Dead@17 (2nd Series)

    (Viper, 2006-2007)
™ and ©2006 Viper Comics

Horror may not be the proper classification for writer/artist Josh Howard’s mortem opus about teenage girls that never truly live until they die, but if it shuffles like a zombie, and moans like a zombie, it’s a zombie. Not that there are zombies in this first issue, just a Hydra-like dragon stalking the visions of latest chosen warrior Asia Black.

What separates Howard’s work from the number of other post-Buffy supernaturally fated pretty young things—aside from his punk-rock Bratz-style art that’s neither traditionally comic nor animated, but that’s part of the charm, right?—is that Dead@17 actually follows the Buffy model of respecting its protagonist, first and foremost, who incidentally happens to be a cute girl; whereas other books try to make a tough book about a girl who’s cute. It’s a fun and well-paced book teenagers might actually want to read. This time around, Howard’s evolving art seems to flash some Brian Wood influences, with paramilitary teenage rebellion covers that would make The Clash proud.

— Brendan McGinley
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#1

August, 2006
Cover Price: $3.25
2 copies available from $1.70 		Josh HowardJosh Howard
#2

September, 2006
Cover Price: $3.25
2 copies available from $3.99 		Josh HowardJosh Howard
#3

December, 2006
Cover Price: $3.25
3 copies available from $3.25 		Josh HowardJosh Howard
#4

May, 2007
Cover Price: $3.25
5 copies available from $1.44 		Josh HowardJosh Howard