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My Dead Girlfriend, Volume 1
Finney Bleak lives in a world of horror―literally. His family members are ghosts, his classmates are monsters, and Finney is the most normal kid in school. But within the halls of Mephisto Prep, normal is the new weird and Finney dangles from the lowest rung of the social evolutionary ladder. Then along comes Jenny. Smart. Beautiful. And totally into Finney. Only problem is, she’s kind of dead. Just how far will Finney go to be with his true love? Let’s just say not even Death can stand in his way!
192 pages, Comic
First published February 13, 2007
6 people are currently reading
254 people want to read
About the author
Eric Wight
61 books71 followersEric Wight is the author and illustrator of FRANKIE PICKLE, a new chapter book series published by Simon & Schuster. Prior to that, he was an animator for almost ten years for such companies as Walt Disney, Warner Bros., and Cartoon Network. Wight's comic book adaptation of the AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY helped garner both the Harvey and Eisner Awards for Best Anthology, as well as the Russ Manning Award for Most Promising Newcomer, and his debut graphic novel MY DEAD GIRLFRIEND was listed among the 2008 Great Graphic Novels for Teens by YALSA. His artwork has also been prominently featured on such television series as THE O.C. and SIX FEET UNDER.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
December 9, 2022
this was a quick, entertaining graphic novel about a boy named finney bleak who falls in love with a girl who becomes a ghost. i loved how this world was set up. all of the supernatural creatures were so interesting, and the love story was very sweet. my only main complaint is how the ending seemed very abrupt. i didn’t want it to end! i really wish there was a sequel because i‘m so invested in the world that the author created and wished there was more of it to read about
3.5/5 stars
3.5/5 stars
June 27, 2011
I discovered Eric Wight when I stumbled upon his Frankie Pickle books and bought them for my son. I fell in love with his art and humour straight away and started looking for his other work, which led me to My Dead Girlfriend.
There is only one way to describe this book: cute.
I like cute. In this case cute contains funny and smart and cool and true.
Mostly it's humour comes from the smarty-pants of Phineas Bleak, a little boy whose family -- apart from his triplet sisters named April, May and June -- are ghosts. All dead. But his dead Mom and Dad are still good parents, and they care for Finny, making sure he is still attending Mephisto Prep, where he gets to apply his poisonous wit on the bullies of the Deadbeat clique or while fending off the "potion pushing" of Salamander Mugwart and her coven of Glindas.
The smart and cool are all wrapped up with the funny stuff, and together they make up three quarters of the cute.
And then there is the true stuff. The last and most important part of teh cute. Wight actually recognizes, straight away, that little boys AND GIRLS think about sex and love. So the story revolves around Fin's lost love, a beautiful girl -- who's almost as witty as Fin -- named Jenny Wraith.
They met at the carnival, had one shining day together, fell in love and made a date to meet the next day. Jenny never showed up and Fin pined away for months before he found out that she died on her way to see him. But she finally reveals herself as his guardian ghost the day he makes a move to get over her and asks Dahlia out on a date. What?! She's a manipulative little ghost, that Jenny. But then who wouldn't be if their boy was about to get over them?
And this isn't just platonic puppy love we're talking about here. Wight actually recognizes that more goes on in the thoughts of teenagers and more is bound to go on in the life of teenagers. There is a killer ethereal smooch and some serious heavy petting. This is sexuality that is true to the teenage spirit, at least the spirit I remember, and yet it all manages to remain cute and sweet.
Put all together in its cute package, My Dead Girlfriend is an excellent little comic book (they call it Manga on the cover, and maybe it is. I don't know Manga. But it felt like a comic to me). My kids will love it.
There is only one way to describe this book: cute.
I like cute. In this case cute contains funny and smart and cool and true.
Mostly it's humour comes from the smarty-pants of Phineas Bleak, a little boy whose family -- apart from his triplet sisters named April, May and June -- are ghosts. All dead. But his dead Mom and Dad are still good parents, and they care for Finny, making sure he is still attending Mephisto Prep, where he gets to apply his poisonous wit on the bullies of the Deadbeat clique or while fending off the "potion pushing" of Salamander Mugwart and her coven of Glindas.
The smart and cool are all wrapped up with the funny stuff, and together they make up three quarters of the cute.
And then there is the true stuff. The last and most important part of teh cute. Wight actually recognizes, straight away, that little boys AND GIRLS think about sex and love. So the story revolves around Fin's lost love, a beautiful girl -- who's almost as witty as Fin -- named Jenny Wraith.
