As she has proven with her creator-owned Scary Godmother property, Jill Thompson has a knack for bringing fun, innocent but weird characters to life, and she does so again with The Dead Boy Detectives. While these title characters appeared originally in Neil Gaiman's landmark Sandman series and they've had something of an extensive history over the past decade or so, Thompson offers up a thoroughly accessible script that's as much fun for old fogeys such as myself to read as it will be for young girls. There's an undeniable energy running through this story that carries the reader along with it. Even those who generally don't care for manga-style storytelling (such as myself) will delight in this original graphic novel. It's a safe bet that DC will turn to Thompson for another such project before long.
Charles Rowland and Edwin Paine, the ghosts of English children who offer their detective services to other kids in need, are contracted by a girl attending a Chicago all-girls boarding school to find out what happened to her roommate/best friend. She's gone missing, and to solve the mystery, the Dead Boy Detectives will have to no only hide their spectral nature but their gender as well as they go undercover in the school.
Thompson adapts her usual style here to present a rather traditional, wide-eyed manga style, but he does buck convention in one key aspect: she doesn't sexualize the teenage characters around which the story revolves. This story is all about kids and their wild imaginations, and Thompson is careful to protect the characters' innocence. Given the setting, there are a lot of characters in this story that are young girls, yet Thompson's designs differentiate clearly and effectively among them. The panel layouts and line art maintain the quick pace and high level of energy that's reflected in the script.
I like that the characters are innocent, but balancing that is the fact that they're rather sophisticated in their own way. Charles and Edwin, despite being creature from beyond the grave, are the real children here. Annika and her friends are resourceful, savvy and fiercely independent. They're instantly likeable, and it seems a shame we probably won't revisit them again.
The plot that dominates much of the book embraces children's mystery storytelling, and it really draws one into a world of seemingly dark secrets. The ending turns the story completely on its ear, and it focuses more on satirizing pop culture. The dramatic shift works. Of course, the earlier uncovering of clues and introduction of new "suspects," one after the other, were a great deal of fun as well. 9/10
