My Dead Girlfriend

By Eric Wight

Finney Bleak lives in a world of horror—literally. His family members are ghosts, his classmates are monsters, and Finney is the most normal kid in school. But within the halls of Mephisto Prep, normal is the new weird and Finney dangles from the lowest rung of the social evolutionary ladder. Then along comes Jenny. Smart. Beautiful. And totally into Finney. Only problem is, she’s kind of dead. Just how far will Finney go to be with his true love? Let’s just say not even Death can stand in his way!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Apr 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9781427865052

Eric Wight

Eric Wight is an author, illustrator, and animation director. His first book, My Dead Girlfriend (Tokyopop), was nominated for the 2008 Best Graphic Novel of the Year Award by the Young Adult Library Services Association. In 2004, Wight won the Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award for his illustration work in The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist, the comic book adaptation of Michael Chabon's Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.  Eric lives in Chalfont, Pennsylvania with his family.  Visit him on the web at ericwight.com.

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Reviews for My Dead Girlfriend

[rosa.mill · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Finn Bleak comes from a family whose tradition is to die in exotic and crazy fashion. He is the only normal kid at school (although some day he will be a ghost). All the other kids at school are different kinds of monsters and Finn gets given lots of grief for being so normal.

This manga very much reminds me of the monster high books. Very funny take on what it means to be normal and popular. This volume was all set up, introducing Finn, his future girlfriend, what Finn's family and school life are like and set up for future complications. A very cute book, it's a shame Tokyo Pop is no more.

[akmargie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Just had a Plain Janes moment. Wright only wrote one in what was surely a planned series and I'm so mad because it's great. Super fun, hilarious and great art. Yes, I know he's had sucess with Frankie Pickle series but this makes me wish so hard there were more.

[diamonddog_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

From Anna, age 10: I gave this book 4 stars because I've never read a book that gets 5. Read this book if you like gothic romance, but are still young. I like this book because it has like everything I love in it - like dead people and love and stuff.

[fyrefly98 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Summary: Finney Bleak has a family history that's going to be hard to live up to - all of his ancestors have died in improbable ways, and then stuck around for family game night. High school's no better, full as it is of Aberzombies, potion-pushing witches, and (literal) Deadbeats. Even the girl that Finney met at a carnival never called him again. But in Finney's world, even death isn't a barrier to the power of a teenage crush...Review: This was cute, and a fun enough read, but ultimately I was left unimpressed. I think most of my problem was that not enough happened; 5/6th of the book is introduction and set-up, a substantial worldbuilding infodump, and the titular dead girlfriend doesn't show up until near the end. I get that it's a first volume in the series, but even so, it didn't have much of a plot arc (other than "Finney mopes around about how hard life is until the ghost of a girl he had one date with shows up"). There were definitely some funny bits, and I like the idea of the world Wight's created, but I don't know if I'll continue with the series (especially since there is no Vol. 2 out yet, or even on the horizon) - not enough happened in this volume to really get me interested in where the story's going next. 2.5 out of 5 stars.Recommendation: It's a neat concept, but the story barely takes off before the book ends, so unless more installments are published, I'd give this one a miss.

[katekf_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A darkly cute collection of a comic series that follows Finney Bleak who's the most normal kid at a school full of monsters. The art style resembles some of the newly made cartoons from Cartoon Network and Nickolodeon with a mix of humor and knowing humor that would be recognizable to someone who enjoys Foster's Home for Imaginary Creatures. Though the presentation of the comics in a manga format from TokyoPop sends a slightly confusing message in terms of who would enjoy reading it because the art style is quite American as is the humor. The publishers are doing their best to appeal to a number of audiences and the story has some cute elements as Finney finds a girl who seems perfect until he discovers she's a ghost just like most of his family. This is truly the greatest issue faced in this comic, which makes it a good read for any range from late elementary school to early high school due to the comic take on violence. Overall this is a nice addition to the world of goth and supernatural works for young readers but slightly confusing in terms of the style combined with how its published. If it was presented in a true comic book format instead of a fake manga one, it would be easier for it to reach its possible audience of guys.

[queenalyss · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this American manga volume very much... the protagonist is a quirky student surrounded by the cliches of life in a monsters version. The only thing I did not enjoy was the fact that the story involved vampires, frankensteins, aliens, witches, etc... attempting to put all of these monster categories into one volume isn't a new idea and I just didn't find it very attractive. In contrast to that, I did love the Bleak family tradition of crazy deaths, which is introduced immediately and becomes a very significant part of the manga, which is apparent by the title of the series!

[knielsen83 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A very weird paranormal graphic novel about a boy whose family history will involve him to have an interesting death. His girlfriend is already a ghost and he goes to a high school with vamps, undead, and other crazy creatures. Cute, but weird too.

[ohioyalibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A hilarious and brilliantly drawn tale of a young boy and his dead girlfriend. Loads of fun!

[specialibrarian · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The Even family is not distinguished by the lives the members have led but by their tragic or unbelievable deaths. Dillan carrying on the family name (with his evil conjoined triplet older sisters) and is waiting for his own inevitable and spectacular death. He meets the girl of his dreams at the local carvival and looses her (and his parents) on the same night. She comes back to him months later as a ghost to save his from the class bullies.

[adge73 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Cute, but exposition-y. I like the cute/creepy thing that's going on in the art. I'll be interested in reading the next volume in the series.