When you think of comic books, or graphic novels, images of heroic men in brightly-colored spandex tights rescuing well-endowed damsels may cross your mind. Spider-Man, Superman and the X-Men all fit this mold.

“The Expendable One,” a graphic novel from Viper Comics written by Jason M. Burns with art by Bryan Baugh, strays from this archetype by exploring a reluctant hero with no costume and no super powers.

“I just wanted to write a story about a guy who couldn’t die,” Burns said in a telephone interview.

The main character in Burns’ story, Twigs Dupree, is immortal. After he injects himself with an experimental serum concocted by his friend Jerry, Twigs discovers it’s impossible for him to die.In the online preview for “The Expendable One,” Twigs tries to stop a disgruntled oil worker from killing his former associates. In the midst of their exchange, Twigs is shot in the head. Rather than kicking the bucket like a normal person, Twigs get gets up, bloody, head-wound fully intact, and tries to reason with the man who shot him.

“It really is so graphic,” Burns said. “There’s one scene where Twigs and Jerry try to test out his powers and do whatever they can to see how far they can push it.”

Burns took journalism classes at North Attleborough High School in Massachusetts. After high school, he covered music for the local newspaper, The Sun Chronicle, and eventually earned a column. He was also the editor-in-chief for Severe magazine, an entertainment publication he recently left to become an assistant publisher at Viper Comics.

Burns got his start writing for comics at Viper when an opening came up to write a short story for “Dead@17: Rough Cut, Volume 1,” a collection of stories based in the world of Josh Howard’s hit series “Dead@17.”

“I kind of just fell into it, trying to seek out a film-writing career,” Burns said.

Burns, who still resides in Massachusetts, began writing “The Expendable One” in June of 2005. After completing the story, he contacted Los Angeles-based artist Bryan Baugh to provide the art for the graphic novel.

“I thought it was hilarious and a great opportunity to draw lots of crazy blood and gore,” Baugh wrote in an e-mail.

Baugh said the story Burns wrote played to his strengths and gave him an excuse to do what he enjoys.

“Bryan really pushed it to the limit in terms of putting the graphic back in graphic novel,” Burns said.

Baugh, 33, said from early in his childhood he wanted to watch monster movies and draw monsters, but was discouraged when he tried to break into the comic book business in the early ’90s because “horror was just dead in the water.”

His first jobs after moving to L.A. from Dayton, Ohio, where he is originally from, included a children’s book illustrator and some work in television animation.

Besides collaborating with Burns, he is working at Disney Animation storyboarding for a Winnie the Pooh TV series.

“One thing I’ve learned about life ?” sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad, but it’s always weird,” Baugh said.

Both Baugh and Burns share an admiration for horror movies and comics. Baugh admits he has been “living, eating and breathing horror comics my whole life.” Burns’ sister, Cari Wells, said Burns owns memorabilia from the Freddy Krueger film series.

Burns is also a huge fan of Halloween and throws an annual party in which he dresses up as a character from the ’80s. His default picture on his MySpace profile is often of him dressed up as Hulk Hogan.

“We always made our own (Halloween costumes) growing up,” Wells said. “He’s very creative.”

Besides “The Expendable One,” Burns has his hands in various other writing projects in film and television. He has partnered with former “Double Dare” host Marc Summers to develop TV shows for the Food Network and is also working on a comedy film script, in addition to working on a couple of new stories for comic books.

Said Wells: “It’s what he’s always wanted, he just loves to write.”

Baugh said he enjoys working with Burns because he has no ego about his work and is open to changes, such as where a character gets stabbed and with what, as long as “he agrees with you that it’s the better idea.”

“He just laughs and says ‘Go for it!” Baugh said.

Frank Miller can be reached at [email protected]