Kim Reaper Vol. 1: Grim Beginnings by Sarah Graley is a charming graphic novel blending romance, humor, and supernatural adventure. Becka, a university student with a crush on goth girl Kim, discovers her crush's unusual part-time job: a grim reaper guiding souls. As Becka inadvertently disrupts Kim's work, the two embark on a whimsical journey facing angry cat-dads and vengeful zombies. Graley's expressive art and witty dialogue create a delightful atmosphere, perfectly balancing humor with heartfelt moments. With its diverse characters and delightful storyline, Kim Reaper is a fun-filled read that will leave you eagerly anticipating the next volume.

I gave up on this graphic novel pretty quickly after I started. I’d say about 10 pages if not less? I don’t have a clear answer as to why I chose to not finish the graphic novel because to me, everything about it just didn’t work out for me.

I didn’t like the art. I don’t know if one would call it quirky or anything but I didn’t care for it. I felt the writing was juvenile and the dialogue to be subpar. I disliked both main characters – in fact Kim was a big reason for my dnf.

The art for this was cute, but ultimately I did not fall in love with it. The characters fell flat, and plot was lack-luster for me personally.

Kim Reaper's first volume is cute and serves well to introduce readers to not only the characters, Kim and Becka, but also the universe of the story, which mixes fantasy elements with the protagonists' daily lives. The idea of ​​being a reaper as a temporary job is fun, and Kim is the perfect person to have this job. Reading flows fast, but I didn't get too attached to any of the characters. Kim is cool and stylish, but has not marked me in any other ways. Becka, on the other hand, is kind of annoying - and I imagine this is intentional. However, her cute and childish way (which is a common feature in comic characters) did not captivate me. The two work well together, and the story is quite creative, with good doses of satirical humor. The artist's style reminded me of some more recent cartoons, like Gravity Falls - it's nothing visually amazing, but it matches the tone of the story, and with color looks better. I was a little curious about the next volume, but I still think the characters need a little more substance to win over readers.

While I appreciate the diversity that I found throughout the book as well as the illustrations, the story itself wasn't as interesting to me once I started reading the book. And given the fact that her name has Reaper in it, I found the graphic novel too cutesy for my liking.

Adorable little romance featuring zombies, death, and weirdness. Fans of horror, humor, and a dash of romance will enjoy this romp of a tale. More volumes to come. Will their relationship survive Kim's job?

Review for publication elsewhere.
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'Kim Reaper Vol. 1: Grim Beginnings' with story and art by Sarah Graley is a graphic novel about having a crush on someone and finding out they have a really weird job.

Becka has a crush on Kim. She follows her to invite her to the pub, and gets caught in a portal where Kim has been sent to reap the life of a cat. When Kim messes the job up, she ends up getting a promotion, but where does that leave Becka.

It's a pretty cute story. The characters are fun. The art is also really cute. I had fun reading this.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Oni Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Many Thanks to Net-Galley and the publisher for an advanced e-copy. This did not affect my rating.

*2/5*

The art style was cute, but I didn't love the characters or the plot. It felt like a web comic to me..

This was a cute read. The humour was perfect for the story. The actions of the readers don't make total sense, but I'm not 100% sure it was suppose to. I loved the art style nice and bright, yet it was still familiar.

I'm curious where the next volume will go, and will decide from there if I want to continue the series.

A collection overloaded with cuteness that stars a sweet f/f romance while an underworld cast supports the main characters. The art is definitely my favorite bit because while the writing was resonating with the young adult demographic of the characters, it wasn't what stood out the most to me but the character sketches and that grim-purple color scheme really did. Will definitely look out for the next installments and will recommend this to everyone who's looking for a cute and different love story.

Kim Reaper is a overly-cute story about a girl named Becka who finds our her new crush Kim is actually a par-time Grim Reaper. We don't learn much about the how or why Kim is the only human Grim Reaper, nor do we see much substantial interaction between Becka and Kim. Kim decides after one quasi-date that she doesn't want to deal with the hassle of dating a Grim Reaper, but somehow more bad things happen and she changes her mind instead.

This has potential, but is missing much in the way of substance and meaningful relationships.

Lovely story, with heartwarming characters, good lesbian representation and supernatural characters, is there anything else you'll want in a story?

A cute little comic! I'd definitely love to see more by this author, because she has a very cute art style and deals with fun, but also real life topics!

"Part-Time Grim Reaper. Full-Time Cutie! Like most university students, Kim works a part-time job to make ends meet. Unlike most university students, Kim's job is pretty cool: she's a grim reaper, tasked with guiding souls into the afterlife.

Like most university students, Becka has a super intense crush. Unlike most university students, Becka's crush is on a beautiful gothic angel that frequents the underworld. Of course, she doesn't know that.

Unaware of the ghoulish drama she's about to step into, Becka finally gathers up the courage to ask Kim on a date! But when she falls into a ghostly portal and interrupts Kim at her job, she sets off a chain of events that will pit the two of them against angry cat-dads, vengeful zombies, and perhaps even the underworld itself. But if they work together, they just might make it... and maybe even get a smooch in the bargain."

Was anyone else obsessed with the TV show Reaper to such an extent that ANYTHING with "Reaper" in the title is now appealing?

Sort of a fluffier "Dead Like Me". More about romance, about balancing school and a new relationship with a job, complicated by the secret nature of that job. Comparable to any number of superhero stories, actually. THe tone is light and playful.

Cute central relationship and bodi-posi representations, but the story felt a little messy and unfocused.

Too cutesy and squee for me. Becka has a crush on Kim Reaper. She accidentally gets pulled into one of Kim's jobs as a grim reaper while trying to ask Kim out. The rest of book revolves around Kim's reaping job. There's a lot of stream of consciousness story here and no larger plotting going on. It almost feels like a web comic where it's just a couple of jokes and then you return the next day for another dose of the same thing.

An adorable story? Check. Serious themes that come across well? Check. Humor that had me laughing out loud? Check. Everyone should check out Kim Reaper! The artwork is so fun and reminds me of my favorite cartoon programming.

Diversity does not equal a good book

Kim is Impossible. I love diversity in comics.

It can enrich a story dramatically and act as a backdrop for enhancing the story. Kim Reaper focuses so much on diversity and representation that the story falls absolutely flat and relies on internet humour that is subpar.


I'm not too fond of Kim. I don't like Becka much either. The plot is centred around internet and humour found in Gravity Falls. I don't feel like this comic brings anything new to the table. The weirdness seems forced - it seems as if it took on weirdness in order to feel special or different when in fact it is not at all unique. It's all centred around pandering to internet humour and PC. The romance is completely rushed and I feel the characters had no connection or prior knowledge on which to build their relationship on. Kim and Becka already go on a date in issue 2! The romance is the central focus of the story, and yet it is so poorly written. Becka and Kim already experience relationship issues from issue 2 and have no healthy way of solving it. This does not bode well for them or for my sanity.
Kim is so callous! Kim is a terrible Grim Reaper. Kim is such a horrible human being who does not have a trace of empathy despite having such an important job that is rooted in morality.

The plot does not include an outline or goal. The comic mostly consists of the rambling and wandering of Kim and Becka. Whatever the two of them do, there is no consequence. A plot without consequence is a poor plot and a character without consequence is a poor, poor character.

Poor writing: This comic has terrible writing. It’s staler than the toast I forgot to eat this morning.

If you want to read a good Grim Reaper teen story, Go. Read. Scythe.