Case Files: Murder and Meaning (Vol. 1)
Summary
CASE FILES: Murder and Meaning is a murder mystery graphic novel by real life detectives J. Warner Wallace and Jimmy Wallace. With an impending retirement, a personal life in shambles, and a serial killer on the loose, Detective Michael “Murph” Murphy is forced to confront his own, innate ideas about a person’s worth and worthiness.
Assessment
CASE FILES: Murder and Meaning is a well-written, classic serial killer mystery with a heavy philosophical twist. The graphic novel focuses intensely on the mental and moral lives of its characters, relying on exposition and dialogue to carry the story across it’s message and theological point.
The artwork is high-quality and has a classic, Western-style comic feel in the higher resolution of the digital age. The characters are all distinct, with their individual personalities showing through perfectly in their designs, expressions, and overall aesthetics. The comic also balances a fairly robust cast without feeling clunky or awkward.
The comic struggles a bit in terms of plot and pacing. The overarching story follows a very classic serial killer trope without feeling like a rip-off of the stories that have come before it. Indeed, the more straightforward nature of the mystery itself allows the theological/moral message to come through to the audience clearly. It’s biggest problem, however, is that the story is bogged down by paragraphs and paragraphs of both dialogue and exposition. It reads more like a novel-turned-comic than a true graphic novel.
For cleanliness, the story sits just at PG-13. For as brutal as the murders technically are, it does not show much blood or gore. There is one scene at the coroner’s office that briefly strays into gory utilizing a human brain, but it is over quickly. Overall this comic is relatively clean for its genre and subject matter. There may be some references to prostitution, but no nudity, sex, or similar adult themes.
Light-o-Meter
Artwork: 6 out of 7 Little Lights
Writing: 4 out of 7 Little Lights
Age-Appropriateness: 5 out of 7 Little Lights (intense themes fit for a slightly older audience)
Theological Message: 6 out of 7 Little Lights
Overall: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Talk
I really enjoyed this comic. It has a great set up, I love how archetypal the characters are (the writers picked the good detective cliches to ping off of and I had a lot of fun with that). On top of this, the artwork is amazing; the characters are expressive and unique and so much of the story’s emotional weight is carried visually through them. The art was also heavily influenced by Gold and Silver age comics, making it feel really familiar in a good way.
There is a touch too much exposition and dialogue for me personally. This is definitely just a preference; as a general rule I don’t mind a lot of exposition in novels and other stories, but in comics I prefer most of the explanations to be either implied or presented in the artwork itself, rather than in words. This made CASE FILES: Murder and Meaning a little bit of a slog for me to read, but if you are looking for a really heavy and philosophical comic series, then this would be an excellent comic to look into!
Speaking of the story’s overall message, it was definitely blunt, however it actually worked really well with the almost noir feel of the story. The archetypal characters and relatively straightforward murder mystery plot were able to carry the weighty ethical and moral musings without feeling out of place. I think the only frustrating part of the whole message is that it didn’t reach a super cohesive conclusion, but I think that’s because the authors are planning a sequel (which I’m definitely looking forward to reading!).
Where to Enjoy
Christianbook.com: Case Files Volume I: James Wallace: 9780830785889 - Christianbook.com
Cold Case Christianity: | Cold Case Christianity
David C. Cook: CASE FILES VOL. 1 | Murder and Meaning – David C Cook
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