Now that most of the traditional superhero comics have been snatched up by various studios, Hollywood execs are turning to more recent funnybook fare from smaller publishers. Scott Pilgrim might be the most prominent example of this, but now you can add Dead@17 to the same list. The series, created by Josh Howard, is being pursued for a film adaptation by rising superproducer Lorenzo di Bonaventura.

In an interview with Comics on Comics, Howard let drop that Mike Dougherty (who co-wrote X-2 and Superman Returns with Dan Harris) is writing the screenplay and High School Musical starlet Vanessa Hudgens is being pursued to star. The story centers around 17 year-old Nara Kilday after she is killed then brought back to life to fight demons. I haven’t read the books so I can’t say whether or not this is re-hash territory or not, but I’m a fan of Dougherty so I’m going to fall on the side of optimism for this one. Any fans of “Dead@17″ out there that can enlighten us on this property?

Tags: Dead@17, Josh Howard, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Mike Dougherty, Vanessa Hudgens