Most Jojo's Bizarre Adventure fans are aware of series creator Hirohiko Araki's spinoff following Rohan Kishibe. Far fewer, however, know that Araki had another Jojo spinoff following a former adversary--and this one stars one of the most disturbed villains in the series, Yoshikage Kira.
In Diamond is Unbreakable, also known as Jojo part 4, Josuke Higashikata, Rohan, and many other locals of Morioh come into conflict with a Stand-wielding serial killer known as Yoshikage Kira. Despite insisting that he wants to live a quiet life, Kira murders women to fulfill his perverse desires and will do anything to cover up his crimes. As one might expect, Kira is eventually defeated, and even appears to be sent directly to Hell after being killed. As it turns out, that's not exactly what happened.
Deadman's Questions is a three-chapter one-shot manga by Araki about an initially unnamed ghost who reveals himself to have been Yoshikage Kira. Kira doesn't remember his life, but he has a strong sense that no good afterlife is waiting for him, so he instead chooses to linger, working with a Buddhist monk who sends him to assassinate evil people, like a wanted child murderer. Kira has a difficult time dealing with his targets due to the limitations of being a ghost, but he's under no delusions that this will alleviate any sins from his life. His only hope is that he might be able to derive some form of satisfaction from doing the job, and perhaps obtain a measure of peace that way. In the final chapter, Kira learns what happens to spirits that linger, a fact that costs his ghost an arm. The story ends with Kira wondering if the Monk sent him there on purpose in order to "cleanse" his spirit, and vowing vengeance if she did.
Deadman's Questions Wasn't the Only Reuse of Kira
One defining aspect of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure's villains is their psychological issues, and Kira definitely fits the bill in a way that even Dio didn't. Deadman's Questions was released in 1999, around four years after the end of Diamond is Unbreakable, so it's clear that Araki felt that he wasn't quite done with Kira, despite his death. Deadman's Questions is generally considered a one-shot, and it's not clear if there was any desire to continue it into a full series, but it hasn't quite been forgotten, with costumes referencing it worked into some Jojo video games. Even this manga's release didn't keep Araki from returning to Kira one more time, however--an alternate timeline Kira also shows up in Jojolion, the 8th part of the main Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, and he's back to his serial killer ways there.
While calling Deadman's Kira a hero might be a bit of a stretch, he's still a far less evil figure than any other incarnation of the character, more on par with a vigilante anti-hero like the Punisher. Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is surprisingly light on this type of character, so Deadman's Questions does add something unique to the franchise, and even offers a bit of insight into some of the monsters and ghosts that Rohan Kishibe encounters in his own spinoff series. Fans of the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure would do well to give this one-shot a read, although they'll have to decide for themselves if this is a fate that Kira is deserving of.