- August 10, 2022
DCeased: War of the Undead Gods #1 Review
Written by: Tom Taylor
Penciling by: Trevor Hairsine
Inking by: Andy Lanning
Coloring by: Rain Beredo
Lettering by: Saida Temofonte
Editing by: Ben Abernathy
DCeased: War of the Undead Gods picks up right where the last DCeased book left off. Some of our lost heroes are back, reunited with their loved ones, and yet, the war goes on. It’s a bit sad that none of the heroes have managed to get a break, and it doesn’t do good things for the pacing.
One of the biggest draws of DCeased is that no one is safe. Any character could die at any moment, and the odds of winning are low. When we go from an insurmountable win, right into another problem, the sense of fear isn’t there. There needs to be some room to breathe between the events of this book. Without it, there’s not much time to build any impending dread. The reveal at the end of the issue falls flat because of it, and doesn’t build up the stakes that DCeased intended to.
This isn’t to say that the book is going to be bad or anything. I’m still invested in the story, the characters, and who can be saved. This issue just wasn’t the most exciting start. I say this a lot about Tom King‘s work, but it can be true of Tom Taylor’s writing as well. Sometimes it’s better to read a whole arc at once. This might be one of them, or maybe it just has a weak first issue.
What also hurts this issue is that the emotional reunions barely get enough time to breathe. We have what should be tear-jerking reunions that are beautifully written and well-drawn, but then we move on immediately. Clark and Pa Kent coming back should have hit me more, and Alfred realizing that his sons could have been saved should have hurt more. Instead, they just stung a bit at the heartstrings.
There were some pacing issues in the previous two DCeased books, but they never led with this. That’s why I feel so negative I think. So enter this first book with caution. It’s not the best reflection of DCeased as a whole, but War of the Undead Gods has a lot of time and several issues to remind us what’s so awesome about DCeased. If you read it, tell me what you think.