Dead Boy Detectives gets a lot of attention thanks to the Netflix show. Enough for people to prefer one album with half a maxi-series over the whole source material. But with how Hoopla works, I’d prefer to read everything in one package. Thanks to that, I got to find a couple of things that a few differences lists don’t tell me. So now, let me return you the favor.
Some Ground Rules
- No repeating what other lists put out.
- This is not about which medium does it better. Adaptations are about keeping the spirit, which this show does.
- I am bound to make mistakes and they will be changed accordingly when revealed.
Dead Boy Detectives: Crystal Palace
One of the main characters of the show and the Toby Litt/Mark Buckingham comic is Crystal Palace Surname-Von Hoverkraft. But there are a couple differences that most people don’t bring up. Including where her powers come from, spoilers her demon ex-boyfriend had nothing to do with it. The comic version became a medium thanks to her near-death experience like Niko does in the show. Also that character is a white British pre-teen who is basically turned out alright. Weird since her wealthy performance artists of parents are rather neglectful if loving. Sure Crystal’s a little spoiled, curious, and lonely, but she’s basically normal despite what media says about her.
As for the show’s Crystal Palace, she’s a mixed race American with Afro-Haitian/Caribbean(?) heritage on her mother’s side. That part of her is where Crystal got her psychic medium powers and calling on ancestral spirits strengthens it. But before her amnesia, the shows displays how Crystal’s unstable home life of parental neglect made her a bad person. Crystal even used her powers to manipulate people she didn’t like and help out in petty thefts.
Her entire arc in either medium is redemption. The comic Crystal is trying to make peace with a friend she lost while the show is about reclaiming her autonomy. Both from her ex-boyfriend and her as a privileged bully.
Niko Sasaki Over Hana Watanabe
Niko Sasaki is Crystal’s friend and co-renter in the show. She’s basically Hana Watanabe from the comics but with a bit more personality. Hana is Crystal’s only friend when she attends a boarding school the title characters used to go to. They even play the same MMO game which helps them bond in a short amount of time. But for the rest of the Maxi-series, Hana’s more of a plot element than a character. Granted, Toby Litt gives her plenty of awareness, including her state in the… essential Purgatory. But she doesn’t have many arcs or dynamics.
As for Niko, she gets to know the cast on a more even level. After her near death experience, Niko gets more involved with them for helping her out. With how grim some of the cases gets, Niko’s positivity is handled rather well. Rather than make her the basic comic relief, she bounces off everybody. Like when she comforts Edwin on being into guys, treating it as normal as being a ghost. Being an otaku for yaoi basically prepares Nico for normalizing stuff. Even if it doesn’t always work out like their landlord almost getting killed by her date with Nico’s encouragement. Nico takes responsibility to at least know her limits, as well as the limits of others like how Night Nurse operates.
Edwin Payne and Cats
The brainy dead boy Edwin has a unique relationship with cats depending on the medium. In the comic, it’s a connection with his great aunt on how cats go to different worlds. He ends up following one cat called the Philosopher to a case where the Dead Boy Detectives split him in two. Not two halves! Two cats named Bing and Tim join them on more cases.
As for the show, Edwin gets himself cursed by the Cat King when he strong arms a cat for intel. So he has to count every cat in town to break it, since Edwin didn’t want to bone him. Cats often show up in pairs in reference to Bing and Tim on the king’s orders to keep an eye on things. The Cat King is also a reflection of his and Edwin’s longing for connection amid loneliness.
Dead Boy Detectives Case Of Trapped In House
That case with the Philosopher also gets adapted to suit its medium with a few differences. Here’s the outline: a house is affected by an object that disrupts a ghost’s space or time, one of the boys gets affected by it, they and Crystal have to destroy the object that certain entities latch onto.
It’s like this, Edwin followed Philosopher out of boredom while Charles and Crystal are talking. He ends up in a house that twists the laws of ghost physics. Even when he teleports out, Edwin still deals with gravity pulling him upwards. So he, Charles, and Crystal have to solve the case of a 19th century girl, her black servant, and a broken magic mirror. Unlike in the show, only specific mirrors can take people anywhere. And when it’s broken, it disrupts the weird physics around it like the maid being trapped between the house and somewhere else. Crystal meanwhile is very vulnerable to places where only ghosts should be. Unlike the Philosopher who goes to-and-fro anywhere he wants thanks to the mirror.
So while the comic focuses on space, the show focuses on time and its effects. When Charles tries to stop an abusive father from killing his family on a loop, he gets stuck with them. It’s a dramatic metaphor of reliving trauma with Charles’ own father. So Crystal and Edwin have to find what’s trapping everyone in a pre-recorded loop. All while dealing with a wraith feeding on the agony it creates.
More For The Dead Boy Detectives?
I think the chances for a new season on Netflix is a bit out there. The show barely got any marketing, which tends to happen. Shame, season 2 might’ve been the perfect opportunity to meet Clementine, Charles’ half-sister from the comics. I wanted to go a little deeper about Charles’ relationship with his father on this post. But mentioning Clementine would’ve went against one of the rules. Besides the house episode is still fine for that. Here’s to hoping for the Neitherlands!
Thanks for coming to the end and as always, remember to look between the panels.
