Demons from outer space
Josh Howard continues his reboot of the Dead@17 Universe with new characters and situations, but the end is still the same – hard rockin, demon butt-kicking. Although not much of that is going on…yet. Our new hero ended up dead last issue, but as we might expect, she doesn’t stay dead for long.
Reverend Henrick Stone knows evil, and he knows how to beat information out of the possessed in his basement. Turns out the devil is making another attempt at breaking into this world and the Prophet Bolabogg and his followers are doing everything they can to make it happen.
Asia, on the other hand knows death. More specifically, she knows she’s returned from the dead after having flashes of information presented to her. Not information she understands now, but when the time comes to fight the growing demonic threat, it should kick in.
When she revives, she is acting almost as if she is on autopilot and finishes the job she set out to do – kill the boyfriend that beat up her mom.
The meteor fragments that fell from the sky are scattered across the region, but fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it), Stone’s daughter just happens across one of the crash sites and calls her father. He gets the address from her, and tells her to head home. But teenagers being teenagers, Bree’s friend wants to take a look.
I don’t know about you, but at the wee age of three I watched the Steve McQueen version of The Blob and it scared the bejeebus out of me. From that movie, I learned a valuable lesson; you shouldn’t go poking around a meteor crash site in the middle of the night without expecting some kind of trouble.
And trouble is on its way, as Frank the demon knocks Reverend Stone out, steals the address and heads off to meet his other possessed friends. When they arrive at the scene, sure enough they discover what they were looking for.
See, I told you! The demon general inhabiting Andrea transfers itself to one of the followers and we are left wondering what to expect next. I’m sure it isn’t anything good, and will surely kick this story into high gear.
After cleaning herself up, and coming to her senses, Asia realizes she hasn’t checked in on her mother, but by the time she gets to the hospital, it’s too late.
The Good
- Artwork continues to be fantastic
- Howard tells a good story that is slowly building to something great
- I like all of the characters we’ve seen so far – even the bad ones.
The Bad
- Issue seemed too short
Josh Howard again does an excellent job weaving a tale that is more engaging the further in you get. Unfortunately, this issue was just too short for my taste. When I find something that has great writing, and artwork that I dig, I want to devour every little bit I can.
Howard has said on his website, “I’m constructing a much bigger story this time so it will take a little setup to get there. One of the main complaints about the original series is that it felt rushed at times. And I agree. So, please…I urge patience. Believe me, once the crap hits the fan, there will be no slowing down…”
Issue Three is a month away. I can’t wait. Dead@17: Issue Two receives another 4 out of 5 Stars.
Parting Shot
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