Psychopomp is the archetype used to describe any mythical being who conducts souls to the afterlife. Though my first thought in this sketch was for Ankou, this sketch mixes themes from several psychopomps.
Ankou, as near as I can tell, is a title or position rather than an actual deity of death. The stories come from the part of France across the channel from England. Basically, every new year the first adult to die becomes the new Ankou and is tasked with ferrying souls to the afterlife for one year before he can join them himself.
Here's a quick breakdown of the elements that got stuck into this consciously even though they're all from different cultures: the fellow on the left is the current Ankou, the symbol on his pendant is the elder futhark rune elhaz (which I once read is associated with Valkyries and dangerous situations), the dog is an allusion to the Old Shuck, and the boat obviously refers to Charon.
I've got my own ideas about the soul coming up the steps, but for now I think it would be fun to let you guys make up your own stories about him if you're curious.
