We are now near the halfway point of DCeased: War of the Undead Gods. Tom Taylor, Trevor Hairsine, and Neil Edwards take a pause from all the wild action to help some characters deal with their inner demons. While we might not see too much death and destruction, we get the chance to delve into characters and their feelings, which is a strong suit of Tom Taylor’s writing. I was surprised to see two artists on pencil duties for this issue, as they blend so nicely that you won’t even notice the change. Better buckle up for the emotional ride you’re going to take within DCeased.
Starting with the cover, we have a fantastic homage set of variants by Dan Mora that recreate Jim Lee’s famous 1991 X-Men number 1. That set of variant comics concludes here, and you could have all four issues together, or, if you’re lucky, you could try to see if you can find the 1 in 100 gatefold variant that has the complete piece. The main cover is by Howard Porter and Rain Beredo, and they do an excellent job of keeping us unaware of how powerful Darkseid has become. This cover is ideal as we live in an age of advanced solicitations that could take away some surprises from us, but when the concept arrived in the last issue, it was great, leaving you wanting more of him. This issue will tease him, but we don’t see his total capacity yet.
This issue has three parts: they work well together to engage your emotions, showcase some action, and have you wondering who is working together. The first piece is the opener of the issue given to Alfred. Tom Taylor is one of the best writers of Alfred Pennyworth. Especially since we don’t see him in modern comics since he was taken away in Tom King’s Batman run, but it is always refreshing when he does pop up. Tom Taylor lets loose regarding Alfred’s guilt, using his actions from the original volume of DCeased. Alfred had to put a stop to Undead Batman and the family. When you see those ghosts haunt Alfred, it is a scary visual that is more haunting of the heart instead of playing on your fears.
The second piece of the story gears towards the audience wanting action, letting the artists flex their skills. A familiar planet from the DC Universe appears, and we see their last stand. It’s a beautiful interlude, and Tom Taylor uses narration to show why these characters would retreat instead of fighting. After reading this, it is scary to see other planets or races from the DC Universe pop up because they add to the awaiting terror. The third piece is total drama pitting the allies against each other regarding handling the issue. I like that Tom Taylor reveals things were excited by an older God, but it also has me wondering how much of what was said was meant by the characters. It looks like a seed of conflict that could be problematic in future issues.
The War of the Undead Gods slows down to look at the inner traumas that haunt the survivors. There are pieces here that will tug at your heartstrings, have you worry about the upcoming Undead army, and challenge alliances.
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