Grim #25: A Death Well Lived

We have one life. That’s all there is and we’re gone from here. Some of us measure our lives based on what we do while on this planet, others measure it by what we leave behind after we’re gone, but no matter what you personally choose to believe in whether it be Gods, the universe, or nothing at all, we are all truly judged by how we chose to experience life as a whole We don’t get to always write our own endings, but we can always do our best to make our story count.

Issue 24 was essentially the end of the series proper, so 25 serves as something of an epilogue for Jessica Harrow. 

We follow the journey of Rowan, Jessica’s daughter, who is forced to come to terms with the memories left behind at her mother’s funeral. Through connections crafted by her mother during the course of her life, Rowan is pulled along to Las Vegas, where a reunion with her mother finally starts to put her entire life, both good and bad, into perspective.

Grim on its surface is a story about what happens when the concept of death no longer holds sway over the mortal plane. What is a life worth living when no one is able to die? Clawing for the answer to that question forms the foundation this story was built upon.

Jessica Harrow’s journey has been one of self-discovery for both herself and her friends as they tried to set the world straight. When life begins to call to you after you’ve only known death, how do you reconcile those feelings? Just what are those feelings?

Stephanie Phillips asks the question over and over and over again over the course of the story, and here at the end she reveals her answer. It doesn’t matter. More specifically it doesn’t matter what what others think of what you left behind. It doesn’t matter what others think you should be. There is nothing accept what you choose for yourself. Was that life well lived? Did you enjoy the small moments? Or did you take them for granted? As beautifully stated in issue 24: 

A good life…It’s not about how much you changed the world…it’s about if you were awake to experience it. You’ll never meet the end with perfect peace, but if you lived like it mattered you can get close enough to look it in the eye.

I wasn’t always fond of Flaviano Armentaro’s art throughout this series, but they absolutely brought their A game for the finale. Each page is beautifully illustrated with vibrant colors that can be both arresting and awe-inspiring. Truly a visual feast from start to finish that weaves itself tightly throughout Phillip’s script. There was no better artist for this story when it’s all said and done.