Jessica Harrow is dead. But her journey has only just begun! Boom! Studios’ latest supernatural comic series Grim introduces us to the world of Reapers, charged with ferrying souls to the afterlife.

Unlike the rest of the Reapers, Jessica has no memory of what killed her. In order to unravel the mystery of her own demise, she’ll have to solve an even bigger one – where is the actual GRIM REAPER?

Grim #1 Review

If you read the premise of this story – with its death-centric mystery plot and darkly supernatural Grim Reaper characters – and found yourself immediately sold like I was, you’ll definitely enjoy Grim. After the first issue, it looks like Grim is one of those series that delivers exactly what you expect (in a good way). 

First off, visually, this story has the perfect aesthetic. The base palette is dark, but also full of deep reds, blues, and purples. The brighter colors cut through the darkness in a way that perfectly matches the supernatural feel of the story. It really feels like the pages glow with Jessica’s Reaper powers. You could easily flip through the pages in issue one and get a feel for Grim without reading a word.

But you should take the time to read the story, because it looks like Grim is setting up something good!

The first issue opens with Jessica arriving at the scene of a car crash to transport a man to the afterlife. It introduces us to the world and Jessica’s job easily, getting the necessary exposition out of the way but keeping things interesting for the audience at the same time. This issue also introduces us to some other Reapers besides Jessica. (I liked that the Reapers all lived different lives at different points in time too. Seems like a fun thing to explore later on.)

Besides establishing the world of the story well, Grim does a nice job hooking you in for more. First, we have the mystery of Jessica’s death – what happened to her, and why can’t she remember? Then, there’s her quick display of powers near the end of the issue. (Can all Reapers break out the skull face? What else can Jessica do?) And finally, we get another little tease about how Jessica may be different from the other Reapers, as she suddenly finds herself acknowledged by the world of the living. (That’s not supposed to happen!) 

All in all, Grim delivers a great first issue, with a perfect visual aesthetic and an intriguing story that definitely makes me want to grab issue #2!

You can preview the first few pages of Grim #1 below.

The first issue of Grim is available from Boom! Studios now.

Series Info

Description: Jessica Harrow is dead. But her journey has only just begun! Discover the world of the afterlife, where Jessica has been recruited as a Reaper, tasked with ferrying countless souls to their final destination. But unlike the rest of the Reapers, she has no memory of what killed her and put her into this predicament. In order to unravel the mystery of her own demise, she’ll have to solve an even bigger one – where is the actual GRIM REAPER?

Author: Stephanie Phillips

Artist: Flaviano

Release: Premiere issue May 11, 2022