Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

DC Universe Presents: Deadman #4

By Hervé St-Louis
March 20, 2012 - 18:45

It took me a while to finally get to this comic book, like three or four months, but it was a favourite of mine before life got in the way and just like Deadman, I had to figure out the meaning of life. The only difference here is that Deadman got the Devil to go on a merry go ride with him and help him figure it out. I took another shortcut that didn’t involve the Son of the Morning as he is called in the comic book. And what a comic book it is. Will Rama, the spiritual sponsor of Deadman find the new question about the meaning of existence from Deadman, or will the Devil beat her to it?

It was an enjoyable comic book. It’s the type of pseudo philosophical yarn that Vertigo was known for in the 1990s. It plays with our Judeo-Christian values and seems as profound as real life. It’s a good yarn because it can almost replace real belief in our world. It’s how myths are born. You put on a page a story about two fictional characters, one that stems from religion and another from a comic book. You have they play one against the other, Deadman versus the Devil and you watch out for sparks and a new reality within the comic book about  possibly could be the meaning of life, for Deadman and for us, mere readers. If enough of us take this to heart, we’ll have our own religion. That’s what Deadman is about. That’s why it’s such a good comic book and why I’d like to think I’m a fool for waiting months to read it, I probably wouldn’t have appreciated it the same way had I read it the same day I bought it, whenever that was.

Chang has been a favourite of mine for over a decade now, and his work here perfectly matches Jenkins’ words. This is a good comic book and nothing looks too creepy, although one feels that Chang to illustrate the concept of time and space and extra dimensions, has to draw Deadman and the Devil while on their ride in different shapes. I swear the Devil was going full meta fiction in this comic book and speaking to readers at times, as if it knew quite well that Deadman was but a comic book character and that his meaning of life ultimately is tied to the comic book he’s in. It seems like a farce and Deadman is the perfect character to play up that role. Go read some Deadman young man. Go read some Deadman you fine gal.

Rating: 10 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12