Dead High Yearbook

This full-color hardcover graphic novel tells eight intertwined stories of teens from one high school. The characters represent a typical assortment of students: popular, unpopular, rich, poor, fat and skinny, in love and not. But while they might seem like regular kids at first, they donÂ't stay that way, because every last one of them ends up dead—or more specifically undead—in this creepy, ironic graphic novel written and illustrated by some of the top comic-book talent in this country. Designed to look like a yearbook and packed with totally accessible art, this book is a scream!

From Publishers Weekly

McVeigh and Velez's collection of nine stories by various writers and illustrators crosses the line between macabre and tasteless, but horror movie–addicted teens will likely devour it for that very reason. A line-up of teenagers meet horrific fates in stories of varying quality. A story about zombie grandmothers raises the "ick" factor, while one about a hate crime gone horribly wrong seems to be heading toward a cautionary tale but ultimately comes off as preachy. "Have a Nicey Icee Last Day" is a surprisingly meanspirited revenge tale involving two girls and one guy; "Who Are You Having for Dinner?" is the standout of the bunch, a tongue-in-cheek and teeth-in-neck yarn with an interesting visual style and more than a little bit of humor. Striking a mood reminiscent of the classic EC Comics horror titles, the volume ties the stories together with a clever conceit (the padded paper-over-cover book's design simulates a high school yearbook, and the premise involves the editing team trying to get photos together to go to press). Ages 12-up. (Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up-Dead High Yearbook puts the graphic back into graphic novel in true splatter horror-movie form. This group of grisly stories is connected by an overarching tale of two zombie yearbook editors putting together this year's annual. The deaths range from in-your-face gruesome to only suggested. Even without every corpse pictured, there are plenty of splashes of blood and bloody fingerprints on the pages to satisfy even the most ghoulish readers. The book goes so far as to include pre- and post-death photos on the endpapers. Several artists contribute to the book, so readers see a variety of styles from superhero physiques to mangalike faces to scratchy indy-artistry. The stories of death are also varied, ranging from the truly weird (an exploding boy) to the supernatural (zombies and vampires, anyone?) to the mundane (car accident, love triangle gone sour), and are generally well done. There are some attempts at humor, which don't work so well, even as black humor. Overall, this is a book for readers with strong stomachs for these sorts of visuals.–Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Put together to resemble an actual yearbook, this handful of graphic-novel horror stories chronicles the lives and, more pointedly, the grisly deaths of a group of high-school students. Each tale is rendered by a different artist, and although the contributors do add bits of personal flair, the collection is still an artistic whole, with heavily outlined shapes and rich, dark colors used throughout. Although many of the entries seem to rehash genre cliches, the best stories pair the horror with resonant emotions, as when an honor student is determined to take her final exam (headless or not). The art is stylish, and the stories may satisfy some fans, but this is an optional purchase. Robin BrennerCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Ivan Velez, Jr. is a cartoonist, writer, and publisher. He has worked for DC Comics, Milestone, and Marvel, and is the creator of Tales of the Closet, published by Planet Bronx Productions. He lives in the Bronx.

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