Juggling college classes and a part-time job is hard on its own, but it’s even more challenging when your job is being the Grim Reaper. Sarah Graley’s new Oni Press series, Kim Reaper, offers a supernatural twist on the college experience, turning the personification of death into a mysterious goth undergrad that becomes the newest crush of a fellow schoolmate. Graley has built a name for herself with her ongoing webcomic Our Super Adventure, which regularly shows off her expressive cartooning skills and ability to develop compelling character relationships. She wrote Oni’s Rick And Morty spin-off miniseries, Little Poopy Superstar, and Kim Reaper is the first monthly series she’s tackling solo, giving her the opportunity to build her own fictional concept from the ground up.
This preview of next week’s Kim Reaper #1 introduces readers to Becka, Tyler, and Kim, highlighting Becka’s obsessive feelings for Kim and Tyler’s attempts to cool his friend’s infatuation. It doesn’t work, and Graley’s artwork reinforces Becka’s intense emotions with exaggerated artwork. Those opening pages ground the story in a recognizable reality, making it all the more surprising when Becka’s crush walks through a gory portal that takes her to her job escorting creatures off this mortal coil. Exploring the personal drama of British university students through a comedic lens, Kim Reaper is a perfect title for fans of Giant Days, and former Giant Days artist Lissa Treiman contributes the variant cover for the first issue. Readers can jump into this supernatural queer romance when Kim Reaper #1 goes on sale April 5, but in the meanwhile, they can delight in this eight-page excerpt.