I may like video games, and I may like movies, but you know what I talk about rarely on here. Horror graphic novels. There are quite a lot that I enjoy, really, but rarely do I find any. But, thankfully, there is a way to see what kind of books there are. In one of the libraries in my town, they sell dozens and dozens of manga and graphic novels. This is the same library that introduced me to Bakuman. But, this library introduced me to something else. Something much more creepy, but amazing; Death Jr.
Okay, so, maybe most of you are thinking “Who the hell is Death Jr?” Well, to put it perfectly, Death Jr. is a series that follows the teenage son of Death, named Death Jr. He is not the brightest kind, but he has a good heart. However, he does cause much trouble for himself and his family, such as accidently killing half his class or opening a box that lets out monsters into the world. Death Jr. does what he can to help his friends and to make his dad proud of him, while also occasionally dealing with demons, monsters, and bureaucrats that one time. It’s kind of a coming of age story but with a darker sense of humor and I love it so much.
Of course, we can’t just talk about the main character. We should also talk about the other characters. There’s Pandora, a girl with obsessive compulsive disorder who loves locked boxes. Death Jr. has a crush on her and wants to do everything he can to impress her, and she’s usually the one to get Death Jr. out of trouble. Then you’ve got Stigmartha, a very nervous girl with holes in her hands that bleed when she does get nervous. There’s genius conjoined twins, Smith and Weston. Then you’ve got Seep, a limbless, foul-mouthed child who lives his life in a vat. And finally, there’s Dead Guppy…. He’s a dead fish…. Best character ever. There was a lot about the Death Jr. franchise, despite being so not popular. Including a video game… on the unsuccessful PSP…. Yeah
Okay, when I said the books got me into Death Jr…. Well, what I meant to say was that it got me to want to look more into it. The first thing Death Jr. related I had was the video game for the PSP, known only as Death Jr. This game had reviews that were mostly saying it was “Okay”. Nothing amazing, but nothing atrocious. Just in the middle. Now, I have very faint memories of this game. I had it when I was twelve, so I barely remember much of it. But, I do remember some of the cutscenes, and a little bit of the gameplay. The gameplay was really not the greatest thing ever. It was a simple hack and slash that functioned well. It’s no Devil May Cry, but it works. The cutscenes, however, I remember loving a whole lot. Just looking at how these creepy and almost non-human characters go around a simple environment is quite charming in a way. It’s funny seeing how most of the human characters are just fine with it, but are really bored with their lives. Heck, more bored than the characters who are basically associated with death. It’s kinda got a Tim Burton and The Corpse Bride feel to it, which I really love about it. Just the setting and how some of the characters interact with the world around them is a very great thing. I love the cutscenes, and I find the gameplay okay. So, I say the game gets a pass. Haven’t played any of the others like Root of Evil or Science Fair of Doom, but from what I’ve heard from number scores, they weren’t that good… but, who cares about number scores, really.
I don’t have the game now (Unfortunately), I think we’ll stop talking about that one and move on to something else… like the graphic novel. The graphic novel was quite something, I must say. I remember being one of THOSE fans of it, by shoving it in my friends faces to read it. They then told me to shut up, so I did…. But still, this book was great. It still has the simple formula of “Death Jr. wanting to prove to his dad that he can be responsible and screws it up and Pandora has to help him”. So, what do they have to deal with this time? Bureaucracy… What? So, in this book, Death Jr. goes to work with his dad at an office that decides the fate of people when they die while Death Jr’s friends go to a summer camp with an abusive camp counselor… who’s uniform almost resembles that of a Nazi. While at work, Death Jr. tries to help his father, but screws up big time, leading to much chaos with the afterlife and the world of the living, so that the antagonist of the film can create a world of bureaucracy… Yes, it’s weird, but in a good way. It’s got the same kind of humor that you’d expect from this franchise, and it definitely helped people get into it. While people were mixed with the games, there were a lot of people that loved the books by genius writers Ned Naifeh, who illustrated some of the Magic: The Gathering cards, and Gary Whitta, whose other work includes… After Earth… and Duke Nukem Forever…. Oh boy. But I still respect these guys and love their work on the series. There were only three books (As far as I know), but I hope to get the other two some day.
I think that about wraps things up for Death Jr. here. With about three games, three books, a movie (That has internet articles that haven’t been updated since 2004 so I’m sure that movie never happened) and this one weird flash game involving launching a demon's head across the level to get points, I’d say that Death Jr. had a pretty good run. I just wish this got a lot more popularity. It was such a good series while it lasted, though. If you’re a fan of Invader Zim, Nightmare Before Christmas, or just about anything by Tim Burton, than I have to say, this is the series for you. It’s dark, but it’s charming. It’s creepy, but it has some light moments. Take care.
