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Sam Kieth
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Zero Girl Paperback – October 10, 2017

by Sam Kieth (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 22 ratings
See all formats and editions
Sam Kieth's (THE MAXX) signature style perfectly captures the mind of an adolescent girl as she struggles with school, romance, and anxiety-based superpowers.

Zero Girl is the story of Amy Smootster, a 15-year-old high school student whose feelings of alienation and loneliness occasionally manifest in the form of odd abilities. She deals as best she can with the help of her high school guidance counsellor Tim, whom she is secretly in love with.

From Sam Kieth, renowned creator of THE MAXX, whose work has influenced the industry from The Sandman to MTV's Liquid Television.
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Previous page
  1. Part of Series
    Zero Girl
  2. Print length
    124 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    IDW Publishing
  5. Publication date
    October 10, 2017
  6. Dimensions
    6.75 x 0.3 x 10.25 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1631409719
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1631409714
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sam Kieth is an American comic book writer and illustrator, best known as the creator of The Maxx and Zero Girl. Kieth first came to prominence in 1984 as the inker of Matt Wagner's Mage, and a year later as the inker of Fish Police. In 1989, he penciled the first five issues (the "Preludes & Nocturnes" story arc) of Neil Gaiman's celebrated series The Sandman and collaborated with Alan Grant on a Penguin story in Secret Origins Special #1. In 1993 Kieth created the original series The Maxx for fledgling publisher Image Comics. The Maxx ran 35 issues, all of which were plotted and illustrated by Kieth. William Messner-Loebs scripted #1-15 and Alan Moore wrote #21. In 1995, The Maxx was adapted as part of MTV's short-lived animation series MTV's Oddities. After taking a break from comics to pursue other interests, Kieth created the series Zero Girl for DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint in 2001. He followed that with the drama Four Women later that year and Zero Girl: Full Circle in 2003. In 2010, Kieth wrote and illustrated the original hardcover graphic novel Arkham Asylum: Madness, which spent two weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list, reaching number five in the category of "Hardcover Graphic Books."

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ IDW Publishing; Illustrated edition (October 10, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 124 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1631409719
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1631409714
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.75 x 0.3 x 10.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 22 ratings

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Sam Kieth

Sam Kieth

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
22 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Daniel Wright
5.0 out of 5 stars Zero Girl, Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2018
Verified Purchase
Quite brilliant; captivating. Twists and turns that appeal to the alienated part of all of us. Definitely going to read again! Highly recommended!!
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L. D. Robwell
4.0 out of 5 stars Too weird for the mainstream kids, too mainstream for the weird kids
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2012
Sam Kieth has described himself as such in the past and I think Zero Girl is a fantastic example of this. When I think of Mainstream I think of typically shallow but fun reads and when I think of the alt or underground, I think of stuff that is a lot more confrontational.

Zero Girl is a bit in the middle. The graf art in the background even suggests that DC comics wouldn't let him put anything truly edgy or indie in the story. He was working within the rules of mainstream story telling.

That said, I think Zero Girl is a fantastic piece of fiction. A great example of "Mystic Punk" even if it doesn't fit all of the rules and I found the story very engaging.

Amy and Tim are people. They don't make the best choices and they can be a bit shallow but they feel real. They're sexually attracted to each other and (as is true for all people) that leads to them being romantically attached.

She's faced with very typical problems even if this is a supernatural horror. Which isn't common.

Sam Kieth's art is compelling, beautiful and strong. I can look at the pretty pictures all day long.

I also think that anybody who is into comics should study the use of a visual clue like the bloody coaster. This was brilliant and something that would not have worked in a prose story. A great example of what comics can do. Bravo Mr. Kieth!
2 people found this helpful
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Zack Davisson
5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing wrong with Zero Girl
Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2002
"Zero Girl" is a great, quirky series. Sam Keith is a man with insight into the weird, with an emphasis on the private worlds of outcast girls.
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.
15 people found this helpful
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wiredweird
4.0 out of 5 stars Half Lolita, half Carrie
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2006
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
5 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Kieth back at it again.
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2002
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!
8 people found this helpful
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Oecobius
2.0 out of 5 stars Great art, weak weak script
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2011
While the artwork in this comic is excellent, the writing is nothing short of frustrating. The story's circle-vs-square mysticism is entertaining, but the two central characters sorely lack engaging qualities. Most of the comic barrages us with Amy's angst and whining about how mean old society won't accept her and Tim's relationship. The problem here is that said relationship has no firm basis and can be summed up thus: narcissistic Amy wants to have sex with Tim (she is not interested in Tim as a person, only as a sex partner), and Tim, a totally bland character whose sole trait is being wishy-washy, is mildly interested in Amy's strange situation while also being turned on by her being a slut. There is nothing to make us care about the supposed protagonists (Amy is introduced as being bullied, but this is a cheap ploy to engage some emotion).
Since the events remain unexplained by the end, the characters are the only ones holding the story together, and so the story itself falls flat. The most interesting character is the antagonist, who explores the ongoing mysticism and actually does something dynamic for the plot (instead of bumbling around and whining). She becomes intent on killing Amy; we are given no firm evidence that this would be a bad thing, but Kieth makes Amy emerge a victorious "good guy" for reasons unknown.
The dialogue ranges from inane to absurdly-stilted & forced. There is an absence of sincerity or relatability. I could see the story appealing to angst-ridden 13-year-olds, but for anyone above that maturity range, the artwork is the sole rewarding aspect of the book. It's a shame such a talented artist was so incapable of creating characters of depth.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Mike Robinson
5.0 out of 5 stars Fice Star Zero Girl!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 10, 2004
Verified Purchase
Sam Keith is one of the most criminally under-rated American comicbook writer/artists alive. This is a man who helped to created the look of Neil Gaiman's Sandman and who created The Maxx - one of the most surreal comics (and cartoons) ever.
Zero Girl is in the mould of The Maxx in that we are dealing with an apparently normal situation and group of people (a high school girl and her feelings for her school counsellor) who suddenly have extra-normal events happening both to them and around them. In this case a "war" between Circles and Squares! This book then deals with the repercussions of these surreal events on the life of the girl and the effect it has on her, both in the short term and longer.
The art is lush, slightly chaotic and indisputably Keith's. This is a highly superior book dealing with both complicated personal relations and bigger moral questions in a deceptively breezy style. An excellent book for weaning yourself off of superheroes or for giving to someone else to introduce them to the Graphic Novel art form.
6 people found this helpful
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