, Punk Rock Jesus was really McKael's story, and by logical extension, all of mankind's. Rarely do we get this level of intelligent literature in a mainstream comic book, let alone one from a major publisher.

Not only did Murphy pack a ton of literature level worthy commentary and the like into Punk Rock Jesus, he packed just as much, if not more, powerful sequential art imagery with his incredibly detailed laden art. Everything from violent gun battles in the streets of Jerusalem to the imagined (or not?) religious experiences of McKael and Chris' mother (in an earlier issue) Punk Rock Jesus was a feast for the eyes as well as the mind.

I really feel the need to comment more on this series, it was so thought provoking and provocative, and I most likely will be here at ComicBookBin, but more than that, I feel the need to read more about Chris, McKael, and his crew, but alas it's all over now. Here's to looking forward to the trade and all the goodies that it might contain.

Rating: 10/10