Hit cartoonist Sarah Graley (Our Super Adventure) tells a new story about the trials of supernatural dating in Kim Reaper: Vampire Island!
College relationships are tough for everyone, but they're extra hard for Kim. Her grumpy grim reaper bosses are always making her work overtime, her girlfriend Becka's roommate keeps hanging around, and for some reason, she's going on an awkward group date to Vampire Island! But when she stumbles into a long-lost friend, Kim accidentally finds herself in the middle of a vampire grudge, plus a new strain on her relationship. Surely she can figure out how to study, be a good girlfriend, maintain her social life, and still pay rent? She just might need a little help.
Synopsis: In the second volume of Sarah Graley's series, Kim (who works as a grim reaper as the title implies ), her girlfriend Bekka, and Tyler sneak in a party in the titular location where they end up meeting an old friend of Kim. More chaos and perilous adventure ensue from there.
My Thoughts: While some people might be put off by the somewhat cutesy art style, I think that's what makes it stand out in contrast to the morbid nature of the main character's profession and the world she generally interacts with that being the underworld where she has to often deal with her boss for frequently breaking the rules (i.e. being late/absent from her duties and refusing to kill Bekka in the first volume). The comic series' comical treatment of its cast of ghouls, ghosts, and other supernatural phantasmagorias also adds a thick coating of amusement to the intrinsic morbidity. Furthermore, I enjoyed the character development (we get to learn about how Kim became grim reaper) and the geeky jokes and references including that Monty Python Life of Brian quote a great deal. The only issue I did have was how Kim was able to pass as a vampire (while Bekka and Tyler were new bloods) just because she wore what was considered stereotypical vamp fashion though it was very clear she lacked the fangs of one which should be the first giveaway.
Final Thoughts: Overall, Kim Reaper: Vampire Island is a cute and fun quick read worth going through if you liked the first volume and want something light to put you at ease from all the stress and humdrum of real life.
they took everything i love and added vampires. kim reaper is the cutest grim reaper since grim from the grim adventures of billy and mandy 💜💀 vampires, goth, purple, pastel, magical girls, queer women, the grim reaper. all of my favorite things y'all and i finally get to log it all as one book.
Still a cute book, but for some reason I didn't like it as much as the first one. It still has the same writing and art style so it might have just been the mood I was in, but I guess I didn't find the parody aspects to be as funny this time around or the character designs to be as good. Still, its a short fun read and the main characters are pretty adorable.
this is the first sequel to Kim Reaper, and there is a third - I might read it for completion's sake but I was actually more underwhelmed by this than the first.
We get to properly meet Becka's best friend Tyler, who is a massive vampire fan (incidentally also vegan), and then Kim's best friend too. Charlie is a non binary vampire and they haven't seen each other since they were turned - Kim thought they'd died!
But, as a 'date' Becka decides to go to vampire island, insisting Tyler comes along - she's desperate for her bestie and her girlfriend to get on.
Much silliness ensues. This series is a combination of stereotypical web comic humour, a slightly different take on the monster genre, and (in this book at least) two girls trying to figure out their relationship around the difficulties of part time work, friends, and moments of not trusting each other. I feel it was all a bit crammed in tbh.
Basically, this would work about the same without the supernatural - which makes the supernatural secondary and even more silly. I know it's not exactly meant to be serious but it has confirmed that I don't want to bother with this series (although the character development bits at the back are good!)
Meh, I dunno. Maybe if I was in a sillier frame of mind? Just kind of irritAting at the moment! (Although don't be surprised if I read the third one because i really don't like leaving things unfinished!)
This continues to be very cute. Is it a super compelling or complex plot? Nah. But the art is adorable, the relationship is sweet, and this volume introduces a black non-binary (vampire) character who uses they/them pronouns! I look forward to more of this. The cutest spooky comic you can find. (Though "Valley Ghouls" by Kate Leth comes the closest.)
Bekka, her best friend, and Kim head to Vampire Island, where they meet someone from Kim's past. Kim also gets overworked in her job.
The story kinda lost the little charm the first one had. Same art, same drama, still cringey, and a bit more a annoying. I know the characters are college age, but they read much younger.
Kim Reaper: Vampire Island is the second Kim Reaper story, and it was just as fun as the first. It continues the storyline introduced in the first while offering more to the world.
