The story of Grim, a supernatural voyage through the underworld and into one’s self, is as methodical as a gravedigger moving earth, adding its plot points one shovelful at a time. Volume 1 introduced the main characters, in particular Jessica Harrow, a Reaper whose main job is to ferry souls to the afterlife and who’s just discovered her father is literal Death. It also introduced the main conflict of the series, that of an afterlife uprising that threatens to upend life and death. Volume 2 widens the mythology of this universe, such as the drag queen muses who take their lifeline-cutting scissors to gender stereotypes. Volume 3 of writer Stephanie Phillips and illustrator Flaviano’s tale takes Jessica and fellow Reaper Eddie to literal Hell.
Having just escaped their confinement, Jessica and Eddie decide to rescue their friend Marcel, another fellow Reaper who was sentenced to eternal damnation for what he’s done in life. The Hell they journey into is nothing like Dante’s structured descent. Rather, all three get to experience their own personal hells, ones they may or may not be able to escape from. Meanwhile, a new villain has received a magical entity that will help her tear apart the barriers between the living and the dead.
This trip into the three friends’ personal hells makes up much of the book and provides most of its appeal. The fact that it is a personal hell lets Phillips peel back the layers of these characters and show the audience what makes them tick. Even as Phillips reveals each characters’ unique insecurities and personality flaws, they fit into their established roles: Jess, the stalwart heroine; Eddie, the wisecracking former rock star; and Marcel, the dour writer. The story of Annabel’s full ambitions offers this tale some extra meat, but perhaps not enough to make her motivations clear.
Phillips’ story also has the benefit of taking place within Flaviano’s striking visual style, injecting each character’s experience of hell with everything from surreal imagery to body horror (this along with panels that reveal Marcel’s backstory and the act that essentially got him damned). Flaviano includes items that mark this book as a dark fantasy/horror, like scythes glowing with magic and a kind of symbiotic growth that would give Marvel’s Venom pause.
Grim, Vol. 3 moves the overall story of the afterlife uprising along well enough, but the detour through hell is where the most interesting things happen, largely thanks to the relationship between Jessica and her friends. It seems like the eventual Volume 4 will perhaps be the climax of the series, but there may also be another side quest for the three friends to undertake. Nevertheless, I will most likely read Volume 4, if and when it’s produced.
Grim, Vol. 3
By Stephanie Phillips
Art by Flaviano
BOOM! Studios, 2024
ISBN: 9781608861460
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18)
