The Deadman #2 – W. Maxwell Prince, Writer; Martin Morazzo, Artist; Chris O’Halloran, Colorist
Ray – 10/10
Ray: The first issue of this new in-continuity surrealist series was one of the biggest surprises to come out of the DCU in some time – and the second proves it was absolutely no fluke. Straight from the mad minds of the creative team behind Ice Cream Man, this series draws from classic Vertigo to tell a story set firmly in the current era but pulling from the most bizarre supernatural tales in DCU history. This issue seamlessly takes us to Gotham, as Deadman is given a new mission from Rama Kushna that ties in to some bizarre goings-on in Batman’s city. Surprisingly, it’s not Batman who plays the biggest role this issue – it’s Plastic Man, who has been investigating a bizarre case involving a gang that dresses up like mummies in the city. His investigation requires him to pretend to be a lamp for several weeks. Just another day in the strange life of Eel O’Brien.
This is one of the densest comics DC has put out in a while, incredibly packed with lore and taking much longer to read than the average comic. It also has some surprising influences from, of all places, Batman ‘66, as we’re introduced to the Bibliophile – one of those hapless, harmless villains who mostly serve to have an obsession with one gimmick. In this case, he’s such an avid reader that he broke into the Gotham Museum to read their most secret books and was locked up for it. He’s the only one who knows the lore that Deadman needs – but Deadman will have to get past the apparent return of one of Batman’s deadliest villains to do so. There are so many things in this issue that make it stand out, but my favorite has to be a segment that takes place inside Batman’s head as Deadman tries to possess him – and discovers that Batman even has fail-safes against that built in. Prep time! Brilliant stuff, once again.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
