The Comic You Need to Read This Week: "Grim Leaper #1"

You know what romantic comedies are missing, these days? Horrible violent death. What happened to the good old days, when the movie climaxed with somebody triggering a dust explosion or getting creamed by a truck?

OK, so maybe violent accidents and romance don’t usually go together, but in this book, they do.

Part of it is that the mystery that drives the plot isn’t the focus. Lou is just some schmuck who, for some reason, keeps getting sucked back into the earthly plane after death. He has no idea why it’s happening, just that it stinks, and he keeps getting killed in ridiculous and gory ways (including a spectacular truck tire accident that opens the book).

Then he runs into Ella in the least cute “meet-cute” ever conceived, as she narrowly avoids getting killed via hubcap…and falls in love.

As a book, it’s got a lot to recommend it: the art, by Alouisio Santos, is cartoony without being broad, and Kurt Wiebe strikes a darkly funny tone, characterizing Lou as something of a douche with two absolutely hilarious setpieces.

In short, it’s a pretty sharp and creative book, and another win for Image. Check it out.

How about you? What comic do you think everybody needs to read this week?

image courtesy Image Comics