DCeased - Team Up's Spooky Comic Corner
DCeased (2019) Mini Series
For the second week of October we continue looking at some spooky comics with a really weird mini series from DC called DCeased. Written by Tom Taylor who is known for his work on the amazing Injustice: Gods Among Us and Earth Two - both of which are set in a different continuity than the regular DC cannon - so he is no stranger to writing stories with only limited tethers to the main DC universe. If you have ever read anything by Tom Taylor then you know you’re in a wild ride, and this series in particular is a serious home run.
The series picks up with the justice league standing off against Darkseid. Our heroes believe they have saved the day when Darkseid takes his leave a little too casually for someone who has been beaten so badly. He proclaims “ I will not return. I have no need. For the truth is…I have what I came for” and off into the boom tube he goes. Cut to Apokolips where cyborg is on an operating table with the evil Desaad standing over him. Through some Apokoliptian science and the essence of the Black Racer, AKA the embodiment of death, they attempt to use cyborg to create the anti-life equation, as has always been the plan of the mighty Darkseid. However this goes horribly wrong and it corrupts the equation. Instead of turning people into mindless slaves void of free will, it turns everything into walking death, void of anything save a massive hunger and need to spread the infection.
An incredible “It” inspired variant cover for the horror inspired series.
That’s right, This is a Justice League vs Zombies story, except it goes horribly wrong for the Justice League. We watch as some of our favorite heroes fall quickly, and others manage to find a way to stay safe. Batman takes down most of his family only to find himself infected, leaving Damian to kill his father and become the new Batman. Hal Jordan falls and Dina Lance, AKA Black Canary, becomes the new Green Lantern of Sector 2814.
So much happens in such a small amount of time, it's amazing that Taylor is able to successfully juggle so many characters, though his past work has shown that he really excels when given a full ensemble cast to play with. The art in this story is also out of this world with its brutality. While it doesn’t shy away from the blood and gore, the art also tends to take the “Monster Movie” approach and leave a lot of things up to the readers imagination until the last minute. I highly recommend you add this to your Spooky Reading list for the month, if not for the action presented in the panels then definitely for Green Lantern Black Canary.
That’s all for today, leave your thoughts in the comments and any other comics that you think deserve the spotlight in the coming weeks! See you next week and don’t be afraid to crease the corners on a good panel!