DEAD HIGH YEARBOOK
edited by Jr. Velez
Reminiscent of 1950s horror works hosted by sarcastic macabre beings that gleefully connected the dots between gruesome vignettes, this imaginative title will satisfy fans of gore, grisly death and demonic possession. Echoing the Cryptkeeper’s role in William Gaines’s classic Tales from the Crypt, Zombie Boy and Girl introduce each bizarre storyline documenting the individual deaths of Dead High’s yearbook staff. A determined student literally loses her head on her way to an achievement test, a too-cute Chihuahua morphs into an evil beast with rudimentary horns and a girl-versus-girl spat leads to murder in a dark cemetery. Each story is heavily laced with irony and dark humor that keep the pages turning. This hardbound title, easily mistaken for an archived school-library yearbook, aces the eyeball test. Vivid colors leap from frames containing black backdrops where we know evil lurks. Creatures in the goriest panels are outlined with bold strokes, adding additional emphasis to the violence. This title is a great change-of-pace for teens going through superhero overload. (Graphic novel. YA)