Thanks to barnesandnoble.com for the image.

Death Note is a manga series about a high school student who discovers a supernatural notebook that allows him to kill anyone by writing the victim's name in a supernatural notebook and picturing his or her face.  The series follows his attempt to create and lead a world cleansed of evil using the book and the conflicts that arise from his objectives.  Created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata, the series was reprinted in 12 English language volumes by VIZ Media.

The publisher recently released Death Note How to Read 13 – billed as the “ultimate Death Note encyclopedia,” and it may well be, for the time being.  It’s basically everything a fan of the series would need to know.  There are illustrated character biographies, which are really so detailed that they could be called dossiers.  Artist Takeshi Obata appears in an interview section which includes sketchbook material.  Obata later joins writer Tsugumi Ohba for a discussion about the final mysteries of Death Note’s “Chapter 108.”  Thorough storyline summaries and production notes: what more could someone who has read Death Note need?

But how would I know since I’ve never read Death Note?  Well, Death Note How to Read 13 offers something that is essential to attracting new readers to a manga – actually comics!  Inside this encyclopedia is the Death Note “Pilot Manga,” the original, 2003 55-page story that introduced the concept in a rather chilling, but utterly engaging and entertaining tale.

There you go: something for both the fan and the newbie.