THE DEAD BOY DETECTIVES by Jill Thompson (DC Comics, 2005)GENRE: Manga / Mystery / Humor
HONORS: N/A
REVIEW:
First introduced in Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman: Season of Mists, Charles Rowland and Edwin Paine are two dead British teenagers that avoided going to the other side with Death, choosing to remain as ghosts in this world. Working as detectives, the boys receive a letter from a girl at a boarding school in America, requesting their help to find her missing friend. Since it is an all girls’ boarding school, Rowland and Paine are forced to dress in drag in order to freely wander the halls. Following several leads with the help of some very rich girls, the boys work to uncover the school’s biggest secret.
OPINION:
Following the detective work of Rowland and Paine, this manga is filled with humor and mystery as the boys are thrown into the world of a bunch of super rich girls. There are some moments in the beginning when the boys seem to forget that they are ghosts, causing some laughter as Rowland yells for Paine to watch out when he steps in front of a car. Perhaps some of the most hilarious scenarios occur when the boys find out they must dress in drag whenever they are on school grounds. I also really enjoyed Paine’s Victorian sensibilities, which are made the most obvious when the girls are too forward for him. The mystery surrounding Elizabeth’s disappearance will keep readers guessing, especially with the introduction of some suspicious teachers. The twist at the end will throw some readers as it seems to come out of nowhere, but it is especially relevant to today’s abundance of reality shows. Overall, this is a manga that will appeal to tween boys and girls, having elements that both will enjoy.
IDEAS:
This manga would be good to include in a library display featuring graphic novels and manga for tweens, as well as ones that will appeal to both boys and girls. Also, it would be a fun manga for tweens to study in a library program for learning how to draw manga art.
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