Final Boss Volume 1
The graphic novel medium has the ability to convey complex ideas and emotions through images, revealing many interesting aspects of the human condition. Then there are books like Final Boss, Vol. 1, written and drawn by Tyler Kirkham with additional art by David Miller.
Final Boss is not a story that will have its readers feel a variety of emotions or discover any universal truths, save for the truth that seeing people hit extremely hard appeals to many people. However, it’s important to note that this book is not trying to be anything complex or grandiose; Kirkham and Miller seem perfectly fine with Final Boss being a vehicle to show characters that could have stepped out of a video game pummel each other.
The person that does the majority of the pummeling in this story is Tommy Brazen, which is a name that could have been picked up from any martial arts movie script floating around Hollywood or Hong Kong during the 90’s. Brazen earns money by being really good at hurting people, whether it’s through his job as a paid enforcer or competing in underground street fighting matches. He’s recently acquired an ancient talisman left to him by his grandfather that not only increases his strength but lets him acquire the strengths of the various opponents he dispatches. This newfound power will be put to the test as he and his best friend Rabak travel to the mysterious country of Farthica for a fighting tournament, and while there, he meets several enemies that feed his and his talisman’s power.
The setup Kirkham presents of a mysterious fighting tournament is the same basic premise for nearly every fighting game that’s been played on a computer, gaming console, or arcade cabinet, and Kirkham leans heavily into the plot merely being the connecting tissue between bloody, high-octane fighting. In fact, Kirkham’s story could be one used for a fighting game that follows a particular protagonist. Brazen might be an ex-Special Forces guy searching for information about his grandfather, but he’s not exactly a well-developed, multifaceted character. He ultimately doesn’t need to be well-developed, though, as long as he beats the enemies he encounters within an inch of their lives, often in cinematically violent ways.
And “cinematically violent” seems to be what Kirkham and Miller are going for in their artwork, along with equating this book to a fighting game/online role-playing game. Among the splattered skulls and bisected bodies, all rendered in stunningly vivid reds, the book is presented like a video game. Panels will describe the stats of Tommy and whoever he’s fighting before a panel declares “FIGHT!” and victories are announced with words like “BRUTALITY!” plastered across the page. After Tommy kills his opponent, the book details Tommy’s updated stats in the same way many online role-playing games do.
Final Boss isn’t a book that requires deep thinking, going straight for the readers’ collective hypothalamus. To clarify, many studies have concluded violent video games don’t necessarily cause violence, but for fans of fighting games and online role-playing games, reading this book will feel like picking up a controller and playing. Librarians who count these video games fans among their patrons should consider getting this book and letting their patrons play.
Final Boss Volume 1
By Tyler Kirkham
Image, 2026
ISBN: 9781534334243
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+)
