Rest In Peace Department (R.I.P.D.), starring Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds, looks like it’s going to be a fun supernatural thriller, sort of like Men In Black. Interested teens might want to check out the graphic novels first—if they can get ’em away from the adults in the household, that is!
R.I.P.D. Volume 1 (4/5 stars, currently priced at $8 for this volume, which contains books 1-4 in the series; this graphic novel features full color graphics with Kindle Panel View) – From Amazon:
Welcome to the Rest In Peace Department——the devoted, yet dead, officers of divine law enforcement. Nick Cruz was gunned down in the line of duty at the height of his personal and professional life. Now he’s traded a hundred years of service to the R.I.P.D. in exchange for a shot at solving his own murder. Collects the original four-issue miniseries.
One Amazon reviewer says:
This volume collects issues 1 to 4 of R.I.P.D., originally published in 1999 and 2000. It’s sort of like Men In Black mixed with Ghostbusters. Perhaps that’s why it inspired a movie that, as of this writing, is in post-production.
Sheriff Roy Powell chases Hell Raisers, but he’s been doing it for a century and he’s about to retire. Nick Cruz is a dead cop who wants to know the identity of his killer. Heaven’s lawyer makes him a deal he can’t refuse, and he’s soon employed (with a hundred year contract) by the Rest In Peace Department. Before he retires, Powell must train Cruz to kill creatures that aren’t technically alive. Powell and Cruz complete their first mission together by journeying to a very warm place.
R.I.P.D. is a light and breezy break from all the graphic novels that purport to take demons seriously. The story is engaging and the dialog has enough snap and wit to set this apart from lesser efforts to merge demons with humor. The art is full of funny caricatures that avoid going over the top, setting the right tone for the amusing story.
R.I.P.D.: City of the Damned (no reviews yet, currently priced at $7.55 for this volume, which contains the next four books in the series; this graphic novel features full color graphics with Kindle Panel View) – From Amazon:
Just because Roy Pulsipher and Nick Walker are dead, that doesn’t mean their time in law enforcement is over. Roy and Nick are officers in the Rest in Peace Department, sworn to serve the Almighty and protect the living from evil’s foul corruption.
Their current case has them chasing a ghostly fanatic determined to undo all of creation—a threat with very personal connections to Roy’s past, stretching back a hundred years. Collecting the four-issue miniseries.
* Prequel to the upcoming film starring Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges!