The Webcomics Weekly is back in your life. This week Mel Lake brings a webcomic from the Eisner nominated Reimena Yee.
The World in Deeper Inspection
Chapter 1, Chaplettes 1-5
Updates Irregularly
Created by Reimena Yee
Reviewed by Mel Lake
Reimena Yee has an Eisner nomination and multiple graphic novels in print from a major publishing house these days, but she got her start in webcomics. I fully intend to check out “The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya,” but for this week’s review, I read the webcomic where the characters in that tale started out—in “The World in Deeper Inspection,” a strange, meandering detective story with gorgeous artwork and fascinating character designs.
Personally, I love a detective. Whether it’s Philip Marlowe or Sherlock Holmes, or even the world’s greatest detective in a batsuit, I’m a sucker for a good sleuth story. What I love even more is when you add a paranormal element, like Harry Dresden the magic-using P.I. or John Constantine in the “Hellblazer” comics. This webcomic stars Alcott Grimsley, a jersey devil living in Victorian-era England who makes his living by solving supernatural cases. What a fantastic premise! Around him are a cast of characters that include a vampire informant, a beast who becomes his assistant, and a pleasant banshee. Shenanigans ensue.
The first chapter features a story about a man who has recently died and been resurrected. He hires Detective Grimsley to find out who killed him. The case becomes complicated when Grimsley encounters the local werewolf clan, however, and he discovers that his client has been less than truthful about the nature of his death. After chapter one, there is a series of “chaplettes,” an endearing name for mini stories that introduce the side characters that populate the series. These include “The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya,” the backstory of Zeynel, the vampire carpet merchant, that Yee later published in print editions. “The World in Deeper Inspection” is both a series of mysteries and slices of life in the night world of Brookham, a fictional town.
As you read past the first story with Grimsley into the chaplettes, the storytelling improves in leaps and bounds. Though I adore the character designs, especially Grimsley himself, the writing and layouts of the early pages make it difficult to decipher what’s going on and the dialogue is a bit over-the-top. However, it’s simply amazing how fast the comic improves. The paneling gets more sophisticated and the movements of the characters become more clear. Even during the confusing beginning, though, the characters are just such fun and Yee’s style is fascinating enough to make me want to keep reading. Her backgrounds are generally black, with ample use of textures and a heavy palette of dark reds, crimsons, and yellows. The colors perfectly fit the macabre setting and the little flourishes of Victorian detailing help maintain the historical setting. If there’s an artist this series reminds me of, it’s Edward Gorey, who also drew macabre characters and settings that somehow also remained full of glee. I came to know him because of the animated opening of the PBS show “Mystery!” and reading “The World in Deeper Inspection” reminded me of an occult version of that animated opening sequence.
Reading these pages, I’m once again amazed at how webcomics allow young artists to flourish and grow as illustrators. The designs in “The World in Deeper Inspection” are fascinating and the style is so unique—I’m flabbergasted that a fifteen-year-old created this world. Not that teens aren’t capable of immense creativity, but because I’m impressed at the dedication to the craft it takes to take on a project like this. While “The World in Deeper Inspection” isn’t complete, it’s the well from which other books sprang forth.
So, if the idea of a jersey devil detective in Victorian England excites you like it did me, give “The World in Deeper Inspection” a try. Even if the cases of the devil detective don’t inspire you, the paranormal slice-of-life stories of the other spooky inhabitants of Brookham Night may.
