Many comic book creators will often describe their influences whenever they start a new series. Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird cite Frank Miller and Jack Kirby for inspiring the genesis of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, while Radiant Black – and by extension, the Massiveverse – draws from tokusatsu stories like Ultraman and Super Sentai. In the case of Final Boss #1, Tyler Kirkham is throwing a collection of action movies and fighting games into a blender to create a unique new comic.
“Final Boss is a culmination of everything I loved growing up as an ’80s and ’90s kid,” Kirkham said when the series was first announced. True to his word, those elements are present throughout Final Boss #1: protagonist Tommy Brazen has the kind of name that stands alongside Snake Plissken or John Rambo, he enters fighting tournaments similar to Street Fighter (complete with energy-based attacks), and he wears a mask that would fit in the world of Youngblood.
This mix of elements is a double-edged sword. While Kirkman makes these elements his own, such as a unique twist on “leveling up” in video games by slaying your opponent, there are times when some of the nods are a bit too on the nose. Take the final pages, where Tommy fights a man named “Chain Pain” (yes, that is his actual name) – the word “Brutality!” is spelled out in electric blue letters. It doesn’t take a genius to see where Kirkham got the inspiration for that.
The opening of Final Boss #1 also feels fairly disjointed, as it focuses on Tommy’s grandfather unlocking their specific gift during the tail end of World War II. Story-wise, it makes sense to have a sequence like this, but it feels like Kirkham could have put said sequence later in the book. Otherwise, fans might open the comic and be confused as to why they’re getting a WWII sequence in a comic that’s meant to be a homage to fighting games.
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Though Kirkham’s script might be a bit shaky, his artwork is a wonder to behold. The fights in Final Boss #1 are packed full of action, with bones snapping like dry twigs and punches that hit with the full force of a tank shell. He also makes sure his fighters vary in shape, size, and clothing. Chain Pain, true to his name, is wrapped in chains while also sporting a tattered black robe in contrast to Tommy’s red-accented mask and sash.
Ifansyah Noor and Troy Peteri also deserve plenty of credit for helping shape the world of Final Boss, as their respective colors and letters add to the video game feel. Noor’s palette of colors is mostly shadows and muted tones until the final fight, at which point things get more vibrant and even more intense. Peteri matches this with big, bold letters that replicate the screens in a fighting game, showcasing a character’s abilities and making the user feel like they’ve stumbled across a long-lost cabinet in an arcade.
Final Boss #1 might lay on its influences a little too thick, but its premise and visual aesthetics are brimming with promise. Above all else, this is a comic that feels like a labor of love, and that makes all the difference.
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