As with the first Kim Reaper story, this second story was filled with cuteness and the right kind of weird to keep me invested. We got to explore another aspect of the supernatural world while details from the first book came together, the two coming together in a lightly entertaining way. It made for perfect easy reading, ensuring I devoured it with a smile on my face.
If you enjoyed the first Kim Reaper story, you certainly need to read the second.
And while Becka was once again annoying and inconsistent Kim was a boss and I love that this is her story because then I don’t feel bad continuing on even though I don’t like her gf (who spends way way too much time blaming Kim for her own dumb decisions)
I'm glad there were two volumes, i really enjoyed the entire series, though i'm unsure of how many times i've read these now, they'll be on my bookshelf for a lifetime. I'm so thankful to live in a world with lgbt+ literature.
Kim and Becka are still so cute together. But Becka is a little possessive over Kim having a best friend when she herself has a best friend. Overall, though, cute and quick and sapphic!
Fun and quick to read sequel in this cutesy goth series. I’m not sure why there aren’t more volumes by now; I would certainly read more if Graley continues the series.
Not really sold on it. I don't really feel anything for any of the characters. The plot and dialog both feel rushed. Illustrations are ok. But the colors are on point.
It's been about a year since I read the first volume of the Kim Reaper series and I've forgotten almost everything about it.
Kim is actually offscreen for the bulk of the story and it focuses instead on her love interest Becka and Becka's best friend Tyler. Becka is super cute but she's...a lot. She's one of those people who's always excited about everything and who exhausts me, both off and on the page. You can practically watch my introvert-meter plummeting as I'm around them. She's also unreasonably jealous of Kim's friends for someone who's alone in her bedroom with her best friend and ignoring Kim's calls in the opening scene.
The artwork is cute but I don't think there are any further books in the series. They're quick reads so if you're interested in the idea of a young grim reaper, it's worth a try.
“Rule One! Non-vampires are not allowed on vampire island. If anyone asks, you just can’t get enough of the red stuff”
Want to get in Halloween spirit but not a fan of horror? Stay tuned. Kim Reaper Volume 2, as it says on the tin, deals with vampires but of course, not just! It deals with a lot of banter, teen drama and death, the grim reaper type!
This graphic novel by Oni Press is adventurous and sometimes innovative in a funny way. Kim finally has some time from all her overtime to see Becka who has been watching Teen Vampire Drama with Tyler, her best friend. Kim makes a comment about vampires being snobs and Becka and Tyler are excited to go on an adventure to see vampires. Only Kim had to leave for ‘work’ and things escalate quickly. Old relationships are reforged and a lot of unnecessary, exaggerated badassery happens. Just your everyday college experience I guess!
In this volume we get to see how Kim became a grim reaper! While it’s a second volume, it’s been a while since I read the first and I managed to understand without recalling the story. The gist of volume one is mentioned throughout the story, so feel free to read this spooky volume first!
Becka’s and Kim’s relationship is not stable. There’s a lot of emotions like jealousy and insecurity that sometimes take over. They however, have a cute way of interacting with each other and having adult conversations to clear up the air. Becka’s reactions to things is very realistic, like stress crying etc. The best friends relationships are great. Tyler is #thirdwheelforlifeapproved.
The funny adventures and banter make the story. It’s a halloweeny read without it being horrific or too cliché. In fact, sometime the plot just grabs a trope, uses it, then adds a funny twist. I love how the vampires transform into giant and funny looking bats – way more realistic that smaller bats. The grim reapers are also funny and the vampires are in fact, actually snobby.
The series as a whole and this particular volume is very inclusive of sexual and romantic orientations, body types, race and genders. I absolutely adore the casual ‘they/them’ usage!
I have one question left – what happens when Grim realises what happened to Boney Maloney?
October is here. So go kill some time by reading this graphic novel. You’ll reap the reward later, when you’re all set for the season of cupcakes and doom.
I enjoyed this one more than the first, the story felt more flashed and better paced. The art style still isn’t my favourite, I think it works well for mini comics just not a full graphic novel. Still very cute and fun though.
There is a lot of salivating and daring heart and humour to this gloriously cartoony, gothic and macabre comic series. Add in strong LBGTQ content, and other diverse and woke material, and I am a big fan.