They met at the carnival, had one shining day together, fell in love and made a date to meet the next day. Jenny never showed up and Fin pined away for months before he found out that she died on her way to see him. But she finally reveals herself as his guardian ghost the day he makes a move to get over her and asks Dahlia out on a date. What?! She's a manipulative little ghost, that Jenny. But then who wouldn't be if their boy was about to get over them?
And this isn't just platonic puppy love we're talking about here. Wight actually recognizes that more goes on in the thoughts of teenagers and more is bound to go on in the life of teenagers. There is a killer ethereal smooch and some serious heavy petting. This is sexuality that is true to the teenage spirit, at least the spirit I remember, and yet it all manages to remain cute and sweet.
Put all together in its cute package, My Dead Girlfriend is an excellent little comic book (they call it Manga on the cover, and maybe it is. I don't know Manga. But it felt like a comic to me). My kids will love it.
May 15, 2015
Cute story. This is about a high school kid in a school populated with vampires, monsters, mummies, witches - you get the picture. Normal teenage stuff and then some. Finney (the main character) ends ups with a girlfriend who is - obviously - dead.
I may or may not read the next volume but this was definitely a fast read.
********
And - just realized there is no second volume. I wondered as much when I saw it was Tokyopop 2007.
I may or may not read the next volume but this was definitely a fast read.
********
And - just realized there is no second volume. I wondered as much when I saw it was Tokyopop 2007.
April 6, 2017
This was a really cute story. I just wish that there had been more. The ending did not feel like the end of the story. Also, with it being labelled as Vol.1, I kinda wanted a Vol.2 as well.
June 14, 2012
Pa: It's been a while since you finished, and we've been bad. Do you even remember My Dead Girlfriend?
Miloš: Yeah.
Pa: So?
Miloš: If I can remember stuff from years ago, I can remember stuff from two weeks ago.
Pa: Fair enough. What do you want to say about it?
Miloš: I ... uh ... it was really cool. I liked how it was scary. I liked how his girlfriend was a ghost, and most of the people he knew were ghosts.
Pa: What about his family?
Miloš: I liked them. They were cool. All the Bleaks, and stuff.
Pa: Even his sisters?
Miloš: Yeah.
Pa: I mean you liked them?
Miloš: They're all right. They weren't nice, but I liked their names -- April, May and June.
Pa: Did Finn like them?
Miloš: No, he didn't.
Pa: So why did you like them?
Miloš: Just because of their names.
Pa: Their names are cool. What else did you like?
Miloš: How his girlfriend died. Tripped over a rock into a wishing well, and I like the extra pictures at the end.
Pa: Those are called concept art.
Miloš: What does concept art mean?
Pa: It's the work an artists does to create his characters. It's how he learns what they're like. Cool, huh? It's kind of like the pictures you've been drawing of your pirate character. Would you read another one of the Finneas Bleak books?
Miloš: Yeah. He just called himself Finney.
Pa: Anything else you want to say?
Miloš: No ... not really. Actually there is one more thing.
Pa: Okay.
Miloš: All the monsters ... all the pets ... had wings.
Pa: And ...
Miloš: That's sorta weird. Why do pets need wings if they're monsters?
Pa: Weren't the pets gargoyles?
Miloš: Gargoyles? What are those?
Pa: On old churches and buildings, they'd have these stone demon statues that were on the walls. Those were gargoyles.
Miloš: It looked like a dog, though. But then again it had a demon tail and horns and it was purple, so it was probably a gargoyle.
Pa: It's a cool pet. Would you like one?
Miloš: Yeah. Only I'd rather a shitzhu.
Pa: Hahahaha. You're crazy.
Miloš: Yeah.
Pa: So?
Miloš: If I can remember stuff from years ago, I can remember stuff from two weeks ago.
Pa: Fair enough. What do you want to say about it?
Miloš: I ... uh ... it was really cool. I liked how it was scary. I liked how his girlfriend was a ghost, and most of the people he knew were ghosts.
Pa: What about his family?
Miloš: I liked them. They were cool. All the Bleaks, and stuff.
Pa: Even his sisters?
Miloš: Yeah.
Pa: I mean you liked them?
Miloš: They're all right. They weren't nice, but I liked their names -- April, May and June.
Pa: Did Finn like them?
Miloš: No, he didn't.
Pa: So why did you like them?
Miloš: Just because of their names.
Pa: Their names are cool. What else did you like?
