Psychopomps and Death Personified

Chihiro and No Face from Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away and Studio Ghibli

I was driving home from work this evening and an unusual, rather old fashioned looking car with bright high beams began following me on my route. When I made a turn, I looked in the side mirror and it appeared to look like a hearse. I nervously watched it through the rear view mirror and hoped it would not follow me home until it veered right and entered a neighborhood community.

The event reminded me of an episode of the Twilight Zone titled the "Hitch-Hiker". In the episode a twenty-seven hear old female is driving down a highway and continues to pass a hitch hiking stranger multiple times on the road. At first she believes he is out to do harm to her, until she realizes the harm has already been done and the stranger had been the personification of death the whole time waiting for her to come to terms with her own passing.

Sometimes stories include the personification of Death, like Brad Pitt in Meet Joe Black, or the Crow in the movie with the same title. The idea of a psychopomp is intriguing to me because it takes me back to Greek mythology and how the boatman would guide spirits across the River Styx. It is also interesting to see how creators base the design of Death personified as it is not something we have experienced first hand. It appears that the personification of Death is always a kind, familiar face. It is the type of character that someone would want to meet in the afterlife.

Can you think of any examples of the personification of Death in a comic? How about on Drunk Duck (Yes, you can plug your own comic)?

Let us know about any good comic examples just in time for Halloween!


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