Afterlife is an OEL manga published by Tokyopop

Tokyopop

Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...

 and created by Stormcrow Hayes (writer) and Rob Steen

Rob Steen

Rob Steen is the illustrator of the books Flanimals, More Flanimals, Flanimals of the Deep, Flanimals: The Day of the Bletchling and Flanimals Pop-Up. Other work includes The Thing's in Ted's Head, Afterlife for Tokyopop and various issues of Elephantmen for Image Comics. He lives in New York...

 (illustrator). The comic is out of print as of August 31, 2009.

Synopsis

The three volume series gives an interestingly dark alternate view of where everyone goes when they die. It's a bleak, bland seemingly pointless place protected by Guardians who fend off demons. Thaddeus, one of the guardians, though philosophical, is resigned to his fate until he meets Nyoko who convinces him to look for the mythical gate which could lead to... the afterlife of the afterlife?

Characters

• Thaddeus Alexandros: A philosopher struggling to find meaning in a meaningless world, Thaddeus refuses to think about his former life, instead focusing on his duties as a Guardian. However, even his duties are called into question, and he's forced to choose between duty and his yearning for answers.
• Mercutio: If Thaddeus is philosophical about the world in which they exist, Mercutio is the opposite, a pragmatist. His only concern is to find his lost love, Arrabella. But there is a dark secret in her past that he has yet to learn.
• Nyoko: Having died young, robbed of her full lifetime, she is willing to do anything to escape the nightmarish existence of the afterlife. She finds hope in Thaddeus' journal and insists they work together to find the mythical, long-rumored and possibly non-existent gateway to another world.

Accolades

IGN.com listed the book as one of the top 10 manga of 2006.

The book won a YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association

Young Adult Library Services Association

The Young Adult Library Services Association , established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. The mission of YALSA is to advocate, promote and strengthen service to young adults as part of the continuum of total library service, and to support those who provide service to...

) award.

External links

• Official Afterlife website
• Author Stormcrow Hayes
• Illustrator Rob Steen
• Manga Life review via the Wayback Machine
  Wayback Machine
  The Wayback Machine is a digital time capsule created by the Internet Archive non-profit organization, based in San Francisco, California. It is maintained with content from Alexa Internet. The service enables users to see archived versions of web pages across time, which the Archive calls a "three...