Miloš: How his girlfriend died. Tripped over a rock into a wishing well, and I like the extra pictures at the end.
Pa: Those are called concept art.
Miloš: What does concept art mean?
Pa: It's the work an artists does to create his characters. It's how he learns what they're like. Cool, huh? It's kind of like the pictures you've been drawing of your pirate character. Would you read another one of the Finneas Bleak books?
Miloš: Yeah. He just called himself Finney.
Pa: Anything else you want to say?
Miloš: No ... not really. Actually there is one more thing.
Pa: Okay.
Miloš: All the monsters ... all the pets ... had wings.
Pa: And ...
Miloš: That's sorta weird. Why do pets need wings if they're monsters?
Pa: Weren't the pets gargoyles?
Miloš: Gargoyles? What are those?
Pa: On old churches and buildings, they'd have these stone demon statues that were on the walls. Those were gargoyles.
Miloš: It looked like a dog, though. But then again it had a demon tail and horns and it was purple, so it was probably a gargoyle.
Pa: It's a cool pet. Would you like one?
Miloš: Yeah. Only I'd rather a shitzhu.
Pa: Hahahaha. You're crazy.
July 27, 2014
I can't say that I fell in love with this book. A gothic romance between Finney and a ghost named Jenny.
Finney is a teenager that doesn't fit in anywhere at school. He is quiet and doesn't fit into any of the cliques.
Three months ago a carnival comes to town and his entire family goes. He isn't very excited about this. Everyone goes off on there own to explore. Thats when he meets Jenny. They explore and have the greatest time. Its like love at first sight. They make plans to meet each other the very next day. Finney waits and waits and waits some more. Jenny doesn't show you up. All Finney can do is think of jenny and feel lonely.
He lives his life and mopes around thinking of his list opportunity with Jenny.
One day she comes to him at the cemetery but not as a human but as a ghost. She explains what happened when she was on the way to meet Finney. She tripped over a rock and falls down a hole and dies. He spirit lifts up and she becomes a ghost. They decide they are willing to give it a try. Very sweet ending.
I was hoping for more of a sad story and gore. It never got there. It felt like the author ripped off a few stories and made this. I liked it but could care less it there is more to the story.
Finney is a teenager that doesn't fit in anywhere at school. He is quiet and doesn't fit into any of the cliques.
Three months ago a carnival comes to town and his entire family goes. He isn't very excited about this. Everyone goes off on there own to explore. Thats when he meets Jenny. They explore and have the greatest time. Its like love at first sight. They make plans to meet each other the very next day. Finney waits and waits and waits some more. Jenny doesn't show you up. All Finney can do is think of jenny and feel lonely.
He lives his life and mopes around thinking of his list opportunity with Jenny.
One day she comes to him at the cemetery but not as a human but as a ghost. She explains what happened when she was on the way to meet Finney. She tripped over a rock and falls down a hole and dies. He spirit lifts up and she becomes a ghost. They decide they are willing to give it a try. Very sweet ending.
I was hoping for more of a sad story and gore. It never got there. It felt like the author ripped off a few stories and made this. I liked it but could care less it there is more to the story.
July 20, 2021
I found this graphic novel at my local library and had never heard of it before. It seemed very early 2000s with the art style so I was very excited to get invested in the story and see a cute relationship blossom. I thought this was going to be a full graphic novel instead of a series which kind of let me down because I don’t think I care enough to read an entire series about these characters. I liked the designs and I enjoyed the ghosts in the story but the rest of this was just kind of dull. I wanted a lot more than what I got from this book.
July 6, 2010
From Anna, age 10: I gave this book 4 stars because I've never read a book that gets 5. Read this book if you like gothic romance, but are still young. I like this book because it has like everything I love in it - like dead people and love and stuff.
February 7, 2018
The only reason I put this under manga is because of the publisher. The book itself is okay.
March 21, 2023
Mixed feelings ahead!
My Dead Girlfriend is one volume of a series that never materialized beyond the first installment in 2007. Would I have enjoyed the long form of this story if it had continued as planned? Maybe. This volume is primarily exposition and the titular dead girlfriend is on the page for relatively few pages. It's clear there was meant to be more.
This story is cute, but it definitely feels disjointed and not sure where it's going. Death, obviously a major theme in this story, is...not a big deal at all? Things are creepy and kooky and supernatural, but the main character, Finney, seems just kind of normal?
Ugh, I just can't get past the feeling that this review is pointless since it's a dead end. (Ba-dum-tsss.)
