# 10 (of 20) in Newarama's Weekly Power Rankings:
Howard’s incredible swerve here should have old-school Dead @17 fans cheering....he is one of the single most consistent artists in comics today. He never has an off-panel. It’s uncanny.
And a review from a new reader at ComicNews.info:
I finally got my hands on issue #4 and after reading it I wanted to kick myself for not picking this up sooner.
A glowing review for Lost Books of Eve has been posted at How to Make Comics. Check it out!
...And another 4 star review at Indy Comic Review.
Jason Martin of Super Real offered his thoughts on Lost Books of Eve in his Comic Pick of the Week. Thanks, Jason!
**UPDATE**
Another review for 'Eve' is up at Pop Thought.
There are reviews that offer a critical look at the style, subtance, skill of any given story, then there are reviews that cross the line and enter into territory that can only be described as flat out lying.
Over at Comic Pants, reviewer David Martindale had this to say regarding Lost Books of Eve #1:
If you want the story of what happens between the verses in the Book of Genesis, told in a highly sexualised graphical format, The Lost Books of Eve is for you.
Highly sexualized? Really? Not just sexualized, but highly sexualized. That's quite a charge. Does David remember Genesis? Adam and Eve walked around naked before the Fall. That's God's doing, not mine. Never mind the fact that all naughty bits were covered in my book. Not one nipple or vagina anywhere, much less anyone actually having sex. Next.
The art and writing are your average fare for Josh Howard; either it’s your thing or it’s not. There’s no surprises here.
I suppose we're in subjective territory here, and the only thing that comes close to a valid opinion in his review. But I have to wonder, no surprises? So he fully expected God to be covered in eyes? Interesting.
The only thing that struck me, besides the expected slutification of The Bible...
This is where I get really pissed. Slutification of the Bible? First of all, I'm one of the only creators out there who actually gives respect to the Bible. Second, I would challenge the most conservative, fundamentalist Southern Baptist preacher to find one example of where I "slutified" the Bible in my book. Even if I had shown Eve in all her naked glory, that still doesn't enter into slut territory. David either needs to check his dictionary or start telling the truth.
...was the disappointing backgrounds. The backgrounds are mostly solid colors or merely two-color gradients, but periodically there are some hand-drawn backgrounds. Unfortunately, those are fairly disappointing as well.
You don't have to like my backgrounds. I'll be the first to admit I suck at 'em. But "mostly solid colors or merely two-color gradients?" At this point, I'm wondering if David has even read my book. There's more backgrounds in this book than any book I've done to date.
A weaker than average offering from Howard, but if you’re a fan, you might dig it anyways.
In other words, if you like crap, this book's for you.
Asia Black wins Best New Character of 2006 over at The Comic Fanatic.
And...
A great new review of issue 2 is up at Independent Propaganda.
A great new review is up at Comics Waiting Room:
The art is confident, and it’s clear just how much Howard has grown as a storyteller since the first DEAD book years ago. I must admit, I was suspect when I heard that the DEAD well was going to be tapped again, but if the level of entertainment we get here can be maintained, it’ll have proved to be a good idea.
Read the rest here.
Silver Bullet Comics gives a good review (3.5 out of 5), but doesn't like Asia. Mission accomplished :)
Comic Avalanche's Indy Pendant column digs it, despite having never read Dead @ 17 before.
And Newsarama's Best Shots had this to say:
Dead@17 is not Dead@17. Actually, it is, but not as it was. As the title transitions to an ongoing, Josh Howard makes the rather bold move of reinventing his signature creation. Meet Asia Black, and she’s not the heroine that you expected. While the familiar themes of isolation and alienation are present, Howard is to be commended for trying something new. Thankfully, reliably the same is his terrific art. Josh Howard books are worth. your. time.
Major Spoilers gives Dead @ 17 #1 a great 4 star review. Read it here.
These are the first couple of reviews I've seen on the new Dead @ 17, and they both present opposite view points.
The first, from Comic Pants, says this:
Josh Howard re-starts his signature title, and again, it somehow misses the mark for me. His art still is enjoyable, so simple and easy to look at, but its qualities can’t make up for the slow and seemingly bland story put forth in this first issue. What’s my biggest complaint? There’s no action. I understand the need for some exposition and some time to introduce the main characters, but I thought that this book was about killing monsters, demons and all things evil. What I got was setup, which was less than thrilling.
(He obviously missed the irony of Asia's first spoken line: "What...Were you expecting me to be wielding an ax?")
And Pop Syndicate had this to say:
Our new heroine is 17-year-old Asia Black. Asia lives with her mom who makes bad decisions in men and pops pills. A bit stereotypical? Yes, but I love how we are introduced to this character. Asia is being suspended from school for beating the crap out of a boy who grabbed her ass. When she’s yelled at by her mom Asia’s very pissed off reply is “Do I have to get raped for you to take my side?” So only two pages into this the reader gets a feel for this character’s whole attitude and way of life....Josh Howard’s writing and art has grown quite a bit since the first run. The dialogue and story plot moves along at a natural pace and the art is much smoother.
(Read the review in it's entirety here.)
Like I've said this before, this isn't the same book. If it was, there would be no point in doing it. I hope everyone will at least stick around until issue 3. 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...
