Books: Death Note

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Death Note
Vol 1: Boredom
Written by Tsugumi Ohba
Art by Takeshi Obata
2003



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Death Note
Vol 2: Confluence
Written by Tsugumi Ohba
Art by Takeshi Obata
2004



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Death Note
Vol 3: Hard Run
Written by Tsugumi Ohba
Art by Takeshi Obata
2004



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Death Note
Vol 4: Love
Written by Tsugumi Ohba
Art by Takeshi Obata
2004



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Death Note
Vol 5: Whiteout
Written by Tsugumi Ohba
Art by Takeshi Obata
2005



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Death Note
Vol 6: Give-and-Take
Written by Tsugumi Ohba
Art by Takeshi Obata
2005



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Death Note
Vol 7: Zero
Written by Tsugumi Ohba
Art by Takeshi Obata
2005



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Death Note
Vol 8: Target
Written by Tsugumi Ohba
Art by Takeshi Obata
2005



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Death Note
Vol 9: Contact
Written by Tsugumi Ohba
Art by Takeshi Obata
2005



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Death Note
Vol 10: Deletion
Written by Tsugumi Ohba
Art by Takeshi Obata
2006



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Death Note
Vol 11: Kindred Spirit
Written by Tsugumi Ohba
Art by Takeshi Obata
2006



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Death Note
Vol 12: Finis
Written by Tsugumi Ohba
Art by Takeshi Obata
2006



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Bear with me: imagine that there were two versions of Sherlock Holmes who were locked together in a battle to the death both desperately attempting to uncover any small clue they could to destroy the other one whilst doing all they could to stay one step ahead. Each using brilliant deductions and tactical genius to do their uttermost best to stay one step ahead of what they think the other guy's thinking - whilst knowing that the other guy is doing exactly the same. Technically that's not what Death Note is actually about (it's not Sherlock Holmes exactly - but the younger, cooler, more insane, Japanese versions) - but it should give you some idea of what to expect. Or (put more simply): If you enjoy reading books where you can feel the intelligence of the author spinning a complex web of mystery, mind-games and mayhem that slowly but surely fastens around the characters and readers until all hope for escape is gone - then Death Note is required reading. The starting premise (a book that you can use to kill people) at first makes the series feel wafar-thin (my first though was that the idea didn't seem strong enough to support a short story - nevermind several volumes) and led me to expect that it was going to be full of hokey paranormal demons-from-another-world craziness - but what's interesting is how Tsugumi uses the Death Note idea to create a situation where the drama and crisis comes from real-seeming consquences rather than ghosts and ghouls: and like I said above - the culimative effect is like a police procedural series where there's two investigative teams using only the battling against each other using whatever clues or logic comes to hand: the supernatural stuff is just there to get the ball rolling. And once it starts: this is a comic that's massively thrilling, audacious and as addictive as a good scratch (oooh yeah). The artwork is as clear and hassle-free as watching televison and full of pulse-pounding dramatic close-ups and fun character pre-occupations. The only thing that's a little off is the strange attitude it strikes towards some of it's female characters (Misa Amane in particular is almost poodle-like in her characteristics): but maybe I'm just being senstitive and seeing how it's almost never-ending ratcheting up of pressure and suspense almost gave me several heart-attacks (I don't think any other comic has ever come close to the high levels of finger-biting tension).

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Links: Sean T Collins Review of Vol 1 / Vol 2,  Freaky Trigger Review, Sleep Is For The Weak Review, Collection of Death Note Essays.

Further reading: Locke and Key, 100 Bullets, Domu, 7 Billion Needles.

All comments welcome.