My Dead Girlfriend is one volume of a series that never materialized beyond the first installment in 2007. Would I have enjoyed the long form of this story if it had continued as planned? Maybe. This volume is primarily exposition and the titular dead girlfriend is on the page for relatively few pages. It's clear there was meant to be more.
This story is cute, but it definitely feels disjointed and not sure where it's going. Death, obviously a major theme in this story, is...not a big deal at all? Things are creepy and kooky and supernatural, but the main character, Finney, seems just kind of normal?
Ugh, I just can't get past the feeling that this review is pointless since it's a dead end. (Ba-dum-tsss.)
July 20, 2025
7/10 This was brought to my attention at random and it was so short that I just blew thru it out of curiosity. It’s exactly the aesthetic I loved growing up, but there’s not enough detail put into the world building or characters for it to be captivating like “Ruby Gloom” and other similar series were. The character designs themselves are completely adorable, but for instance, the panel that shows Finney’s room is totally barren and lacking personality, which is such a missed opportunity to fill in some cool details that show more about him. The writing is surprisingly solid, but the lack of interest/intrigue left it feeling hollow.
April 26, 2021
Cute story about a high school kid and his life of bullies and ghost interactions. His parents are great couple goals. His family members all die suddenly and randomly because of a curse.
The story ended abruptly and seemed to hint there was another volume coming. I didn’t quite feel the story concluded. I think there are a bunch of unanswered questions with this volume. It didn’t give how I hoped it would.
Anyone know of a second one out there? 🤔
The story ended abruptly and seemed to hint there was another volume coming. I didn’t quite feel the story concluded. I think there are a bunch of unanswered questions with this volume. It didn’t give how I hoped it would.
Anyone know of a second one out there? 🤔
January 31, 2023
2.75⭐️
Slightly entertaining. We follow Finney who happens to have a family who either dies normally or absolutely fantastic. He also goes to a school that very much is fantasy driven. Vampires, zombies, werewolves, aliens…..etc etc etc.
He meets a girl at a carnival that he falls in love with. She doesn’t show when they make arrangements and why?
This was okay. Not the greatest and same time not bad. It was so so for me. Sorry
Slightly entertaining. We follow Finney who happens to have a family who either dies normally or absolutely fantastic. He also goes to a school that very much is fantasy driven. Vampires, zombies, werewolves, aliens…..etc etc etc.
He meets a girl at a carnival that he falls in love with. She doesn’t show when they make arrangements and why?
This was okay. Not the greatest and same time not bad. It was so so for me. Sorry
September 10, 2023
If I’d read this in 2007 when it first came out (I was 13), I would have been obsessed. The art and story are cute, it’s blurbed by Joss Whedon, there’s a pet gargoyle, and there’s a ton of ghoulish puns. It’s not groundbreaking or anything but little me would have loved it. I’m actually kind of sad the series was never finished. Fun story for preteens and teens, not super profound or anything, but I’m gonna keep it on my shelf for a bit of nostalgia.
January 22, 2025
It’s not the worst, I actually really like how it started. The family dying from weird deaths. I like the flash back to the carnival, that was cute. The parts between being stood up and finding out why I felt like was a little drawn out and kinda boring. For a title of my dead girlfriend you’d think we’d get to the dead girlfriend part before basically the end of the first book. If it was suppose to be like suspenseful build up, it wasn’t done very well.
January 6, 2021
Nostalgic
What can I say, this was the art style back in the days. These were the stories I read and loved. Man, do I miss reading this kind of manga and sad that we no longer see this kind of art style no longer.
What can I say, this was the art style back in the days. These were the stories I read and loved. Man, do I miss reading this kind of manga and sad that we no longer see this kind of art style no longer.
September 7, 2021
I ordered this for the kids in my middle and high school classrooms. It was a cute story (had to black out a couple words). I think my middle schools will be more into than my high school group, but topic wise it is appropriate for either. Pictures were great!
September 27, 2022
From Anna, age 10: I gave this book 4 stars because I've never read a book that gets 5. Read this book if you like gothic romance, but are still young. I like this book because it has like everything I love in it - like dead people and love and stuff.
November 25, 2019
Strange and fun. To bad here’s just the one volume.
March 9, 2020
An whimsically illustrated, charmingly written light, quick, fun read.
October 11, 2020
This was a fun world in a graphic novel where everyone is monsters. I liked it.
March 21, 2021
I loved this book. I just wish there was more or an ending.
