Dead Boy Detectives #6 – Review

By: Toby Litt (story), Mark Buckingham (layouts), Russ Braun (finishes), Lee Loughridge (colors)

The Story: When seeking advice, ask a cat before the manatee.

The Review: As a kid, I was obsessed with Harriet the Spy,* mostly for Harriet’s adventurousness and daring. She, along with the Boxcar Children, those kids from The Egypt Game, and the boys from The Sandlot, had a subtle influence on my early life. I didn’t exactly become a mischievous, unnecessary risk-taker, but by their example I probably was more curious, took more chances, and got into more trouble (in a fun way) than my rigid Vietnamese upbringing would’ve allowed.

I think the charm I’ve recently found in Dead Boy Detectives is how it seems to carry the spirit of all my childhood heroes. As Edwin, Charles, and Crystal slip (and literally break) into Marigold’s house to investigate the precarious situation of the trapped Persephone and Beatrix, I was reminded of bygone tales of kids going places where they shouldn’t be, and finding and solving mysteries there. It’s the kind of story that’s painfully absent from comics these days, despite efforts from titles like the hopelessly commercial Seekers of the Weird.

Of course, DBD is a more sophisticated, cultured series than Seekers, which Litt reveals in literary allusions (Charles refers to Persephone’s situation as “Alice Halfway Through the Looking Glass”), sly gags (“the Society for Confusing and Confounding the Society for Psychic Research”), thoughtful witticisms (“Sure, he always treats us like royalty, it’s just…sometimes it’s the red carpet…and sometimes it’s the guillotine.”), and a pretentious bit of foreign language (Persephone and Beatrix call the grey cat “the Eminence Grise“). Clearly, Litt has no intention of dumbing down the series to the age of its characters.

But that doesn’t move DBD beyond younger readers, either. Like the best juvenile fiction, DBD opens doors for readers to more advanced level of reading while remaining accessible for all ages. Charles and Edwin’s visit to Tragic Mick’s Magic Tricks is whimsical and odd, but completely straightforward. No deep subtext here; Mick really is transmitting advice from a manatee on how to free Persephone: “If you can’t pull her through, try pushing.” Also: “Try taking the mirror off the wall.”

Ultimately, the solution to Persephone’s problem is no more complicated than pulling on her from behind, though it takes a bit of ghostly trickery to get there. While entering the mirror world by hitching a ride on a cat ties in neatly to last issue‘s theories about feline magic, Litt doesn’t quite make good use on all his inventory otherwise. You have no idea what the point of having the lost soul of a philosopher possess the grey cat is, for example. And why link the mirror to strange dimensions and then seal off any opportunity to explore them?

Also problematic is Crystal’s exclusion as an active participant in this adventure. At first, it’s out of necessity (“Mick isn’t particularly fond of the living.”), but even left behind with the two Victorian girls, Crystal is little more than the recipient of some fairly useless exposition until she becomes a damsel-in-distress, exciting Charles’ already tiresome feelings for her. The issue’s final panel signals that she’ll have a larger role next arc, but hopefully, Litt will find a way to keep her fully involved instead of just the title’s token geek girl.

Another part of the issue’s youthful charm is the delightfully innocent expression Buckingham gives to the young characters: Crystal’s wide-eyed excitement and confusion, Charles’ frown of dubiousness, the way Edwin’s floppy hair is always getting into his eyes. Buckingham also has a talent for translating abstract ideas into concrete visuals, like the Ghost Road made of the faces of desperate spirits. Otherwise, this isn’t a very demanding issue for him, artistically, even if it’s drawn very well, as usual.

Conclusion: Baffling in parts, though it’s mostly a fun read, easy to take in, but in no way infantilizing.

Grade: B

– Minhquan Nguyen

Some Musings: * Not the film version, which I wasn’t allowed to see when it was out in theaters and subsequently watched it with a great deal of disappointment in high school.

– Hana’s sojourn in limbo seems to be turning her surly. I don’t think the old Hana would have ever snapped, “Shut it, or I’m turning back.”