Enter a Lethal Time Loop on Prom Night 1997 in Exclusive Preview of Jude Ellison S. Doyle and Caitlin Yarsky’s DEAD TEENAGERS #1, Coming March 18th from Oni Press!

As someone who loves time loop horror à la Happy Death Day and Inoperable, I'm just waiting for the clock to move quicker so I can dive into the nostalgic nightmares of Dead Teenagers, the new Oni Press comic book series from writer Jude Ellison S. Doyle and artist Caitlin Yarsky!

Following five high school friends who keep reliving their eclectic and increasingly bizarre deaths on prom night of 1997, Dead Teenagers #1 will introduce readers to a night to dismember (over and over again) when Oni Press releases the debut issue in comic shops beginning March 18th, and as a special treat for Daily Dead readers, we have an exclusive preview from the first issue that you can read right now!

Featuring a mutant virus, killer mannequins, a meteor strike, and other unique sources of death at the big dance, you can read our exclusive preview of Dead Teenagers #1 below, and we also have the official press release with additional details and a look at the killer covers for the first issue by Naomi Franq, Keyla Valerio, Caitlin Yarsky, and Brandt&Stein, respectively.

To keep up to date on Dead Teenagers #1 and all of Oni Press' exciting releases, be sure to visit:

• https://www.onipress.com/

Press Release: PORTLAND, OR (January 20, 2026) BEING A TEENAGER FOREVER IS ONE HELL OF A DEATH SENTENCE! Oni Press – the multiple Eisner and Harvey Award-winning publisher of groundbreaking comics and graphic novels since 1997 – is proud to present a look inside the terrifying, decade-warping pages of DEAD TEENAGERS #1, the ’90s-era time loop of terror that finds five friends living (and dying) endlessly inside their high school prom night. Get an extended look inside the first issue of the sardonically sharp and gloriously gory new series 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) before the first issue arrives in comic shops everywhere on March 18th, 2026!

"The only thing scarier than change is never changing,” said Jude Ellison S. Doyle. “Dead Teenagers is a story about the terror of nostalgia—how it draws us in and keeps us trapped in a youth that was never as fun as it was cracked up to be—and a love letter to the rambunctious, goofy energy of all the slashers that I love."

Since 1997, five friends have been trapped in the ultimate nightmare as a mysterious entity forces them to relive their first prom night over and over again . . .and re-kills them in new and increasingly insane ways each time. They dress up. They party. They make out. And no matter what they try to change, they always die . . . until now. Something is about to break the cycle that has kept J.T., Ryder, Brandy, and their group of friends locked in a bizarre purgatory beyond all understanding . . . but what they find on the other side will be the most disturbing revelation of all.

"Most of us wouldn't choose to experience our teenage years again, given the chance…but what if you couldn't escape from it?” said Caitlin Yarsky. “This story eloquently explores identity, ostracism, patriarchy, empathy and so much more, all wrapped up in ’90s teen thriller and horror movie nostalgia."

With a unique variant cover on each issue by interior series artist Caitlin Yarsky paying homage to an iconic film from the decade – alongside main covers by Naomi Franq (Tales from Harrow County: Death's Choir) and variants by Keyla Valerio (Stranger Things: The Voyage) and Brandt&Stein (Crowded) — break the cycle with the deadly clever DEAD TEENAGERS #1 this March 2026, only from Oni Press.

For more updates on Oni Press, visit them on Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram.

DEAD TEENAGERS #1 (of 5)
WRITTEN BY JUDE ELLISON S. DOYLE
ART BY CAITLIN YARSKY
COVER A BY NAOMI FRANQ
COVER B BY KEYLA VALERIO
COVER C BY CAITLIN YARSKY
FULL ART VARIANT (1:10) BY NAOMI FRANQ
VARIANT COVER (1:20) BY BRANDT&STEIN

ON SALE MARCH 18 | $4.99 | 32 PGS. | FC
IOC: 1/31/26
FOC: 2/23/26

About Oni Press
THE LOUDEST THING IN COLOR SINCE '97. For nearly 30 years, Oni Press has carved a distinctive path as one of the world's most respected and acclaimed publishers of award-winning comic books and graphic novels, including Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim, Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer, Cullen Bunn & Brian Hurtt's The Sixth Gun, Brenna Thummler’s Sheets trilogy, Jay Stephens' Dwellings, Ezra Clayton Daniels' Upgrade Soul, LySandra Vuong's Covenant, and many hundreds more. In 2019, Oni Press merged with Lion Forge Comics – the Eisner Award-winning independent comic book publisher founded by Academy Award-winning producer and entrepreneur David Steward II – to create one of the largest, independent libraries of comics content anywhere in media. The Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group now exists as a publishing subsidiary of Steward’s diversified global media company, Polarity.

The Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group publishes more than 60 original and licensed graphic novels annually, in addition to an extensive roster of periodical comics for globally recognized properties including Adventure Time, Biker Mice from Mars, Choose Your Own Adventure, Cult of the Lamb, EC Comics, Murder Drones, Rick and Morty, and more.

INTERIOR ART BY CAITLIN YARSKY

COVER A BY NAOMI FRANQ

COVER B BY KEYLA VALERIO

COVER C (HOMAGE VARIANT) BY CAITLIN YARSKY

FULL ART VARIANT (1:10) BY NAOMI FRANQ

VARIANT COVER (1:20) BY BRANDT&STEIN