The second volume of 'Kim Reaper' is basically about Kim, Becka and Becka's college roommate and best friend Tyler going to a vampire island (hence the title) for a party, pretending to be vampires for their safety (yeah, that goes bats-up spectacularly and quickly). Shenanigans ensure, and the group encounter an old best friend of Kim's, Charlie, who is now a vampire, and who saves our bumbling heroes. And they're nonbinary! I love how normalised and unassuming this is treated. Kim's backstory on how she became a grim reaper is revealed.
After the vampire island episode, Kim, with the enthusiastic and tireless help of Becka, finally stands up to her stupid grim reaper boss, whose lazy and indifferent skeletal underlings never made her life any easier, either. Who knew Death could be so funny?
Then, in a way, Becka becomes a reaper herself, with a scythe, to save Kim from the actual second level of hell and the most incompetent boss ever!
The ending panels are what completely sell this volume for me, though - too lovely for words. Becka and Kim are a transcendent pair, literally braving life and death for each other. While also being kissy and cuddly and aww!
Grim Reaper girl love FTW!
'Kim Reaper' is certainly more heavenly than hellish.
Tyler - the normal, shy and overly-emotional guy who looks like he could be a werewolf - grows out of merely being a third wheel in the w/w relationship and establishes himself as a funny, three-dimensional character in his own right. There is a hint of a romantic relationship between him and Charlie that builds up towards the end. In addition to Tyler's development, he is learning to sagaciate with Kim, accepting her as someone who Becka loves and is happy with, despite all the danger in the supernatural.
There is a TV vampire teen romance parody theme playing throughout the story. And Becka is sick of Kim's arbitrary and unreasonable work hours that are keeping her cutie girlfriend away from her, and so she wants to fix it, business style (Becka is so random, hilarious, adorable and headstrong, it's beyond endearing).
There is a lot going on in this deceptively simple and silly, kiddie-like plot. I haven't even gotten to the running gag of the same poor, overworked guy never receiving payment from our skimping heroes, who are always on the rush and run. You'd think the hassled and harassed Kim would relate...
I love Kim's new haircut, too.
Did I mention there's a nonbinary vampire? READ THIS!
What a new and sating comic book sequel. What fun, hilarity, cuteness and heart! There is character development and relationship development galore - and gore!
"No time to talk about morals, we've got a goth to save!"
Thanks, British comic series! Your appeal is bountiful.
This is the second Kim Reaper volume, and it was cute. I didn’t like it as much as the first one though.
Kim and Becka have been together for a bit (I don’t remember how much) by the beginning of the book. One day Kim learns that Becka likes vampire movies and Becka learns that vampires are real and live on an island. She convinces Kim to take her and Tyler, Becka’s best friend, to vampire island. In doing so a bunch of random events occur and, with the help of Charlie (Kim’s best friend), they have to figure out how to survive vampires as well as Kim’s boss.
This was still a cute book but some of it just felt boring. I like the idea of a vampire island, but I don’t think it was necessary for Kim’s boss to be a plot point. It was still interesting enough to me. I really liked how the confrontation with Kim’s boss was handled, I’ll admit it wasn’t what I was expecting, and the art is still really nice.
I really love Charlie in this story. Charlie is a nonbinary vampire and I need more. Charlie is absolutely adorable and tries their best to help their best friend and her friends. This volume did give some insight into how Kim became a part-time reaper. I don’t remember if the first volume specified how she became one, but I enjoyed the reasoning this one gave for her to have the job.
This is a fun book. Don’t expect serious topics to be discussed or for huge fights to have lasting consequences. Nothing in this book should be taken too seriously. It’s just a fun read about a girl who works part time as a reaper, her girlfriend, and the strange things that happen when the two of them are together.
Kim Reaper Vol. 2: Vampire Island continues with Becka and Kim as they balance dating, school, friends, and Kim’s job as a part-time grim reaper. Kim is dealing with her punishment for disobeying the CEO of Hell and Becka is not happy it’s cutting into their date time!
This time we get to see more of Becka’s roommate, Tyler, and the introduction of who might just be my favorite character so far, Charlie! Charlie is a nonbinary vampire and is just so darn cute!! <3 This series has such wonderful rep, the casual queerness is exactly what I want to see.
The illustration is very similar to the first book with the exception of a slight alteration to Kim’s design. Her new hair suits her perfectly and has the effect of showing that a bit of time has passed between volumes. The story felt a bit less “episode of the week” which I appreciate. Still wish I had a sense of where the overall story was going. Though Graley may choose to keep the casual rom-com vibe going, I just feel like the concept could evolve into something very cool 😊