DC's FRIGHT-FESTWriter: Tom Taylor
Art Team: Trevor Hairsine, Stefano Gaudiano, Rain Beredo, Saida Temofonte
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 5, 2019
The 'zombie' special returns from Tom Taylor and company this month, and after issue one's cliffhanger, this was was something I was really looking forward to popping back up. After all, there are still a lot of heroes to check in on, plus we haven't even broached how to solve this problem, on top of all that you know Tom Taylor is just waiting to break your heart at some point too. So lets jump right in here and discuss what's cooking.
The issue begins with Aquaman checking on a cargo ship, that's not in the best of shape, in the middle of the Atlantic. Obviously, we know all hell has broken loose due to the new and improved Anti-Life Equation set loose, yet it seems Aquaman hasn't received that memo, as he's overwhelmed back into the water by those possessed. It's a good cold open, reminding us all that very few heroes are prepared for what is happening, and while it's not 'awesome' to see our heroes lose, it is interesting seeing how they react to something they wouldn't ordinarily face and have no immediate solution for.
From there we jump back to the Super Family with Damien, who seem like the stories centerpiece, as they try to piece together how to solve the latest planet ending situation, with communication sources extremely limited. They deduce to head off to the Daily Planet, however before they can just run in and put their plan into action, Superman senses the building infested with monsters. If things weren't worse enough, he leaves everyone atop the building with orders to not go in under any circumstance until he returns, investigating a deadly scream not too far off.
The deadly scream he heard belongs to Black Canary, camping with Green Arrow, and Green Lantern for a little downtime from the hero life. Hal heads to bed early to sneak a peek at his phone, which eventually leads to the Canary Cry, and a huge surprise for Superman to discover when he finally arrives on the scene as the heroes decide to link up. I love the way Tom Taylor seemingly connects the two unrelated scenes, featuring Team Superman & Team Arrow, in the story however the interlude with Ivy and Harley felt a little weird. I'm sure it will pay off down the line, and maybe I'm not remembering something from issue one I should be, but to me, the rest of the issue had a better flow to it outside this one scene.
Our issue begins to wind down with the patented 'Tom Taylor always seem to know how to get things stuck in our throat moment'. Superman arrives back at the Daily Planet with Green Arrow and Canary discovering Lois, Damien, and Jon have made contact with Batman. The bummer here is Batman is not in good shape, which you knew from last issues end, only now he's used a frozen suit to show what he's caught. After a few words with Damien, Batman gives the team the blueprint as he sees it for taking down the spreading disease before we get another moment that will leave you a gasp and reaching for tissues.
The art is solid but not spectacular throughout the issue. Some of my main concerns are simply how characters are rendered, they just don't look like I'm used to seeing them. Yes, it's an else worlds tale of sorts, and it's definitely a personal taste style of mine, but the art doesn't necessarily grab my attention like for example the Black Label work does.
Overall, DCeased continues to be a very enjoyable book, with the story being an interesting take on the typical zombie infestation in a Super Hero world. There are even a few creative developments that happen in this issue, very much in the vein of Taylor's Injustice books, that have me very invested going forward, Black Canary's change for example. My only real complaint here is my enthusiasm for the art doesn't match my enthusiasm for the story, yet it still works as a total package, due to the gritty nature of the story at play. Definitely still worth a buy as a whole.
I liked the first issue, I'm just hoping Tom Taylor has enough in the tank to make this a good story for six issues... Reminds me of the Halloween special (which I really liked).
ReplyDelete