One of my earliest comic book memories was seeing the cover for Batman #532, which featured Batman and Deadman fighting mummies. It’s one of those comic book memories that’s seared into my brain, and it’s the first thing I think of whenever I see a new comic featuring Boston Brand, aka The Deadman. As part of DC’s Next Level initiative, I assumed the new W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Marazzo series wasn’t going to feature that kind of supernatural super-heroics. But I was very glad to be proven wrong with the first issue, and even more ecstatic when I opened The Deadman #2 to find that not only was I going to get a Batman team up two issues in, but Plastic Man was going to be tagging along as well.
As the newly-appointed “Custodian of All Souls”, Boston Brand has already been given a doozy of a case: some mystical creatures are feeding on the souls of those bound for heaven, and Deadman is on the case to discover more about them. This leads him to try to locate the Bestiary of Bedlam, a mystical tome that houses information on every monster, spirit, and demon in known history. The only problem? It was destroyed years ago, and the only copy left is in the mind of The Bibliophile, a one and done villain that was apprehended by Batman and Deadman years ago after breaking into the Gotham Museum. The only way in is for Brand to take over Batman’s mind, but when that’s not possible, the next best thing is another hero that’s also teamed up with the Dark Knight: Plastic Man!
One of the things that makes The Deadman stand out from the other Next Level books is how unique it is. While some may balk at a comic starting off with a rundown of the idea of Spiritual Math from the Rama Kushna, it’s touches like this that makes The Deadman such a fun read. We’re only two issues in and there’s a wonderful feeling of not knowing what to expect with every new panel and page, and it’s a fantastic way for W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Marazzo to make a name for themselves at a big two publisher like DC. There’s tons of ideas overflowing from the page, almost too much to keep up with at times, but it really feels like Prince and Marazzo are taking the old “don’t save your ideas” mantra from Grant Morrison and going for it.
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Another aspect of Deadman that I love is how unexpectedly funny it is. Every scene and sequence with Brand as Plastic Man is a riot, and the sudden dialogue changes as Brand tries to play off he’s the long time Justice League member are truly laugh out loud funny. There’s a grim sense of macabre humor throughout too with Brand’s interactions with Bobby, the ghost boy who tags along with Boston at the beginning of the story, asking helpful exposition to explain to new readers all about Plastic Man, Batman, and the importance of the bestiary. There’s one line from Bobby in particular at the end of the one page flashback that nearly made me spit out my drink.
Matin Marazzo’s art in The Deadman is truly something to behold. Like Prince’s script, it’s like nothing else on the stands right now, with fun panel layouts and interesting turns of page that add to the wonderful discovery that makes every turn of Deadman’s adventures so fun. From the Rama Kushna’s opening and closing lessons to the way he melds the current story with the flashback, Marazzo’s Mike Allred by way of R. Crumb styling is such a unique and refreshingly mundane depiction of the supernatural and the super-heroic that it adds to the charm of Deadman. Plus, Marazzo has a great nod to Jorge Jimenez’ already iconic Batman captions that brought a big smile to my face.
At only two issues in, there’s plenty of runway for The Deadman left to tell the story Prince and Marazzo want to, and plenty could go wrong before they wrap up. But at the risk of being too presumptuous, I doubt we’ll see a mainstream comic this unique, weird, and all around great this year. The Deadman #2 is the ideal of what DC’s current All-In line has been about: give a great creative team carte blanche on a character and see what happens. The Deadman is already proving that that line of thinking has been a success, and I cannot wait for the next issue.
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