Review: Deadman
Quick Summary
Pros: The writing recaptures the feeling of older comics. The book’s second half is compelling. The artwork is positive throughout the collection.
Cons: The writing is dated in a way that feels weird at times. The book’s first half is pretty chaotic.
Overall: This is a book that will appeal to a specific type of reader. The story is heavily reminiscent of older comics, which means it features fantastic visuals but also contains dated dialogue and writing. For some, particularly fans of Neal Adams, this could make for a fun throwback, for others it may simply be unappealing. In this way, the attractiveness of the comic will be heavily dependent on the reader’s personal taste, more so than most comics.
Story
Deadman, by Neal Adams, is a seriously unique miniseries that has far more limited appeal then most mainstream comic books. The volume features outlandish premises, unusual dialogue, and twists that are strange to see in a modern comic book. It takes these unique qualities and pairs it with an intriguing mystery in order to make a miniseries that may seriously appeal to readers looking for a throwback to comics of the past. The downside to this is that the writing feels very dated, especially if readers are unfamiliar with older comics. Plus, the volume’s opening half is scattered, no matter how you view it. Overall, this comic has some appeal but is definitely not for everyone.
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The opening chapters in Deadman are pretty chaotic to the point where they are, occasionally, hard to follow or believe. The volume opens with Commissioner Gordon inspecting a nuclear plant in Japan for no adequately justified reason. Then, it has Batman show up, claim he killed a man, then explain in the next chapter that he didn’t actually kill the man but that the man was “as good as dead”. The twist and turns are pretty ridiculous in a way that is sometimes hard to enjoy.
However, the chaos in these chapters is similar to the ridiculous plotlines present in comics published when Neal Adams was one of DC’s most prolific creators. At that time, unbelievable premises and now-predictable tropes were par for the course. In this way, Deadman has a classic quality to it that may seriously appeal to readers who already enjoy Neal Adams’ work.
Deadman also improves as it progresses. The book’s second half is still pretty out-there but the larger narrative is clearer and more focused. It begins to build up some serious excitement around the mystery of Deadman’s past and the path toward unraveling this mystery. By the end of the book, I was pretty hooked and was ready to see what happens next.
Unfortunately, Deadman closes on an absolutely critical cliffhanger. This volume barely scrapes the surface on the book’s core mystery and leaves it to be explored in the following volume. This places a lot of pressure on the next collection because its success or failure will determine whether all of the time spent developing this mystery was worthwhile or not.
(spoilers end here)
Art
The artwork in Deadman looks good and perfectly complements the type of story being told. Neal Adams brings back a classic style that feels like it was taken right from the era when Neal Adams was one of DC’s most prominent artists. This allows for imaginative interpretations of classic characters, a wonderful approach to magic, and an energetic depiction of action sequences. The visuals here have some serious appeal all around but will appeal even further to fans who already appreciate this volume’s attempt to capture the spirit of comics of the past.
My only real complaint with the artwork is that the page structures often felt a bit chaotic. This was particularly notable when it came to dialogue and narration, which was often laid out in a way that did not flow well. This did not have a huge impact on the quality of the visuals but did prevent them from standing out as strong as they could have otherwise.
Continuity
Deadman is the first volume in a series of comics written by Neal Adams. It does not continue the story from any specific comic.
The story here continues in Batman vs. Ra’s Al Ghul.