Richard Banks
"Robert Banks is— was my cousin. We... were close. He was the closest thing I had to a brother. He was a football player. The best the school ever had. Even better than the 1936 team. He outshone everyone, though. I knew that better than anyone else."
"The Murderer Down the Hall" is a historical murder mystery webcomic by jacksaton. Released in 2024, this comic takes place in the year 1947 where Richard Banks has to solve the murder of his cousin, Robert Banks, at their prep school Winsborough Academy. Published on April 6th, 2024, the comic currently has a prologue on it's website, Webtoon, Tapas and Global Comix.
The Murderer Down the Hall provides examples of:
- The Ace: Both Richard and Robert are the "star athletes" of their respective sports, baseball for Richard and football for Robert.
- Black Bead Eyes: Nearly every character in the comic is shown to have black dot eyes. This is said to be inspired by comics such as Tintin, Peanuts, and Spirou & Fantasio (via Instagram).
- Boarding School: Winsborough Prep is a boarding school in Winsborough, Massachusetts - which is a fictional town not far off from Boston.
- Bookworm: Twigs Parker is the epitome of a bookworm character. He is also part of the literary society, which is essentially bookworm central.
- Chromosome Casting: All of the characters shown in the comic thus far are male. This is due to being set in an all-boys boarding school. There is only one female character, Susan, but she has yet to show up in the comic at all and is only merely part of Richard's backstory.
- Color-Coded Characters: On the comic website, it is shown through various graphics that the main four characters are all color coded. This being:
- Richard = Red
- Twigs = Yellow
- Dewey = Green
- Nathan = Blue
- Fat and Skinny: Richard and Twigs, the two main characters, physically embody this trope. However, it is not used for comedic purposes, but rather an artistic choice.
- Homage: There has been various aspects about the art that has purposefully referenced the influences of the comic, such as the artwork depicting Richard and his pet dog in place of Tintin and Snowy from The Adventures of Tintin.
- Improbable Hair Style: Most of the characters in the comic have relatively normal cartoonish hair but Richard's hair in particular is quite odd, especially for the 1940's. This is one of the many parts of the comic that takes inspiration from Tintin, who also has a weird hairstyle.
- Kid Hero: Richard Banks, as well as all of his friends, are teenagers in high school. Richard, specifically, is 17 years old. He also tends to be a little immature.
- Odd Couple: From the comic's conception, Richard and Twigs were always opposites yet still very close friends. Richard is athletic, cheery (usually), and outgoing. Meanwhile, Twigs is nerdy, reserved, and quiet.
- Police Are Useless: The police have not seemed to play a huge role in the story and likely won't, because the investigation is up to Richard.
- Shorter Means Smarter: Twigs is the shortest character in the main cast, only rivaled by Oscar. Twigs is said to be physically weak, as he is not good in sports whatsoever, but he is also said to be the smartest character, "well on his way to school valedictorian."
- Skintone Sclerae: Though most characters just have Black Bead Eyes, Oscar in particular has the most detailed eyes, as he actually has eyelids and eyelashes. However, he does not have whites in his eyes.
- Students' Secret Society: The literary society is an unofficial, secret club in Winsborough Prep. It is quite pretentious.
- The '40s: The comic takes place in November of 1947.
- Troubled Teen: Richard in various artworks has been depicted to struggle with his family as well as the death of his cousin. In the prologue, he solemnly reflects on the passing of his cousin, Robert.
- Unable to Cry: Though Richard often depicted in art and in the actual comic deals with very depressing issues, even aside from the death of his cousin, he has yet to be shown crying at all.