August 7, 2021
This was fun and cute but ended with a cliff hanger with no more volumes which is a bit annoying but oh well. ☺️
December 28, 2021
I really enjoyed this one. It was a random pick up at the library and I really enjoyed this world and the characters. Would definitely be interested in reading more.
May 27, 2023
3.5 stars
Knocked down half a star when I realized there’s no volume 2 so the cliffhanger was annoying.
Knocked down half a star when I realized there’s no volume 2 so the cliffhanger was annoying.
September 6, 2011
My dead girlfriend
Art: despite being from tokyopop this is not a manga or in manga style the art work is blocky like a mix between Invader zim and danny phantom very cartoony and blocking and thick lined but even so it's clean and unique in comics it has enough cartoony style that it's easy on the eyes. Like a manga this comic is in black and white which just adds to the gothic, grim look of it. A+
Characters: Finney, jenny, and a cast of characters that would turn monster high on it's head. Finney is a Goth boy with a bleak outlook on life but with a last name like bleak and having half your family dead and being bullied who wouldn't have a bleak out look on life? Finney is fresh and new he's sarcastic and funny and finds joy in strange things he is like the “What if danny from danny phantom was goth” and this is your answer. Jenny is a sweet loving girl who makes an instant connection with finney. Finney's classmates and family are also fun and interesting with a family of ghosts and three sisters. His classmates are monsters literally Finney has been dropped in a mix between monster high and a demon school from an anime. The secondary characters are the classic monsters and they fall to the bully stereotype but thats what makes them so fun. A
Story: Finney bleak is your average goth boy in a school full of monsters he has nightmares about death and a bleak outlook on life till he meets jenny but in the family of bleak well happily ever after is all what you make of it. This story is fast past and fun the pages just fly by. This story is for those of us who like darker stories with out the gore like JTHM for younger teens who want twisted and fun but not necessary blood or gore the characters really make this story shine Finney is your stereotypical Goth doesn't see much of a future because were all going to die anyway, gets bullied a lot, and maybe has a death wish that of course he really doesn't want to come true after all. He meets this girl jenny and they really hit it off their relationship is sweet and jenny isn't who you think she is at first. This story is just plan out fun for those of us who are getting sick of the light and fluffy and goody goody here's some noir fluffy for you all. This story is also very funny with lines this is laugh out loud invader zim funny. The story ends on a cliffhanger that sadly won't be out any time soon this story was published in 2006 it's been 5 years and no book two but even for that little nit pick there is nothing wrong with this story at it's core it is similar to danny phantom if danny phantom went goth and were a comic book A+
Cover: Dark, gothic, sexy! We have finney in a graveyard with his pet and possibly death in the background looming over him. This cover sticks out from all the other tokyopop books with light and fluffy covers with bright pastel colors the colors heres are gray, off gray, green gray, black, and purple the cover really screams goth and dark and almost tim Burton A+
Rating: T for teen
Company: Tokyopop (out of business)
My rating : 5 of 5 I loved this story it was fast past and before I knew it it was over! When I was reading Finney's voice sounded like danny from danny phantom I think he looks a lot like a goth danny phantom don't you? My only nitpick is it never finished! We are left hanging forever vol 2 does not exist either because tokyopop knew it was going out of business and never picked it up or something like that. I love this story it's dark and fun and funny and the best part? A POCKY AD IN THE BACK! No other manga/comic has a pocky ad it makes me laugh. Also I guess there were promotional trading cards to this sadly they are probably really rare now. Sorry about the lame review it's not that there is nothing about this to review it's just the story is so straight forward and you can't review it properly with out spoilers and such.
