Writer: Tom Taylor
Art Team: Trevor Hairsine, Neil Edwards, Stefano Guadiano
Release Date: October 29, 2019
Cover Price: $4.99
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DCeased takes its final victory lap this month wrapping up just in time for Halloween to scare the pants off readers. The previous issue setup what the heroes plan was working out to be, creating Transport 'Arcs' for any survivors, and then the story wrapped up with a pretty big surprise. So let's discuss how this all concludes and if the extra-sized issue packs that punch I've found a lot of the series thus far has been lacking.
The big question we as readers were left with at the end of the last issue was essential, does Superman come down infected from space to just ruin all hope? Or did he fly into space to suffocate/throw himself into the sun so as to avoid all disaster on the homeworld he adopted? Well, the answer to the question comes quick and fast as Superman is back to ruin everyone's existence. The heroes find this out and quickly develop a couple distractions to keep Supes busy, in order to get the Arcs to safety, and we're off and running. Its a pretty good setup, as we see everyone react to the 'Big Blue Boy Scout' taken off the table for the good side, and then see a second conflict is added in a clever twist on Themyscira. This ups the ante here for the finale a bit, which is exactly what this series needed, it's just a bummer these things came so late when we spent so long on the top of Daily Planet. The same can be said for Poison Ivy's Green Sanctuary which is pushed aside, and seemingly destroyed, as quick as it was introduced.
The issue remains largely this two-front battle throughout most of the page count, so the good setup is used, but grows old quickly when you realize it's all you're dealing with. A large group of heroes continues to bite the dust in pretty heroic fashion, adding that needed element of it being a deserved death, however, I've gotten over the shock value of the 'anybody can go at any time feeling' in this series at this point, its just left a large portion of those moments ringing slightly hallow.
I found the most worthwhile yet frustrating scene of the issue taking place between an infected Wonder Woman fighting Cyborg. As Cyborg uses the lasso against Wonder Woman, she gives some good information to readers, addressing some of the more interesting things about this series since issue one, but it's mostly a tease of what could have been. It's maybe a last-minute swerve to set up a sequel if this was ever more than a series used as a means to shock readers as basic zombie horror.
I understand the last couple of paragraphs make it seem like I really didn't like much about the issue but that's not totally true. I enjoyed its actual conclusion, which I don't want to spoil out right here, but Tom Taylor is always great at finding the exact moments to hit the feels button with his scenes and pacing. The art, which I've been pretty hard on this series, really rebounds this issue for me, especially when they hit the space scenes, it's some of the best I've seen out of this series so far.
However, I also find the series as a whole to just have been very dull for a large portion of its six-issue run-length despite being a zombie adventure. I also can't ignore the fact a tie-in to the series was the best of the lot but was entirely ignored by the main book outright. There were some great ideas in the tie-in issue, which looked like it was set up for Constantine to join the cast of this book, in an attempt to save the day no less, but it was all for naught at the end of the day, and seems like the definition of a shameless cash grab by DC to capitalize on the name of a popular top-selling title releasing.
Bits and Pieces:
Overall, an over-sized DCeased finale hits some of the right notes but lingers on a lot of the same things over and over to fill that extended page count. There are some heart touching character moments again here but a lot of missed opportunity story-wise, Wonder Woman/Cyborg I'm looking at you, that plagued what could have been an otherwise great series. The art rebounds here this issue, with the space scenes being the best of the bunch, and while I enjoyed the ride as a whole, I won't miss it while it's gone. I'd check it out if you're in the mood for a bleak zombie story with a DC Comics twist this holiday season but I'm personally not interested in the inevitable squeals this will spawn.
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