Death Inc. Books 1, 2 & 3 Review (Not So Tiny Comics)

Death Inc. is one of those stories you are told is brilliant by anyone that's read it. So it's been on my backlog of comics to catch up on for a while. Now that I've read all three volumes, does it live up to expectations? Let's delve into it.

Death Inc., by Charles H Raymond, under Not So Tiny Comics, is the story of Stanley Angel. He's had enough of his monotonous 9-to-5 job, but that all changes when a bus causes his untimely death. Stanley finds himself thrust into the afterlife with his own Grim Reaper - a portly chap called Raul. You see, Death has outsourced the whole Grim Reaping business to various souls who conduct his reaping at the aptly named 'Death Inc'. A corporation that aims to give the newly deceased some purpose in the afterlife.

The problem, though, is that even in the afterlife, people are still people. Problems and all. Stanely's issues in life are still very much there. Same with everyone else., Especially Raul. Oh, Raul, I expected better from you.

Anyway, Stanely has to adapt to his new existence/life and realises that it's not too dissimilar to his previous life. But there's a lot of unravelling at Death Inc. Just as he's settling in, there's news of a serial killer. Not a newly dead serial killer joining Death Inc. No, a serial killer of the already dead. Raul is not who he seemed, and someone is trying to bring down Death himself. Life for everyone in the afterlife is beginning to crack, and Stanley seems to be linked in some way to all the threads being pulled.

Let's start with the art like usual. Raymond pulls double duty with writing and art. Visually, all three volumes look brilliant, from the covers through to the end. Everything is in black and white with no hints of colour. There is some really strong use of black backgrounds that compliment the darker tone of the book and some of its themes.

As you can tell from the covers, Death is drawn with more detail than anything else, and this carries over into the rest of the book. It's a nice touch. Other characters are far more simplistic and loosely drawn. This allows for the characters to express themselves through more than just words. And the speech bubbles for the Reapers are fun, delivering a different voice when the masks are on.

As for the story, Death Inc. touches on some rather touching subjects but balances it out well with some silliness that makes the whole series fun. Over the course of the three books, there's humour, heartfelt moments, double-crossing, murder and conspiracy. All of this blends together to tell an incredible story. A true page-turner.

So, did the series live up to the expectations that people had given me of this series? If it's not clear already that it does, then know that this will go down as one of my favourite indie comic series. Over the years, I've talked about how the UK indie comics scene is the best, and Death Inc. just adds further proof to that.

Rating: 5/5

If you'd like to purchase a copy of the books, you can do so over at the Not So Tiny Comics  Etsy page, where they're £10 per book.