Art: despite being from tokyopop this is not a manga or in manga style the art work is blocky like a mix between Invader zim and danny phantom very cartoony and blocking and thick lined but even so it's clean and unique in comics it has enough cartoony style that it's easy on the eyes. Like a manga this comic is in black and white which just adds to the gothic, grim look of it. A+
Characters: Finney, jenny, and a cast of characters that would turn monster high on it's head. Finney is a Goth boy with a bleak outlook on life but with a last name like bleak and having half your family dead and being bullied who wouldn't have a bleak out look on life? Finney is fresh and new he's sarcastic and funny and finds joy in strange things he is like the “What if danny from danny phantom was goth” and this is your answer. Jenny is a sweet loving girl who makes an instant connection with finney. Finney's classmates and family are also fun and interesting with a family of ghosts and three sisters. His classmates are monsters literally Finney has been dropped in a mix between monster high and a demon school from an anime. The secondary characters are the classic monsters and they fall to the bully stereotype but thats what makes them so fun. A
Story: Finney bleak is your average goth boy in a school full of monsters he has nightmares about death and a bleak outlook on life till he meets jenny but in the family of bleak well happily ever after is all what you make of it. This story is fast past and fun the pages just fly by. This story is for those of us who like darker stories with out the gore like JTHM for younger teens who want twisted and fun but not necessary blood or gore the characters really make this story shine Finney is your stereotypical Goth doesn't see much of a future because were all going to die anyway, gets bullied a lot, and maybe has a death wish that of course he really doesn't want to come true after all. He meets this girl jenny and they really hit it off their relationship is sweet and jenny isn't who you think she is at first. This story is just plan out fun for those of us who are getting sick of the light and fluffy and goody goody here's some noir fluffy for you all. This story is also very funny with lines this is laugh out loud invader zim funny. The story ends on a cliffhanger that sadly won't be out any time soon this story was published in 2006 it's been 5 years and no book two but even for that little nit pick there is nothing wrong with this story at it's core it is similar to danny phantom if danny phantom went goth and were a comic book A+
Cover: Dark, gothic, sexy! We have finney in a graveyard with his pet and possibly death in the background looming over him. This cover sticks out from all the other tokyopop books with light and fluffy covers with bright pastel colors the colors heres are gray, off gray, green gray, black, and purple the cover really screams goth and dark and almost tim Burton A+
Rating: T for teen
Company: Tokyopop (out of business)
My rating : 5 of 5 I loved this story it was fast past and before I knew it it was over! When I was reading Finney's voice sounded like danny from danny phantom I think he looks a lot like a goth danny phantom don't you? My only nitpick is it never finished! We are left hanging forever vol 2 does not exist either because tokyopop knew it was going out of business and never picked it up or something like that. I love this story it's dark and fun and funny and the best part? A POCKY AD IN THE BACK! No other manga/comic has a pocky ad it makes me laugh. Also I guess there were promotional trading cards to this sadly they are probably really rare now. Sorry about the lame review it's not that there is nothing about this to review it's just the story is so straight forward and you can't review it properly with out spoilers and such.
August 11, 2008
My Dead Girlfriend is quite imaginative and entertaining. Why did I pick it up? The cover has a Joss Whedon quote, “. . . A Delight”. How I am supposed to refuse a testimony from Firefly’s creative genius?
So, I took it home for a spin.
Finney is the youngest member in the long and unfortunate Bleak bloodline, and has few pressures that weigh more heavily upon him than his impending, and most likely, cataclysmic death.
The Bleak family is notorious for its members meeting their demise: Margaret Bleak, a magician’s assistant was literally sawed in half, and Archibald Bleak, a zookeeper, was smothered by manure. Downtrodden and consumed by his fear of death,
Finney attracts nothing but trouble at his high school, which is full of Zombies, Monters, Aliens (through a foreign exchange program) and other outcasts.
Finney met Jenny many months ago at a traveling carnival which after all the rides, treats and both spitting off the ferris wheel they bonded and fell in love. They plan to meet again, but Finney is stood up. What happened to his love?
My Dead Girlfriend is a mix of Nickelodeon’s “Halloween Town” (staring the all so fun dinner theater queen, Debbie Reynolds) and Manga. It is an original English Manage, which has the typical Manga feel through the storyline.
* The Tortured Soul
o Not just one soul but many. It seems the Bleak family tree is not meant to have peaceful death. Everyone died from some unusual tragic moment, sometimes a series of painful moments until their final demise.
* Haunting
o In Manga hauntings are no always about good or evil spirits, sometimes it is History, Destiny, Spells and Curses. My Dead Girlfriend is the trifecta of haunt; fearful of your own future death, constant bombardment of dead relatives and of course a Haunt of a lost love.
* Cute Mutant Animals
o Manga is always putting some unusually cute animal inked. It is no wonder Pokeman is so popular. It was probably repeated through some old cute Managa that the Corporate suits could not tell the difference between Managa faithfuls and commercial zombie consumers.
My Dead Girlfriend is the first series created by Wight, who is best known for his work on the television show The O.C. Wight has the desperate teenage emotions in both ink and words. I could not help wonder what Wight’s puberty was like and how much is from his own experience. The character Finney torment and overly sentimental is all too real and reminiscent of High School years.
