Dead@17: Rough Cut

    (Viper, 2005)
™ and © 2004 Josh Howard

Why did I buy this book? Because comics fans whose views I respect were praising it. Will I continue to buy the series? You’ll have to mark me undecided on that one.

Nara Leigh Kilday gets whacked on page five but comes back to life shortly after her funeral. She is now immortal and destined to play a pivotal role in the battle between supernatural good and evil. One of her allies is a mystery man named Noel Raddemer, who is clearly not an ordinary mystery man. The villains plan to use Nara as a host body to bring their inhuman master to our world. I’ve seen all of this before, many times before.

Even so, there is much of merit in Dead@17. Howard writes well; his teens sound real, unlike the pseudo-teens of Hollywood and most comic books. His storytelling is impressive; he’s willing to take chances with his many-paneled pages to pace the action as his tale requires. His drawing is also good, though he needs to make his male characters as distinctive as he makes his female players. He’s a talent worth watching.

— Tony Isabella
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#1 (Regular Cover by Jim Resnowski)

August, 2004
Cover Price: $3.99
6 copies available from $2.40 		Josh Howard, Alex Hamby, Egg Embry, Jason M. Burns, D.C. Hopkins, Pat BusseyJosh Howard, Martin Abel, Benjamin Hall, Scotty Law, Sean Stephens, Pat Bussey, Rick Oslovic