Dead Boy Detectives, Vol. 1: Schoolboy Terrors

The Dead Boy Detectives Edwin and Charles, the ghosts of two abused boys who pal around together and solve crimes, were created by Neil Gaiman in The Sandman as a morbid commentary on boarding schools. This series adds Crystal Palace, the daughter of two spoiled, neglectful performance-artist celebrities, who%E2%80%99s attending Edwin and Charles%E2%80%99s school, which is now co-ed. Conveniently, she happens to see the boys, who help her fight the threat of demonic possession and rescue spirits trapped in a mirror. While Crystal%E2%80%94a hacker and a cosplayer%E2%80%94is a great character, the boys aren%E2%80%99t given as much attention as one would like, playing second fiddle to both Crystal and the ghost of an evil schoolmaster who has a pack of violent dogs. Edwin was killed a century ago and Charles 20 years back, but you couldn%E2%80%99t tell it by the way they act here. The somewhat ordinary stories by Litt (a novelist known for such works as Corpsing) aren%E2%80%99t up to the accomplished level of the Buckingham%E2%80%99s art, which has expressive characters and detailed settings. The art makes the struggle through an experimental novelist%E2%80%99s first comic series worthwhile. (July)