Oni Press announces DEAD TEENAGERS #1, a horror series steeped in 1990s nostalgia and prom night dread. The new comic launches March 18, 2026.
The series comes from GLAAD Award nominated writer Jude Ellison S. Doyle (Maw, Be Not Afraid) and Eisner Award nominated artist Caitlin Yarsky (Black Hammer Reborn, EC’s Cruel Universe). Set on prom night 1997, the story follows five friends trapped in a nightmare they cannot escape.
Prom Night. Again. And Again.
Since 1997, Alicia, J.T., Ryder, Brandy, and their friends relive the same prom night on an endless loop. They dress up, party, hook up, and die.
Each cycle ends differently. Each death grows more violent and unpredictable. No matter what they change, the outcome remains the same.
Until now.
Something begins to fracture the loop that has kept them suspended in a surreal purgatory. What waits beyond it proves more disturbing than the deaths themselves.
A Horror Story About Growing Up
“I think most of us have feared, at one point or another, that high school might literally never end,” said writer Jude Ellison S. Doyle. “Those of us who’ve made it out can also recall looking back and realizing that what we took for granted, back in those days, was actually terrifying. DEAD TEENAGERS is about both those feelings, about what it takes to get unstuck from your teen years and start growing up.”
Dark Comedy With a Sharp Edge
Oni Press Senior Editor Allyson Gronowitz praises the creative team’s approach.
“Jude is already recognized as a master storyteller when it comes to thematically resonant horror, and I’m excited for readers to get a taste of his pitch-black comedic chops as well,” Gronowitz said. “Dead Teenagers is a brutally funny ode to the very real and very fake horrors of high school, which no one escapes from unscathed. Meanwhile, Caitlin Yarsky’s art takes the terror and satire to a whole new level, re-exposing you to ’90s and Y2K fashion styles you wish you could forget ever existed. It’s a fright and a delight.”
Covers That Scream the ’90s
Each issue features a unique variant cover by Caitlin Yarsky, each paying homage to an iconic film from the decade. Main covers come from Naomi Franq (Tales from Harrow County: Death’s Choir), with additional variants by Keyla Valerio (Stranger Things: The Voyage) and Brandt&Stein (Crowded).
DEAD TEENAGERS #1 embraces the decade that gave audiences Scream and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It also leaves behind the blood-soaked remnants of what happens when the past refuses to stay buried.
