Darwin Carmichael is Going to Hell

by Sophie Goldstein, Jenn Jordan

It’s tough living in the 21st century, when mythical beings not only roam the earth, but camp out on your sofa and raid your refrigerator. Jobs are scarce; angels infest Brooklyn (the demons have taken all the good property in Manhattan) and minor gods bus tables at the local diner. The mortals of New York must balance not only their checkbooks but keep a close eye on their souls’ karmic account.

Darwin lives in Brooklyn, the borough of choice for hipsters, artists, deities and an assortment of mythological creatures. Darwin has a problem. Due to an unfortunate incident involving some intense snogging, an unbalanced high chair, and a framed image of the Buddha, he acquired a massive karmic deficit. Long story short, he’s going to go to Hell. Darwin doesn’t particularly want to go to Hell, so he’s doing everything he can to save his immortal soul.

Managing his complete karmic rehabilitation, a soul-crippling day-job in financial aid counseling, life in a ridiculously gentrified, rent-inflated neighborhood, and a pack of free-loading stoner angels is tricky, to say the least.

His best friend, Ella Fitzgerald, the daughter of saints with good karma to burn, coaches Darwin on saving his soul. His 2000 year old pet manticore, Skittles, provides moral support, the wisdom of the ancients, and fluffy hugs. Darwin must contend with his obnoxious roommate—art student and suspected alien Matt Westbury—but there’s also his friendly minotaur landlord, Patrick, who drinks Darwin’s beer and fixes the sink.

Every day is a fresh hell, but it’s a chance at redemption.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Urban Fantasy, Humor, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy

380 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2014

Reviews

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't the most profound book ever, but it's one of the funniest. Its themes skin the surface of such Big Ideas as "why bother being good if your fate's predestined?" "why do the people we love most give us such awful advice?" and "why is this tween manticore the cutest thing ever?" without going too deep for the bright art and breezy writing style to handle. Add in the funniest apocalypse since Good Omens and a surprisingly affecting bittersweet ending, and you have a comic well worth reading--and probably rereading.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm proud that I was a kickstarter backer for this book. I'm also lucky I was a backer. Had the book come out via a regular publisher I might not ever heard of it, let alone buy it. That would have been a shame because it's one of the best independent comics I've ever read. I love it when the art of another artists allows me to discover how I feel about my own art. With a superb story and a lot of whimsy Sophie Goldstein does a wonderful job entertaining and I find myself going back to the book over and over again.

[Ksenia]

What a thoroughly fun read! At the core of the story is friendship and love. Seriously, after reading this, you'll want your own red manticore and name it Skittles. I'm so glad I discovered this at MoCCA Fest last year!

[Colleen AF]

The most cohesive and moving webcomic-turned-graphic-novel I've ever read.

[Jesse Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad I stuck with this, because while I liked the premise and characters and art, I didn't think the first half was very funny. In the second half, as they started doing longer narratives instead of one-off jokes, the story got better and so, ironically, did the humor. By the time it got to the last arc, it was excellent. Webcomics are great for seeing that type of improvement.

[Roman Katz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good. The story was seamless and the characters were all really fun and well fleshed out.

[David Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally a webcomic that I read as a hardbound book that I picked up after a quick perusal at the Small Press Expo. I wasn't that big on the first half because I found the humor hit or miss, but once it went from more gag-of-the-day to actual plot, I liked it more. The art was charming and probably the strongest aspect.

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Darwin Carmichael is Going to Hell was an impulse buy at my local comic shop. I had never read the graphic novel, but there were unicorns and an adorable baby manticore :D Also, the book itself is well produced, with a sturdy hardcover and vibrant pages. Fortunately for me, the book ended up being quite entertaining! It's the story of a man who, because of terrible babysitting skills, gravely harmed the Dalai Lama, and now he has to work off significant karmic debt. But he's not very good at earning good points.

The world he lives in is... interesting to say the least. He has a pet baby manticore named Skittles, stoner angels are constantly crashing in his living room, his roommate is dating a real life muse, and his ex-girlfriend/best friend inherited so much good karma from her parents that she could murder several people and still come out okay.

Most of the book deals with slice of life plot lines, but the story does draw to quite a satisfying narrative close at the end. All in all, I approve of this unexpected find!

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!!!! Can't wait to see what else they come up with