DCeased #1 Review

The Z Word

Writer: Tom Taylor

Artists: Trevor Hairsine & Stefano Gaudiano and James Harren

Colorist: Rain Beredo

Letterer: Saida Temofonte

Cover Artists: Greg Capullo and Fco Plascencia

Variant Cover Artists: Francesco Mattina and Yasmine Putri

Editor: Ben Abernathy

Cover Price: $3.99

On Sale Date: May 1, 2019

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Here it is, the much-touted Biggest DC Event of the Summer, not to be eclipsed by that other Biggest DC Event of the Summer, Year of the Villain. How many Biggest Events can we have at once? I have a feeling one of the Big Two will find out eventually. Find out my thoughts on DCeased #1, right here!

Explain It!

Do ya like zombies! If the answer is “no,” then you can stop reading now. This is a story about a zombie outbreak. It’s got a couple of cool twists over the usual Disaster at the Chemical Plant scenario, and of course it’s happening in/to the DC Universe, which should be of interest to some, but it’s just a zombie story. If you’re saying “I’m sick of zombies, The Walking Dead already killed it,” then stop right there and shut your rat trap of a mouth. The latest season debut had great ratings, so I don’t believe you and your “too cool for zombies” routine. And when you hear how it all goes down, you just might want to give this a look.

So Desaad has convinced Darkseid that the Motherbox technology embedded in Cyborg’s suit is the final component he needs for the Anti-Life Equation. Extracting said tech, however, might result in Vic Stone dying, and losing the Equation altogether. Ergo, Darkseid calls upon the Black Racer—Death, in the Fourth World parlance—and uses part of him to blend the necessary machines together to create a corrupted Anti-Life Equation—one that drives its recipient insane, forces them to claw the skin from their faces, and shamble about looking for more victims.

Which is a pretty good summation of Anti-Life, if you ask me. Fearing an outbreak, Desaad quickly sends Cyborg back to Earth via a Boom Tube, but it is too late; with Darkseid rampaging, Apokolips is quickly destroyed! Meanwhile, Cyborg’s arrival on Earth results in an immediate transmittal of the Anti-Life Equation, which then goes viral on social media, infecting tens of thousands. Clark gets wind of this, and rushes home in time to save Lois, Jon, and Damien from succumbing to zombification, but Batman gets back to the Wayne Manor, too late to stop Nightwing and Red Robin from eating his flesh!

Are we still calling him Red Robin, or is it just Tim Drake all the time now? This is clearly an “Elseworlds” story, and could have benefitted from a clearer indication. But it’s also pretty fun so far. If you truly can’t brook another zombie, then don’t bother with this. But if you could stand some more shambling terrors, and like where this story is going, then you might enjoy this eerie-looking creature feature.

Bits and Pieces:

This foray into superhero zombification is interesting, and uses some entrenched DC lore in a satisfying way that makes sense. In comic book terms, that is. It’s not like they’ve created the formula for a real zombie outbreak here…or have they???

8/10