Dead@17: Compendium Edition by Josh Howard
Viper Comics, $24.95, 336pp, tp, 9780979368073. Graphic novel collection.
When 17-year-old Nara Kilday is murdered by an unknown killer, she doesn’t stay dead for long. Nara is one of the resurrected, immortals destined to take part in the ultimate battle between good and evil. Her true nature is revealed at her death and resurrection.
While the police are trying to find Nara’s killer, they discover her diary, and show it to Hazy, Nara’s best friend. Neither they nor she understand the strange symbols therein. But, as we’ll soon learn, neither can Nara. Their meaning is only revealed as Nara realizes just how she’s connected to things much greater than the average mortal.
The appearance of Raddemer, an agent from a mysterious organization who knows everything about Nara, heralds her growing understanding and acceptance of her situation. He explains, cryptically, her role fighting Bolabogg, the embodiment of that ultimate evil. Unfortunately for Nara, Bolabogg’s followers were responsible for her death, and are trying to get her to join with Bolabogg. It won’t happen.
Nara, Hazy, Nara’s former boyfriend Elijah (who will become Hazy’s boyfriend, causing a rift between the friends), and agent Raddemer will array their strengths against the forces of evil. Battles will be fought, people will die, and even God will play a minor part. And though there’s blood, and heartache, and fear, the resolutions will be satisfying.
In later chapters, the mystery of Nara’s birth parents is revealed and solved, the natures of the organizations lined up against Bolabogg are revealed, and someone close to Nara will die. Creator Josh Howard keeps the action coming.
Dead at 17 originally appeared as a series of comics, collected into this one volume. The art is evocative, but the story seems to me, if not exactly an homage, derivative of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (a teenage girl with superpowers fighting the forces of evil and dealing with the supernatural as a matter of course while trying to keep the world at large ignorant of it all. The older male guide who knows more than he says, the gang of friends helping out, and so on). Which isn’t necessarily bad: Howard is borrowing from a successful franchise that told good stories. I don’t know if the individual comics would have held my interest to keep me coming back each month, but collected into one easy-reading volume, ,the story held me until the end. It’s bloody and messy, so it’s probably not for very young readers (though Howard is careful to keep the nubile young female bodies covered with strategically place rags, to maintain the PG rating).