Dead High Yearbook

    (Penguin, 2007)
™ and © Penguin

Every high-schooler has the same problems: fitting in with others, controlling their weight, improving their looks. At Dead High, however, both the solutions and the ultimate results are decidedly atypical. A student who wants to lose some weight becomes a zombie—literally. Another who wants to become bigger becomes a grotesque, rampaging monster. Devil dogs, vampires, and headless ghouls shamble in and out of each story, reminding everyone that if they think their high school experience was difficult, it could have been a lot worse.

These short stories are all pretty grisly, but there’s a lively sense of humor at work here, too. The oversized collection earns extra points for its packaging, bound under a cover that will recall, yes, your high school yearbook. Most of the art is just okay, although the work of Pop Mhan and Shawn Martinbrough stands out.

— Andy Richardson
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