DEAD @ 17 # 1

Dead @ 17 is one of the new mini-series published by Texas-based publisher Viper Comics. Having read a preview of the comic book way back in October, I'm impressed with the complete story of the first issue sent by Viper. This series is about teens fighting supernatural forces in their suburban town, while struggling through common teenage hardships, such as love and parents.

Howard is a magnificent plotter. The introduction, character exposure and cliffhangers are all well presented in a small amount of pages. There's enough stuff happening here to attract the reader for the second issue. After the mysterious death of best friend, Nara Kilday, Hazy Foss, learns of her deceased friend's occult activities in less than entertaining circumstances.

Howard handles the artwork in this series. The advantage is that he tuned all the parts, from the script to the colouring to the story and not self promotion of individual skills. Howard's characters' designs are stark with heavy but clean lines. Instead of relying on pastels like other Japanese-inspired cartoonists, his characters are yellowish and their environment as murky as the story.