Advanced Review: Kim Reaper: Grim Beginnings

Kim Reaper: Grim Beginnings

Creator: Sarah Graley
Publisher: Oni Press

A review by Samantha Pearson

Kim is “100% a cutie with a bootie” who’s super cool and super goth. Becka has a huge crush on her, which her friend Tyler just doesn’t get. They’re super different, after all — Becka works part-time at a bakery and Kim is a part-time grim reaper. Kim Reaper: Grim Beginnings collects this 4-issue arc by Sarah Graley, wherein tons of hijinks ensue as these two girls attempt to impress each other… and escape punishment from the Board of Grim Reapers.

I love a goth girl, and Kim Reaper is goth as Hell. Literally. She reaps small animal souls after her university classes in order to pay her rent. But when Becka tries to ask her out, Kim’s life gets complicated — fast.

As the only human employed by the reapers, Kim is held to a much different standard. This has mixed results as she repeatedly breaks the rules laid out by the Board of Grim Reapers. One broken rule means a promotion — but as you’d expect from a bunch of robed skeletons living in Hell, that promotion comes with strings. 

How do you navigate a new relationship and a zombie apocalypse? Is possession by ghoul a deal-breaker? Kim Reaper: Grim Beginnings answers these questions and more. Sarah Graley has created a super fun, super colorful book with funny writing and a solid, romantic storyline. The art is perfect, the colors bright — Graley’s art in Kim Reaper reminds me of cartoons like Steven Universe and Bee and Puppycat. It makes the story that much more fun to read, which I adore.

I haven’t found fun grim reaper content since Dead Like Me was cancelled in its second season. Humorous horror can be hard to pull off, but Graley does a great job. I love that Kim Reaper focuses on an interracial relationship between two women and that they are both powerful in their own right. I also love that this book reads like a teen drama with supernatural elements that work naturally with the story, rather than feeling thrown in or randomized. Kim and Becka embody this universe, and I thoroughly enjoyed diving into it for a little while.

Verdict
Buy it! Kim Reaper: Grim Beginnings is a super fun read from cover to cover, especially if you like quirky romances. Sarah Graley has crafted a book that’s smart and sweet wherein she allows her protagonists to explore issues outside of their sexualities. Kim and Becka go through a lot of turmoil in 89 pages, but their being two women is never part of the problem. And I think that’s friggin great. This comic is 100% worth your money and your time. I hope to see more like it on the shelves!

Kim Reaper: Grim Beginnings hits comic stores on Valentine’s Day (February 14), 2018. ?