The artwork is a cross between Manga and comic strips. It was simple but the storyline came through at an even pace. The dead characters, although dead, were active through out the story. The inking did a good job to see difference, immediately, who was actually dead dead, dead or not dead yet.
If you have a teen (tween) this would be a great book to introduce them to two worlds Comics and Manga.
I gave My Dead Girlfriend an average rating because this is a borrower, get it at your local library. I did not feel this should be a keeper in my collection. I read it once and was not compelled to read it again.
So, I took it home for a spin.
Finney is the youngest member in the long and unfortunate Bleak bloodline, and has few pressures that weigh more heavily upon him than his impending, and most likely, cataclysmic death.
The Bleak family is notorious for its members meeting their demise: Margaret Bleak, a magician’s assistant was literally sawed in half, and Archibald Bleak, a zookeeper, was smothered by manure. Downtrodden and consumed by his fear of death,
Finney attracts nothing but trouble at his high school, which is full of Zombies, Monters, Aliens (through a foreign exchange program) and other outcasts.
Finney met Jenny many months ago at a traveling carnival which after all the rides, treats and both spitting off the ferris wheel they bonded and fell in love. They plan to meet again, but Finney is stood up. What happened to his love?
My Dead Girlfriend is a mix of Nickelodeon’s “Halloween Town” (staring the all so fun dinner theater queen, Debbie Reynolds) and Manga. It is an original English Manage, which has the typical Manga feel through the storyline.
* The Tortured Soul
o Not just one soul but many. It seems the Bleak family tree is not meant to have peaceful death. Everyone died from some unusual tragic moment, sometimes a series of painful moments until their final demise.
* Haunting
o In Manga hauntings are no always about good or evil spirits, sometimes it is History, Destiny, Spells and Curses. My Dead Girlfriend is the trifecta of haunt; fearful of your own future death, constant bombardment of dead relatives and of course a Haunt of a lost love.
* Cute Mutant Animals
o Manga is always putting some unusually cute animal inked. It is no wonder Pokeman is so popular. It was probably repeated through some old cute Managa that the Corporate suits could not tell the difference between Managa faithfuls and commercial zombie consumers.
My Dead Girlfriend is the first series created by Wight, who is best known for his work on the television show The O.C. Wight has the desperate teenage emotions in both ink and words. I could not help wonder what Wight’s puberty was like and how much is from his own experience. The character Finney torment and overly sentimental is all too real and reminiscent of High School years.
The artwork is a cross between Manga and comic strips. It was simple but the storyline came through at an even pace. The dead characters, although dead, were active through out the story. The inking did a good job to see difference, immediately, who was actually dead dead, dead or not dead yet.
If you have a teen (tween) this would be a great book to introduce them to two worlds Comics and Manga.
I gave My Dead Girlfriend an average rating because this is a borrower, get it at your local library. I did not feel this should be a keeper in my collection. I read it once and was not compelled to read it again.
January 8, 2009
In a world of horrors, Finney Bleak is the normal kid in a school, where his classmate are literally monsters and witches. Since normal is the new weird, he gets picked on by his classmates. He comes from a family whose greatest claim to fame is the manner all of them died - unnaturally and preposterously. As one of the few Bleaks who are not ghosts yet, Finney knew it was a matter of time before he joins them. [return][return]During a family trip to the travelling carnival, he meets Jenny. She is beautiful, smart and as into Finney as he is into her. Not even his parents's deaths at in the Tunnel of Love put a damper on his day. They agreed to meet, but Jenny never showed.[return][return]If you haven't already figured from the title, Jenny eventually turned up dead, randomly killed in a self-accident the day after she meets Finney at the travelling carnival. With everyone he loves becoming ghosts, will he and Jenny have a future?[return][return]"My Dead Girlfriend" strikes the right balance between the awkwardness of being a teenager and appealing to those of us who are tired of the standard teen romance fare. It's funny and weird.[return][return]Writer and artist Eric Wight is best known for being Seth Cohen's ghost (heh) artist on TV series The OC. His style is more edgy cartoon than manga, which is why I was attracted to the artwork whereas I'm normally not interested in manga. Childhood memories of bad Japanese dubs have irreparably ruined manga and anime for me for life. [return][return]This book covers Finney's background and how he and Jenny met. Nothing more than a taste of what's to come, but it's been exactly a year and 5 days since and there's no word on Volume 2. Oh, "My Dead Girlfriend" is a manga, in case I didn't make that clear earlier.
