The story of "Zero Girl" is a dream fantasy, where Circles are locked in a war with Squares. Our hero is at the center of this war. Circles protect her. Squares attack her. Her feet get wet. Somewhere locked inside this war are half-faded memories trying to get out.

An off kilter romance appears in the form of a high school girl in love with her school councilor. This is not a bad thing, in context of the story.

The art, of course, is Sam Keith's usual brand of goodness. He takes all of these strange story elements and welds them into a cohesive story by the force of his art.

And, as a topper, "Zero Girl" has an introduction by Alan Moore praising it. If you don't take my word for it, take Alan's. "Zero Girl" is great comics.


Kieth back at it again.   January 10, 2002
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

Anyone at all familiar with Sam Kieth's previous work (The Maxx, or his Marvel work) already knows what they're getting into when they pick this up. For the uninitiated, here's what you'll find:
1) a unique story...Kieth never tells a "standard" tale, and Zero Girl is certainly no exception. Circles good, squares bad. Foot sweat. Trust me, it all makes sense.
2) Great art. Any excuse to view Kieth art is worth the price. His characters look like no one else's. His style cannot be duplicated easily, and those that try fail horribly. Think Frazetta on acid for a general idea.
Zero Girl is a good read and was hailed as one of the best of 2001 by many in the industry. There's a reason. READ IT!


Half Lolita, half Carrie   July 15, 2006
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

The pieces are familiar: a high school girl dealing with the ultimate family dysfunction, high school bullies, and high school crushes. The crush-ee, in this case, is a high school guidance counselor achingly aware that Amy Smootster isn't a little girl any more - a fact that Amy is equally aware of, and brings clearly to his attention. But she has real problems at home, such as it is, the kind that a counselor is supposed to involve himself in.

But there's something very special about Amy, more than the fact that wet puddles form under her shoes when embarassment becomes its worst (which it does often). And the high school bullies, even the thugs in that dark alley have something even darker behind them ...

It's more complex than Emily the Strange, and more for teens than for Emily's `tweens. The artwork is good, sometimes angular, and it does better with expression and narration than literal representation. Maybe not for everyone, but I'm coming back for more.

//wiredweird