Deadman #1
Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Deadman Walking
For Brandon Cayce, dying in a plane crash was the highlight of his day…
Writer: Bruce Jones
Art: John Watkiss
Colors: Jeromy Cox
Letters: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Jonathan Vankin
Cover Art: John Watkiss
Publisher: DC Comics/Vertigo
I’m probably being a little generous giving this issue a rating of “fair,” but I’m doing it for two reasons. First, given the really low quality of Bruce Jones’s DC work to date, even this so-so effort is a step up. Second, there’s a germ of a really good comic in here, and I’m hoping he can shake off some of the metaphysical mess and find it.
The new Deadman, the Vertigo version, is about two brothers and death - and that’s where the similarities to the classic DC Universe character end. As this new version begins Brandon Cayce’s plane is plummeting towards the Earth, and as he tries to save it his brother - Scott - does his best to keep Brandon focused as his life flashes before his eyes. At least, that’s how I ultimately interpreted the story after I had a little time to think about it. The truth is, it’s kind of scattershot. It’s unclear in a lot of places exactly what’s happening, where Scott came from… even, at the beginning, whether anything we’re seeing is real or just a hallucination. Somewhere in there we get a strange theory about death as it relates to alternate dimensions, plus a love interest who can’t make up her mind. It’s a bit too much too soon, but there’s something there. If Jones can brush away the dirt to reveal the story underneath, he may eventually have a solid comic on his hands. The question is, will the audience stay with him that long?
John Watkiss’s return to Vertigo is a good bit stronger than Jones’ debut. His work on the weak (but still pretty to look at) Trigger series showed he had a good flair for dark sci-fi, and this issue seems to show a talent for an idea with more of a horror bent as well. He doesn’t get a chance to really have fun with the horrific elements this issue, but you definitely get the idea that he’s going to get to cut loose with it before the opening story arc is over.
I’m going to reluctantly give this series a bit of a chance. There’s something there, you can feel it from the beginning, but Jones hasn’t built up enough goodwill to wait too long before he launches into the real story.
Rating: 6/10
Title: Deadman Walking
For Brandon Cayce, dying in a plane crash was the highlight of his day…
Writer: Bruce Jones
Art: John Watkiss
Colors: Jeromy Cox
Letters: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Jonathan Vankin
Cover Art: John Watkiss
Publisher: DC Comics/Vertigo
I’m probably being a little generous giving this issue a rating of “fair,” but I’m doing it for two reasons. First, given the really low quality of Bruce Jones’s DC work to date, even this so-so effort is a step up. Second, there’s a germ of a really good comic in here, and I’m hoping he can shake off some of the metaphysical mess and find it.
The new Deadman, the Vertigo version, is about two brothers and death - and that’s where the similarities to the classic DC Universe character end. As this new version begins Brandon Cayce’s plane is plummeting towards the Earth, and as he tries to save it his brother - Scott - does his best to keep Brandon focused as his life flashes before his eyes. At least, that’s how I ultimately interpreted the story after I had a little time to think about it. The truth is, it’s kind of scattershot. It’s unclear in a lot of places exactly what’s happening, where Scott came from… even, at the beginning, whether anything we’re seeing is real or just a hallucination. Somewhere in there we get a strange theory about death as it relates to alternate dimensions, plus a love interest who can’t make up her mind. It’s a bit too much too soon, but there’s something there. If Jones can brush away the dirt to reveal the story underneath, he may eventually have a solid comic on his hands. The question is, will the audience stay with him that long?
John Watkiss’s return to Vertigo is a good bit stronger than Jones’ debut. His work on the weak (but still pretty to look at) Trigger series showed he had a good flair for dark sci-fi, and this issue seems to show a talent for an idea with more of a horror bent as well. He doesn’t get a chance to really have fun with the horrific elements this issue, but you definitely get the idea that he’s going to get to cut loose with it before the opening story arc is over.
I’m going to reluctantly give this series a bit of a chance. There’s something there, you can feel it from the beginning, but Jones hasn’t built up enough goodwill to wait too long before he launches into the real story.
Rating: 6/10