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Mike Dougherty Adapting Viper Comics' Dead@17

by Alex Billington
February 18, 2009
Source: Comics on Comics, SlashFilm

At this point in time, the rights to almost every comic book on the market have probably been snatched up, so even if it's an indie comic, it will eventually head to the big screen. The latest indie comic in development is Dead@17, a Viper Comics series written by Josh Howard. The news on this adaptation comes from an interview with Howard at Comics on Comics (via SlashFilm), where he says that Paramount producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura is developing, X-Men 2 and Trick 'r Treat screenwriter Mike Dougherty is writing, and least exciting, High School Musical actress Vanessa Hudgens is being pursued for the lead.

If you couldn't already tell from the headline, the bit that we're interested in the most is about Dougherty. He's been Bryan Singer's go-to guy for a while, with writing credits on X-Men 2 and Superman Returns, and he blew me away with his directorial debut called Trick 'r Treat, which has yet to actually see the light of day. He's a very talented screenwriter and just needs to be given more opportunities in order to really shine. While I can only speak from what I know about (and have seen in) the films he's worked on, and not his actual scripts, he seems to have a style that would work perfectly for this comics adaptation.

Dead@17 is about the a girl named Nara Kilday who is killed and then mysteriously reborn to fight demons. She discovers that she has to prevent the coming of Bolabogg, a demonic lord. This series also introduces Hazy Foss, her best friend, and Elijah, who Nara has a crush on. The three fight hordes of undead and other monstrosities and attempt to banish Bolabogg back to his realm. To be honest, this is the first time I've even heard of the series, but I think it could be turned into a very entertaining film, especially in the hands of Mike Dougherty, who has plenty of experience with both comic books and the undead.

Explore tags: Movie News, Opinions

Joel

The comic was great, hopefully this gets the treatment it deserves. It could easily turn into another made-for-SciFi style crap-fest if it isn't done right.
LINKFX

Sounds a lot like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, although more Emo.
http://movieguyreviews4u.blogspot.com Ryan

Is it me or is there more comic adaptations than book adaptations now? Not that I have a problem with it but how times have changed. While they do this for built-in audiences and ideas, how many people actually buy comics conpared to books I wonder? While comic fans are arguably more dedicated to seeing the movie compared to book readers, I wonder how many there are to make it profitable since I never really read comics.
Toucmyinfection

eh PASS ;P
Richard

Why don't they make a good indie comic movie like Evil Ernie and or Lady Death?
Josh M

Bring on the chicks fighting zombies!
Fisherr

Th is the first to me to hear about the series,maybe i'll give it a shot and pick up an issue or something.
Spiffy

Mmmmmmmmmmm...........Vanessa Hudgens yummy
Karen

I want Vanessa in this movie,I love her so much