Okay, so, maybe most of you are thinking “Who the hell is Death Jr?” Well, to put it perfectly, Death Jr. is a series that follows the teenage son of Death, named Death Jr. He is not the brightest kind, but he has a good heart. However, he does cause much trouble for himself and his family, such as accidently killing half his class or opening a box that lets out monsters into the world. Death Jr. does what he can to help his friends and to make his dad proud of him, while also occasionally dealing with demons, monsters, and bureaucrats that one time. It’s kind of a coming of age story but with a darker sense of humor and I love it so much.
Of course, we can’t just talk about the main character. We should also talk about the other characters. There’s Pandora, a girl with obsessive compulsive disorder who loves locked boxes. Death Jr. has a crush on her and wants to do everything he can to impress her, and she’s usually the one to get Death Jr. out of trouble. Then you’ve got Stigmartha, a very nervous girl with holes in her hands that bleed when she does get nervous. There’s genius conjoined twins, Smith and Weston. Then you’ve got Seep, a limbless, foul-mouthed child who lives his life in a vat. And finally, there’s Dead Guppy…. He’s a dead fish…. Best character ever. There was a lot about the Death Jr. franchise, despite being so not popular. Including a video game… on the unsuccessful PSP…. Yeah
Okay, when I said the books got me into Death Jr…. Well, what I meant to say was that it got me to want to look more into it. The first thing Death Jr. related I had was the video game for the PSP, known only as Death Jr. This game had reviews that were mostly saying it was “Okay”. Nothing amazing, but nothing atrocious. Just in the middle. Now, I have very faint memories of this game. I had it when I was twelve, so I barely remember much of it. But, I do remember some of the cutscenes, and a little bit of the gameplay. The gameplay was really not the greatest thing ever. It was a simple hack and slash that functioned well. It’s no Devil May Cry, but it works. The cutscenes, however, I remember loving a whole lot. Just looking at how these creepy and almost non-human characters go around a simple environment is quite charming in a way. It’s funny seeing how most of the human characters are just fine with it, but are really bored with their lives. Heck, more bored than the characters who are basically associated with death. It’s kinda got a Tim Burton and The Corpse Bride feel to it, which I really love about it. Just the setting and how some of the characters interact with the world around them is a very great thing. I love the cutscenes, and I find the gameplay okay. So, I say the game gets a pass. Haven’t played any of the others like Root of Evil or Science Fair of Doom, but from what I’ve heard from number scores, they weren’t that good… but, who cares about number scores, really.
I don’t have the game now (Unfortunately), I think we’ll stop talking about that one and move on to something else… like the graphic novel. The graphic novel was quite something, I must say. I remember being one of THOSE fans of it, by shoving it in my friends faces to read it. They then told me to shut up, so I did…. But still, this book was great. It still has the simple formula of “Death Jr. wanting to prove to his dad that he can be responsible and screws it up and Pandora has to help him”. So, what do they have to deal with this time? Bureaucracy… What? So, in this book, Death Jr. goes to work with his dad at an office that decides the fate of people when they die while Death Jr’s friends go to a summer camp with an abusive camp counselor… who’s uniform almost resembles that of a Nazi. While at work, Death Jr. tries to help his father, but screws up big time, leading to much chaos with the afterlife and the world of the living, so that the antagonist of the film can create a world of bureaucracy… Yes, it’s weird, but in a good way. It’s got the same kind of humor that you’d expect from this franchise, and it definitely helped people get into it. While people were mixed with the games, there were a lot of people that loved the books by genius writers Ned Naifeh, who illustrated some of the Magic: The Gathering cards, and Gary Whitta, whose other work includes… After Earth… and Duke Nukem Forever…. Oh boy. But I still respect these guys and love their work on the series. There were only three books (As far as I know), but I hope to get the other two some day.
I think that about wraps things up for Death Jr. here. With about three games, three books, a movie (That has internet articles that haven’t been updated since 2004 so I’m sure that movie never happened) and this one weird flash game involving launching a demon's head across the level to get points, I’d say that Death Jr. had a pretty good run. I just wish this got a lot more popularity. It was such a good series while it lasted, though. If you’re a fan of Invader Zim, Nightmare Before Christmas, or just about anything by Tim Burton, than I have to say, this is the series for you. It’s dark, but it’s charming. It’s creepy, but it has some light moments. Take care.