DCeased #5

By Tom Taylor, Trevor Hairsine, Stefano Gaudiano, and Rain Beredo

Most DC events have the issue of going on for too long, not coming out consistently, or needing to follow various other titles to know what is going on. DCeased has been the one to break that trend and issue #5 continues this consistency by giving us a story that gives us hope for this world’s heroes before possibly shattering it with an ending that may leave this world hopeless. 

Tom Taylor has been doing a fantastic job of bringing us a DC universe that is taking place during a zombie apocalypse. This is not the first time we have seen this is comics but Taylor has been successful at putting a new spin on it. The most fun aspect of this series is to see how the zombie characters are using their powers to either infect others while the living use theirs to either help others and kill zombies or using them to keep them safe. In this issue, Poison Ivy exemplifies this by making Gotham her own personal jungle with a “death wall” as so eloquently put by Harley Quinn, that is capable of keeping anyone inside it safe from the undead. The characters and their reactions are what really sell the story in this issue. This is proven by Damian, who does not get a lot of screen time in this issue, but you can really tell how he is taking his new role of Batman seriously and being diplomatic and careful when negotiating with Poison Ivy to allow her to open up her jungle for other survivors to be let in.

The art by Hairsine, Gaudiano, and Beredo are a great match for the tone of this series. We get plenty of moments to see some brutal and gruesome action but one could argue that the art shines when we see more of the background and establishing shots. Seeing the Gotham Jungle, the remnants of Metropolis crumbling around the survivors protected by a Green Lantern powered Black Canary, or Themyscira being expanded upon to house more refugees are the kinds of shots that make you marvel at the sights and not need an issue that is constantly filled with gore and bloodshed. The close up shots of character’s faces can be hit or miss at times though. Sometimes we get a shot up close of two people having an emotional conversation and one character will look great, we can really see the emotion in their face, while the very person they are talking to will oddly proportioned. These emotions and facial expressions are most apparent in Superman, he really goes through the ringer in this issue and each horrible thing that he endures is easily recognizable based off of his facial expressions. 

For those wanting a dark and grim DC title where you will really wonder if the heroes will make it through, DCeased #5 is the title to go to. There is only one issue left in this series and this issue especially changes things for the survivors, such in a way that you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking that all hope is lost. Don’t miss out on this great series.