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Death is not a debate. How many do you think have come before you, all with promises and threats and offers of glory, gold, and love? Who are you to misguide me from my duty? You are but a man, not even one I should remember. You will go into the darkness and I will forget ever having met you.

–Anubis to Laura, "Git Gone"

Mr. Jacquel is one of the Old Gods. He runs Ibis and Jacquel Funeral Parlor with his partner, Mr. Ibis.

Significance in series

"Head Full of Snow"

Somewhere in America

In Queens, Mrs. Fadil cooks dinner for visiting family when there is a knock on the door. Anubis enters and explains to Mrs. Fadil that she has died and he has come to take her to the Afterlife because of her belief in her Tita's stories. She follows him to her fire escape and up a seemingly never-ending staircase until they reach a sandy desert. They sit down in front of his scales and he places a large feather on the right scale. He removes her heart and places it on the left scale to see if she used her heart well. Mrs. Fadil tells him she tried her best and Anubis replies that her best is good. He leads her to five pillars, each of which will lead to one of the many worlds of the Du'at, and tells her to choose. She tells him he is kind and asks him to choose for her. He points to the center pillar and a door opens. Mrs. Fadil pauses at the entrance expressing momentary doubt, and her cat pushes her through the doorway anyway.

"Git Gone"

After Laura Moon dies, she is transported to the Underworld and Anubis appears. Anubis explains that she is now dead and leads her to his scales. He places a feather on one scale and reaches for her heart. Laura slaps his hand away and pushes down the scales as she tells him that her heart is heavier than the feather. Anubis leads her to her hot tub and tells her she will go to darkness because she believed in nothing. She starts to argue but he tells her he won't even remember her just as she is yanked out of the afterlife.

A black jackal and Mr. Ibis stand in the middle of the road, stopping Audrey's car. The jackal stands up into Anubis, telling Laura that he remembers her. Jacquel and Ibis take Laura to their funeral parlor. Ibis explains they have been in business for 200 years. They repair her with pins and threads and paint her skin. Jacquel asks if it was love that brought her back. She says it wasn't but it is now. Jacquel lets her know that when she is done, he will complete his task and deliver her into darkness.

"A Prayer for Mad Sweeney"

Mr. Jacquel puts on a jazz record as he begins his mortician work on a corpse at Ibis and Jacquel Funeral Parlor. Mr. Ibis enters the room, bringing Irish red ale for them to drink at the end of the workday. Mr. Jacquel wants to finish his work because he knows they will have two more bodies coming the next day. He sends Ibis away because Ibis "has a story to tell." Mr. Ibis begins writing when the phone rings to announce the two new bodies. As Jacquel answers the phone, Ibis continues writing his story about criminals being transported to the Americas as indentured servants.

Physical appearance

In his human form, Mr. Jacquel is described as having darker skin than Mr. Ibis and is "a very tall dark-skinned man." In "Git Gone," he also appears as a long-muzzled, black dog with high, pointed ears.

Powers and abilities

  • Psychopomp: Mr. Jacquel acts as a psychopomp and escorts the newly deceased to their afterlife.
    • In "Head Full of Snow", Mr. Jacquel weighs Mrs. Fadil's heart against a feather before guiding Mrs. Fadil through the Duat to a set of three doors for her to select her afterlife.
    • In "Git Gone," Mr. Jacquel receives Laura after her death but she is pulled back by Mad Sweeney's gold coin before she can start her afterlife.
  • Transfiguration: Mr. Jacquel has the ability to transform into a black jackal as shown in "Git Gone."
  • Premonition: In "A Prayer for Mad Sweeney," Jacquel exhibits the ability to know when two people have died when he reveals to Mr. Ibis they will be receiving two more bodies at Ibis and Jacquel Funeral Parlor.

Notes and trivia

  • Mr. Jacquel is an incarnation of Anubis, the Ancient Egyptian god of mummification and afterlife. He is also a protector of graves.
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