Let's set the record straight: Josh Howard, creator of Viper Comics' Dead@17, is not the same person as Mavericks swingman Josh Howard.

Dan Koller

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Fanboy

"I have gotten a handful of e-mails from people that said they had no idea I was an artist as well as a basketball player," the Arlington writer/artist said. "I usually just play along."

Howard is once again playing in Darlington Hills, the site of his Dead@17 trilogy, which began in 2003. The first issue ($3.25) of a new ongoing series is in stores today.

"I always had a set story I wanted to tell, beginning, middle and end," said Howard, 29. "But then I came up with this other story I wanted to tell and keep the world going."

That "other story" stars a new character, Asia Black, and opens on the eve of her 18th birthday. Given the title, you can deduce she doesn't make it. But Howard warns his longtime fans not to expect as many decapitated zombies this time around. This is a kinder, gentler story of dead teenagers.

JOSH HOWARD/Viper Comics

Asia Black is the new butt-kicking star of the latest Dead@17 .

It'll be interesting to see how such dedicated fans respond. Howard estimates at least 20 of them have shown him tattoos of characters from the original trilogy.

"I had one fan bring me a bottle of wine with the Dead@17 logo etched on it that said, 'Thanks for a great series,' " he said. "I thought that was pretty crazy."

Another Arlington resident, David Hopkins, has a new book in stores today ($2.95, Silent Devil). It’s an adaptation of Antigone, the play by Sophocles. High-minded material, yes, but what would you expect from a writer who teaches English at Martin High School?

Hopkins’ previous work, Emily Edison, was about a girl whose divorced parents are from different dimensions. Now he’s dealing with the mother, so to speak, of all dysfunctional families. Antigone is the daughter and sister of Oedipus, who slew his father and married his mother (Antigone’s mother and grandmother. Eeewww!).

Artist Tom Kurzanski dresses up the ancient tale with modern touches, including guns, televisions and a narrator wearing a sign that reads says "Will prophesy for food."

Speaking of Oedipal issues,Batman and Wolverine: Origins are both in the middle of arcs in which the title characters find out they have sons with hostility toward their absentee fathers. That got me thinking about which character would make the best daddy.

SMOKES?

Batman: An occasional cigarette, when he's undercover

Wolverine: Cigars, constantly

Advantage: Batman – You can't abuse a kid's lungs.

DRINKS?

Batman: Not even at parties; his champagne is actually ginger ale.

Wolverine: Beer, constantly

Advantage: Batman – Changing diapers while drunk is never a good idea.

PLAY AREA

Batman: Batcave

Wolverine: Danger Room

Advantage: Wolverine – The Batcave is just a cave. The Danger Room can simulate Chuck E. Cheese or Disney World.

BABY SITTERS

Batman: Alfred, and Robin when he's not on patrol

Wolverine: All those mutants living at the Xavier Institute

Advantage: Batman – You gotta go with quality over quantity.

So there you have it. Batman would clearly make the better father. But decide for yourself. The seventh issue of Wolverine: Origins is in stores today ($2.99, Marvel). The four-part "Batman and Son" arc wraps up in Batman No. 658, due Nov. 8 ($2.99, DC).

Marvel announced yesterday that Oscar nominee Terrence Howard (left, Crash) will play James Rhodes in Iron Man. Rhodes is an assistant to Iron Man's secret identity, Tony Stark. In the comics, he becomes Iron Man himself for a time and eventually fights crime as War Machine.

Meanwhile, Beau Garrett (Entourage) has been cast as Frankie Raye, the Human Torch's girlfriend, in the next year's Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer. The comic version of Frankie eventually becomes Nova, a herald of the planet-eating Galactus, just like the Surfer. See, that's the kind of insight you just can't get from The Hollywood Reporter.

The Fanboy column turned 1 year old yesterday. E-mail congratulations to dkoller@quickdfw.com.