R.I.P.D.

Title: R.I.P.D.

Series: Mini Series

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Publication Date: 1999 (Miniseries) 2003 (Trade)

Creative Team:
            Writer: Peter M. Lenkov
            Artist: Lucas Marangon

Inks: Randy Emberlin
            Colors: Dave Nestelle

Genre: Afterlife, Cop Drama, Black Comedy

I’ve never been afraid to ask a stupid question about the mechanics of a fiction world. (Embarrassed afterward? Maybe.)  For instance in Toy Story, Why do all the toys accept as a rule that they cannot reveal that they are alive?  Who made that rule?  Why do they all follow it?  Why does Buzz Lightyear follow it when he doesn’t believe he’s a toy?  I digress.  Sure Toy Story isn’t a work of great philosophical depth.  It’s not intended to spark questions of how the world functions.  It’s just supposed to be our world with another fairly simple layer on top.  RIPD hit me similarly.  Not that it’s about toys or even simple but it inspired me to ask a lot of questions about how it all works.

I don't want to know but I do.  I'm confused and scared.

The premise of RIPD is simple enough really.  Nicholas Cruz is a good cop who dies.  Once he’s dead he gets recruited to be a cop for the Rest In Peace Department (RIPD).  He’s tasked with catching demons, ghosts, and other supernatural business but before all that he has to solve his murder.  See? Simple-ish.  The plot doesn’t get much more complex than that but what made it interesting (or infuriating) to me were the implications in the background.  For instance, Nick is a rookie cop so of course he needs to be partnered with a grizzled vet close to retirement whose last partner died on the job.  It’s a cop story, that’s pretty much how they work.  That partner is Sheriff Roy Powell.  Roy is dead just like Nick and Roy’s older partner McKenzie was dead too…and then McKenzie went and died some more.  So, if you’re dead already and you die again then what?  RIPD doesn’t give us a very clear answer.  There is a Heaven and Hell in this mythos and we’re told when Roy retires he’ll go to Heaven.  So when McKenzie died for the second time did he go to Heaven or just cease to exist?  The demon killed in the same scene clearly went back to Hell.  Anyhow, it bugged me but I like to over think things (like Toy Story for instance).  But as one of RIPD’s characters says, “Don’t sweat the details, kid”.

Men without necks don't need writing on their business cards.

The story relies on a handful of clichés to set up our characters.  Nick before dying is the standard young hotheaded cop.  He dies and leaves behind a hot young widow, daughter, and dog.  Nick also had a partner that was like a brother who’s going to do his best to watch over Nick’s family.  Roy is a rough around the edges cowboy and as I have mentioned soon to retire.  Since Nick is going to be a cop in the afterlife he’s got to get there by being murdered.  After all, what’s the fun of following a dead character if they can’t solve their own murder?  It’s not to say that RIPD isn’t fun it’s just not new.  There really isn’t any innovation.  It feels like supernatural Men in Black.

They might make this look good but they don't produce music videos.

RIPD is only a 4 issue miniseries so it doesn’t have a lot of time to introduce us to the characters or the world.  This is maybe why so many clichés were relied upon to get past the setup quickly and move on to the plot.  The story moves along at a fairly quick pace and never gets boring.  Peter Lenkov has worked as a writer and producer in television since the 90s.  He helped developed and is currently an Executive Producer on the reboot of Hawaii Five-0.  I think this explains why RIPD feels so much like a TV pilot.  I wouldn’t be surprised to find out it was a rejected TV pitch that Lenkov decided to turn into a comic.  It certainly feels like a concept that could easily be mined for an off-kilter story of the week police procedural.  It’d be like Hawaii 666.  With the recent movie adaptation anything could happen.

Book 'Em Danno!

The art work in RIPD is just fun.  It fits the story nicely by setting a tone that’s not too serious.  If this comic had been drawn by someone like Jim Lee or Alex Maleev it would have been horrible.  However, to just look at Marangon’s art work you can tell he must have had a blast drawing this thing.  His characters have a cartoony feel to them.  I have no trouble imagining this book as a 90s Saturday morning cartoon show.  It could air between Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and X-Men without missing a beat.  I almost had to restrain myself from grabbing a pair of footy pajamas and bowl of Fruit Loops.

The Fashion Police start using Lethal Force.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book well enough but I just wasn’t impressed by it.  I figured with the movie coming out soon it was about time I checked it out.  If they change the story a bit while adapting it for the silver screen, I won’t care one bit.  The trailer has already hilariously illustrated that the dead cops don’t appear like they did when they were alive but there is nothing of the sort in the comic.  My hope is that the movie fixes what was bad about the source material.  I guess I’ll have to wait and see.  I wouldn’t suggest buying RIPD but if you know someone that owns it or have a local library that carries it check it out.  It’s a quick read and I have certainly read worse.

So you're telling me you died in True Grit and woke up here?

Grade: C+