A review by library_brandy
Death Jr., Vol. 1 by Gary Whitta, Mike Mignola, Terri Selting, Ted Naifeh
4.0
I'm a sucker for books about Death--as a character, at least. New Adventures of Death, Death Takes a Holiday--Death makes a great character in comics. In this one, we're mostly following Death's son and his friends (Pandora, Stigmartha, a pair of conjoined twins who share a brain, and something that I think was maybe a fetus in a jar?), who are trying to fit in while juggling the weirdness that comes with being friends with Death's kid. Who himself is trying to prove that he can do his dad's job, and that Dad Treat Him Like a Baby. We've all been there--we just didn't have the dangerous tools that DJ has.
The writing is okay--I'd pass it on to kids looking for something sort of goofy-fun--but what really holds this together is the art. Naifeh really made his name with Courtney Crumrin, and this is the same art style--it's a nice blend of goofy-cute and goth, appropriate for middle-school readers, I think. I'm going to go ahead and read volume 2 because it's already on my desk, but I don't think I'd really go out of my way for it. So, good, but not great.
The writing is okay--I'd pass it on to kids looking for something sort of goofy-fun--but what really holds this together is the art. Naifeh really made his name with Courtney Crumrin, and this is the same art style--it's a nice blend of goofy-cute and goth, appropriate for middle-school readers, I think. I'm going to go ahead and read volume 2 because it's already on my desk, but I don't think I'd really go out of my way for it. So, good, but not great.