Dead Boy Detectives #12

I wasn’t lying when I said something like Bodies could stand a few extra days of analysis, but in the case of Dead Boy Detectives, I’m just coming late to the ball game. I’m sorry, especially now that I’m discovering this may be the last issue of the series, ever. I don’t know how the possibility suddenly occurred to me. Maybe it was the prominent “The End!” at the end of the issue, and the note of finality in its exclamation point. Maybe it was Bing—or Tim—calling attention to its tearful emotion as Crystal, Charles, and Edwin share a sweet moment of togetherness. Maybe I’m just psychic—I don’t know.

Anyway, I have since confirmed that #12 is indeed the final issue, which makes me sad. I wouldn’t go as far as to say I’m heartbroken, not like I was over the sudden, unresolved ends of Xombi or Saucer Country. Still, considering this is a title featuring characters I had initially viewed with no small amount of irritation, it’s almost a holiday miracle in itself that I’ve grown to like them and their world so much.

Part of the series’ charm is the youthfulness of its characters that never crossed into that dangerous territory of being juvenile. Our heroes can be a lot of things—sweet, spirited, sad, scared—but one thing they rarely ever were was stupid. In stories featuring characters around their age range, a lot of unnecessary conflict is generated by behaving like they’re still in elementary school. What I’ve always liked about Crystal, Charles, and Edwin is even at their most emotional, they don’t lash out against each other. Crystal may be exasperated by the absence of peace brought by her new friends, but she simply asks for a moment to herself and the boys are discerning enough to immediately oblige.

And then there’s DBD‘s style of adventure, in which anything can happen, but always for a good reason. A lot of wacky stuff goes down in this issue: the séance that pulls Edwin and Charles in like a tractor beam, the reappearance of their professor who threatens to eat their bodies to regrow his own, the sudden possession of Yonda (the MMORPG Crystal and Hana are so fond of) by a massive force of destruction, Hana discovering she can connect to the real world from the Neitherlands by phone. Yet Litt weaves these disparate parts into a cohesive, entertaining whole that resolves itself and leaves a few loose ends for our later pleasure.

Which is why it’s an even greater pity that we won’t have a chance to enjoy them anytime soon. Hana has finally come into her own as a fully active character, the dynamo the Neitherlands has been missing and someone who can manage to save Crystal in Yonda and Charles and Edwin in the real world even from a spiritual distance. We leave her in a good place, but it’s clear she was headed in an even better direction. Same with our trio; sentimental as it is to close on them making their partnership official,* you’re a lot more interested in seeing how they handle future cases together and that doesn’t look like it’s about to happen.

I’ll also always be a little grateful to DBD for teaching me the importance of inking/finishes to a comic book’s art. Having seen how dramatic Ryan Kelly and Al Davison can make Buckingham’s usually soft, mellow figures, I’m now rather astonished to see Vieceli-Santos take those same figures and emphasize their youthfulness. Edwin, Charles, Crystal, and Hana, who used to lean closer to kids than teens in their appearance, now veer the other way. Charles almost looks like a potential member of tween boy band, which for once isn’t entirely a bad thing. It looks like everyone’s grown up a little, which makes you even more wistful that you won’t see them grow any further.

Some Musings:

* I have to wonder how Edwin feels about being relegated to the last name in the partnership, on top of being third wheel to Crystal and Charles’ recent coupling. Also, it’s a bit unusual that Crystal doesn’t use her last name, too.