Comic Review: R.I.P.D. from Dark Horse

Dark Horse, working with Universal Studios, is bringing Peter Lenkov’s 1999 comic RIPD (Rest in Peace Department) to the big screen July 19, 2013. The movie stars Jeff Bridges, aka The Dude, and Ryan Reynolds. In conjunction with the film, Dark Horse has re-released the original 4 issue mini-series as a trade paperback and is publishing a new 4 issue prequel to the movie based on Peter Lenkov’s comic. It will be interesting to see if the movie follows the campy tone of the original series, or the darker and edgier tone of the prequel collection. I read both collections and will do a quick review of each for you, as well as include the information I have for the upcoming movie. Both collections are entertaining and worth a read. RIPD Vol 1 is an action/comedy story and City of the Damned (issues 1-4) also has action and humor, but is a grittier and horror oriented.

Re-release of Original RIPD collection by Lenkov:

2nd edition cover 

R.I.P.D. VOL. 1 2ND EDITION TPB
Writer: Peter Lenkov
Penciller: Lucas Marangon
Inker: Randy Emberlin
Colorist: Dave Nestelle
Cover Artist: Dave Wilkins
Genre: Horror, Crime, Action/Adventure
Publication Date: March 20, 2013
Format: FC, 104 pages; TP, 6 5/8" x 10 3/16"
Price: $12.99
Age range: 12
ISBN-10:1-61655-071-6
ISBN-13:978-1-61655-071-4

Preview

Welcome to the Rest In Peace Department—the devoted, yet dead, officers of divine law enforcement. Nick Cruz was gunned down in the line of duty at the height of his personal and professional life. Now he's traded a hundred years of service to the R.I.P.D. in exchange for a shot at solving his own murder. Collects the original four-issue miniseries.
* The original tale of Nick Cruz and Roy Powell that introduced the wild world of the R.I.P.D.!
Pre-Order R.I.P.D. Vol. 1 2nd Edition TPB Now @ TFAW.com

this is the cover of the first edition

Let me begin with how freaking fun the whole idea behind R.I.P.D. is. Dark Horse originally released this 4 issue comic back in 1999, and it's basically Men In Black, but with creatures from hell instead of aliens. The Rest in Peace Department is made up of dead lawmen that trade 100 years of service to divine justice in return for finding out who murdered them in their previous life.

The comic is fast-paced and crams a whole lot of story into the 4 issue mini-series. The dialogue and art work is campy as hell (pun intended) but it works.

The story follows police officer Nick Cruz as he is murdered on duty and is sent to RIPD. Nick is then paired up with Sheriff Roy Powell, an old fashion Wild West cowboy, who is only weeks from ending his 100 year contract with RIPD. Roy helps teach Nick the ropes, discover who murdered him, and chase a dim-witted demon into hell who has stolen the Sword of St. Michael with the intent of killing the devil.

The artwork is reflective of the time it was written and has a cheesy cartoon look to it. It fits the campy tone of the story, but definitely dates it.

3.5 Sheep

New Prequel to RIPD movie – City of the Damned (4 issues)

R.I.P.D. City of the Damned (issues 1-4)
Creators: Peter Lenkov
Writer: Jeremy Barlow
Artist: Tony Parker
Cover Artist: Dave Wilkins
Genre: Horror, Action/Adventure
Publication Date: November 28, 2012
Format: FC, 32 pages
Price: $3.50
UPC: 7 61568 21229 7 00111

Just because Roy Pulsipher and Nick Walker are dead, that doesn’t mean their time in law enforcement is over. Roy and Nick are officers in the Rest in Peace Department, sworn to serve the Almighty and protect the living from evil’s foul corruption. Their current case has them chasing a ghostly fanatic determined to undo all of creation—a threat with very personal connections to Roy’s past, stretching back a hundred years. Collecting the four-issue miniseries.* Prequel to the upcoming feature film starring Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges!
Cowboys versus demons in the Wild West!* Written by Jeremy Barlow (Dethklok) and drawn by Tony Parker (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?)

Dark Horse recently published a 4 issue mini-series prequel to introduce readers to the world of RIPD created by Peter Lenkov called City of the Damned, and it tells the story of how U.S. Marshall Roy Pulsipher gets recruited into the RIPD. The story starts with Roy and Nick in a futuristic setting then flashes back to the Wild West and Roy’s introduction into the RIPD. We follow him on his first job with his partner Crispin, a puritan priest. I actually preferred this collection over the original 1999 series. It has a much darker edge to the story and humor, which is reflected in the writing and artwork. I especially like how the panels changed to reflect the time period the story was being told in which definitely enhanced the tone of the story.

 

5 Sheep

Movie information 
R.I.P.D. (Rest in Peace Department)
Release Date: July 19 2013
Studio: Universal Pictures
Director: Robert Schwentke
Writer: Matt Manfredi, Phil Hay, Peter Lenkov
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Bacon, Stephanie Szostak, Mary-Louise Parker, Marisa Miller, Mike O'Malley, James Hong, Robert Knepper, Tobias Segal

-Sharon Stogner (edit by Kalpar)