Reviews

YOU DIED: An Anthology of the Afterlife by Rhandi Fisher, A. "Miru" Lee, Nick Robles, Letty Wilson, Maddie Kathleen, Ale Green, James F. Wright, Raina Telgemeier, S.E. Case, Sally Cantirino, Fanny Rodriguez, M. Cat. White, Jordan Alsaqa, Danielle Chuatico, Nadia Shammas, Laura Ketcham, Casey Gilly, Juliette GMM Lopez, Karoline Grønvik, Cheryl Young, Rhiannon Rasmussen-Silverstein, Lisa Sterle, Caitlin Doughty, Jeremy Lawson, Grace P. Fong, Shae Beagle, Luyi Bennett, Isabelle Melançon, Holly Adkins, Megan Lavey-Heaton, Ahueonao, Jackie Crofts, Oliver Northwood, Dani Colman, A. Shinozaki, James Maddox

indeedithappens's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

geekwayne's review against another edition

4.0

'You Died: An Anthology of the Afterlife' edited by Kel McDonald and Andrea Purcell is graphic novel featuring 24 stories by differing creative teams and an introduction by Caitlin Doughty.

From the death of creatures to the death of loved ones, this collection examines our final moments from both sides of the grave. There are stories of pride and humility. Death plays no favorites, so the stories run the gamut from scary to heartwrenching. My favorite might be Remember by SE Case about a woman who can't let go and has a conversation with someone from her past.

The stories are all really good. The art varies but it's all pretty good. The variety of the stories makes for a good anthology.

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

lolocole's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

 A note for every story so I can remember the impressions they left on my brain:

• magical realism science
• best friend ghost nerd
• sister drama egyptian mythology family drama, earth drama
• bog people!! non fiction poetry
• cancer self-hallucination, no answers, actual tears, devastating
• victorian mourning culture, humor, societal critique, sexism
• death in space, face of death as a self-projection, next great adventure vibe
• philipino celebration of all souls day, celebration of family, hope in death
• space, exodus from earth, islam, attempted suicide, second-chance love, divine soul
• mom and daughter, deer, God deer?
• energy cannot be created or destroyed- imagining end variables (reincarnation, stars, into the earth?)
• future, ai-version of loved one to help put to rest, tears again
• mother-daughter, cancer, plants, circle of life, tears
• the soul feeds those that come to mourn at the grave, ritual of visiting place as a practice of mourning, humor at the end, stages of grief
• lesbian love, goodbye to loved one, in-between life and death
• sad mom, child died, finds bucket list, completes bucket list, Lauryn cries in a public place again
• Welcome to reincarnation, life and death as game of chance, kind of like “soul” movie
• choice about what kind of afterlife- choosing the void, peace in nothing after
• family spreading ashes, absurdity + grief, humor + sorrow
• prince haunted by deceased friend, wager, lesson in kindness
• spirit of lesbian in a crow, paralyzed by stasis of grief
• dementia, Japanese culture, funeral traditions
• sci-fi, documenting decline, confusing
• tattoos, bodies as living memories of ancestors
• Additional Notes: “death positivity movement”

danse macabre, John of Kastav 

docwald's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

Minor: Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Dementia, and Child death

humanhalfofachilleus's review against another edition

4.0

A brilliant entry to the genre of comics/graphic novels. This is one of the books I'll be thinking about for years and return to whenever possible.

bloodymargie's review against another edition

4.0

3.5. Some stories were better than others. I thought the first story was the most powerful, and definitely my favorite of the book.

leeshajoy's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

spuriousdiphthongs's review against another edition

3.0

This was an interesting collection! I loved the wide variety of art styles and stories. However, I think I would've enjoyed it more if some of the stories had been longer - because they were so short, some of the premises felt off and not fleshed out as well as they could have been. Also, despite the range of cultures and traditions featured, this book is still fairly Christian centric with a lot of stories referring to heaven and I would've liked to see other religions and cultures post-death concepts featured as well.

hallizalli's review against another edition

4.0

An interesting collection of graphic short stories about death being a part of life. Most of the stories were good, but as with any short story collection a few were just okay, and some were downright weird!

Favorites:
Ghost Friend
Remember and Still Life (which both moved me to tears)
Herd (so beautiful in its subtlety)
Here Among the Chrysanthemums

Bonus points for the glow in the dark cover art, which I discovered after reading past my bedtime!

listener's review against another edition

5.0

I loved this! Lots of cool interesting stories, fun art! And the cover glows in the dark?!?!