Punk Rock Jesus TP Paperback – 16 April 2013

I loved this comic. It's great: the artwork is at once beautiful and gritty, the concept is brutal, challenging and original, and Murphy doesn't shy away from representing the grim extent of our society's dark sides. It's a brave and successful piece of work. I'd recommend it without hesitation to anyone.However, I've rated it only four stars because there are places I feel let it down. On a very practical level, there were places where the continuity of the panels threw me. Most of Murphy's panels are very clear about when leaps forward in time take place, but there were a few very clunky segways where dialogue seemed to end abruptly and leap forward a few minutes (days?) at a time, and these places disrupted the flow of narrative.I also found the culmination of the plot a little awkward, and this was for me what let it down. Not the end results, which weren't unexpected, but the execution. Chris's character is built up throughout the chapters but in the end it felt as if he didn't emerge as the man we'd been led to expect. In the end he seemed more headstrong reactionary teenager than a charismatic revolutionary whose decisions were informed by his experiences. Perhaps this was a more accurate portrayal of the product of his awful upbringing, but it lacked the 'larger than life' quality that brings about a really satisfying resolution. In the end he felt more like a sad, screwed up kid who hadn't been able to win against the system. Like I said, perhaps this is what Murphy had been aiming for all along, but it felt to me like just as it was all really going to get started the whole thing was over. Sometimes plots are described as mountains - there's an incline up to a high point and then a drop down the other side - PRJ felt like there was a plummet on the other side. A lot of action with not quite enough resolution.However, don't let this out you off. Really. The story is brilliant, fast paced and inventive, and it's shortcomings don't detract from its power as a whole. It'll be a joy to see what else Murphy creates in the future.

A bit of a slow start but some really interesting ideas but some of the main characters took time to flesh out. By the second half of the book I was hooked and it all came together. This book is really something quite special, the art work is also amazing. Go read this book

Really well received gift! My husband loved the comic and the art work in particular. The reviews online were helpful it guiding me to good comics to buy and the prices on Amazon were the best I found.

This book is definetly worth a try, the storyline is great, very enjoyable, the characters are likable and funny when needed, the art is fantastic, it’s good to look at. I recommend this book to anyone who loves comics or just interested in getting to know the genre.

the art work is beautiful and the world he has created is stunning. i just thought the story was a bit linear and i didn't really connect with any of the characters.

:)

Thanks. My daughter loved the graphic novel.

I read this in one sitting, gripping. Unfortunately, three quarters of the way through I felt the plot was loosing it a bit. I didn’t feel the band part added to it. It was almost as if the title was given to the author when he had got that far. Still kept me reading though but more for wanting to know the ending. Still a better read than a lot of the other efforts out there. Art was really good too.