May 13, 2008
Overall Rating: B+
Synopsis: A series by Eric Wight, which follows Phineas "Finney" Bleak, whose family has an interesting legacy. They all die in extremely odd ways. At the beginning of the story, Finny is recovering from a recent breakup and weighing the pros and cons of breathing. His parents are ghosts, and his pet is a gargoyle named Mookie. He attends Mephisto Prep, a school for monsters. His life may not be normal, but his problems are definitely typical of a middle schooler. During the first volume, Finney meets Jenny Wraith, whom he falls in love with. Unfortunately, Death gets jealous and kills her, and she becomes a ghost. Okay, maybe not all of his problems are typical for middle schoolers.
I'll be honest, I picked this one up because Joss Whedon reviewed it and said he liked it. Flipping through it in the store, it didn't draw me in, but I figured it couldn't be that bad if Joss liked it. I was right, it wasn't bad, in fact, it was pretty good. It has a fun spin on teen angst, and has some interesting characters. I'm interested to see where the series goes after the first volume, so I will probably pick up volume 2 when it comes out, but there's no indication when that will be (an unfortunate trend in English language manga).
My Dead Girlfriend is definitely worth picking up if you enjoy cute stories involving the supernatural.
For more manga and anime reviews, please check out Hobotaku.
Synopsis: A series by Eric Wight, which follows Phineas "Finney" Bleak, whose family has an interesting legacy. They all die in extremely odd ways. At the beginning of the story, Finny is recovering from a recent breakup and weighing the pros and cons of breathing. His parents are ghosts, and his pet is a gargoyle named Mookie. He attends Mephisto Prep, a school for monsters. His life may not be normal, but his problems are definitely typical of a middle schooler. During the first volume, Finney meets Jenny Wraith, whom he falls in love with. Unfortunately, Death gets jealous and kills her, and she becomes a ghost. Okay, maybe not all of his problems are typical for middle schoolers.
I'll be honest, I picked this one up because Joss Whedon reviewed it and said he liked it. Flipping through it in the store, it didn't draw me in, but I figured it couldn't be that bad if Joss liked it. I was right, it wasn't bad, in fact, it was pretty good. It has a fun spin on teen angst, and has some interesting characters. I'm interested to see where the series goes after the first volume, so I will probably pick up volume 2 when it comes out, but there's no indication when that will be (an unfortunate trend in English language manga).
My Dead Girlfriend is definitely worth picking up if you enjoy cute stories involving the supernatural.
For more manga and anime reviews, please check out Hobotaku.
September 27, 2011
I picked this graphic novel from the new book selection at the library. I am so glad I did. This is a light, funny story that touches on real teen angst.
Finney Bleak comes from a long line of cursed individuals. His entire family has been fated to die in weird and horrific ways (some so funny I had to stop and breath after reading them). He just knows his time is coming.
Finney doesn't live in the same world as we do. His classmates include witches, werewolves, vampires and other assorted creatures. Finney comes across as the only "normal" one in the bunch except that his dead relatives refuse to stay dead. The ghosts of his family irritate him.
The only shining moment he had was at the carnival months previous when he met Jenny, his true love or so he thought. His heart is broken when she disappears from his life.
Stuck in high school hell, Finney is just trying to survive. He's bullied and friendless but when he learns what happened to Jenny he discovers he can find something worthwhile.
It doesn't feel like one of "those" books but underneath the charm of Finney's plight is a real emotional story about growing up, falling in love and facing the world.
The only thing that disappointed me was when I discovered that this was Volume 1 (of course at the end of the story) and I would have to wait to find out what happens next.
Finney Bleak comes from a long line of cursed individuals. His entire family has been fated to die in weird and horrific ways (some so funny I had to stop and breath after reading them). He just knows his time is coming.
Finney doesn't live in the same world as we do. His classmates include witches, werewolves, vampires and other assorted creatures. Finney comes across as the only "normal" one in the bunch except that his dead relatives refuse to stay dead. The ghosts of his family irritate him.
The only shining moment he had was at the carnival months previous when he met Jenny, his true love or so he thought. His heart is broken when she disappears from his life.
Stuck in high school hell, Finney is just trying to survive. He's bullied and friendless but when he learns what happened to Jenny he discovers he can find something worthwhile.
It doesn't feel like one of "those" books but underneath the charm of Finney's plight is a real emotional story about growing up, falling in love and facing the world.
The only thing that disappointed me was when I discovered that this was Volume 1 (of course at the end of the story) and I would have to wait to find out what happens next.
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