As I mentioned in the Chibi Essence #1 comic review, thanks to the internet indie comics have exploded in popularity. Creators are able to tell their stories however they want and readers are able to experience unique stories. One of those unique stories was Chibi Essence #1 from Myth Global. If you want to know more about that comic you can check out my review for that here. Today we have another comic from Myth Global. This time we go from Japanese inspired to Mexican inspired with Chibi Muerte #1.
Now much like Chibi Essence, the comic Chibi Muerte is based of the collectible figure line of the same name. And just like how Chibi Essence took its inspiration from Japanese culture, Chibi Muerte takes its inspiration from Mexican culture, more specifically the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muetros, Day of the Dead. It also take inspiration from the Pixar film Coco. Jean-Binh Valente and art by Maggie Z return as the writer and artist of the comic.
Chibi Muerte has three different yet intertwining stories going on. The first one is about how the world that the spirits live in, the Twilight Realm, was created by two twin sisters and how one of them is envious of the other and banishes her to another dimension. The second story has a spirit named Juan, a Guardian tasked in protecting the Twilight Realm from corrupted spirit animals. The incidents of spirit animals being corrupted are growing by the day and its up to Juan and his fellow Guardians to find out what is going on and to put a stop to it. The third and final story stars El Mariachi, a vigilante fighting crime and protecting the citizens of the Twilight Realm.
Individually, each of the stories are really interesting and fun to read. I was really invested in each story, wanting to know more about the sister, more about the Guardians and the outbreak of corrupted spirit animals, more about El Mariachi. However as a whole cohesive story, its everywhere. There is no transition between the stories as it just jumps from story to story. If Myth Global insist on having three different stories going on at once, they should either separate them properly or have a whole comic issue dedicated to them.
Maggie Z, who also did the art for Chibi Essence, is the artist behind Chibi Muerte and the art is really amazing. As I mentioned before, Chibi Muerte takes inspirations from Day of the Dead designs and Maggie really went in with the character designs. Even though every citizen in the Twilight Realm are skeletons and basically look a like without any designs on them, its those designs that brings out their individual personalities. Some of the background settings are a bit basic, but I didn’t really mind as much because the character designs are the star of the comic.
Most tie in media is just another tool used by marketing teams to advertise and sell whatever product that needs to be moved. And while that is true for Chibi Muerte and Chibi Essence, a lot of love and thought were put into these characters. They’re more than ceramic figures, each has personality and a story to tell and I’m glad that Myth Global has decided to expand on each “universe”. Chibi Muerte and Chibi Essence, with a few minor adjustments, has great potential in becoming a indie hit. If you ever see them at your local convention, I highly suggest visiting their booth and picking up the comics and a few of the figures while you’re at it.
