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DCeased #4 Review

Comic Books

DCeased #4 Review

Get ready to be excited to see some of your favorite characters — and then sad to know why they’re here.

Let us continue our journey into the world of DCeased, as more characters from the DC Universe are suffering from being infected or trying to stay away from this horrible version of the Anti-Life Equation.  Tom Taylor is at it again and bringing some major pain to the heroes and villains, but it is you who will feel it worse as characters you love and care about are starting to fall and suffer. So stay safe and let’s go get some SPOILERS.

DCeased #4 Review
DCeased #4 variant cover

We all have those C or D list characters that we like to read about and it’s always nice to see them pop up in a comic…unless it is a Tom Taylor book.  Now, I say that with MAJOR respect, as Tom has a way of reminding you why you care about these characters. Plus, with the situations he puts them through, it reminds you to be happy that this isn’t the main continuity.  So with issue #4, I was super hyped to see Captain Atom back and looking to have some major clout with helping to ward off the infection. 

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DCeased #4 Review
DCeased #4

It seems the government is teaming with Captain Atom to really start investigating what this infection is all about.  With Tom Taylor writing these two characters, he reminds us of how powerful they can be…especially when we lose them to the infection.  Tom has a great way of bringing out a character’s importance and he shows great love and respect when he uses these characters.  A major example of that would be how he handles Black Canary (Dinah Lance) — Injustice gave her some fantastic moments, and here in DCeased he has made her a Green Lantern. 

So he does a great job with Ray Palmer in the small amount of time he gets to use the character…someone being able to sneak inside of you and infect from within, now that is a scary carrier.  Plus imagine the power of Captain Atom being infected with this disease?  Not too hard to imagine here, and Tom really reminds us of the power he has.   Artist Trevor Hairsine does a great rendering of both Atoms using their powers.  I really like Trevor’s Captain Atom as it looks like the post-Crisis version with a hint of the New 52 power flares.

Tom Taylor does manage to slip some hope into this issue, as we can see that Superman won’t have to worry about getting infected as he has been using X-Ray vision and screens shouldn’t be a problem to him along with Lois and company being able to put out a broadcast that is calling others to unite at the Daily Planet.  Yet the hard moments from last issue carry over when Martha Kent has a bittersweet reunion with Lois and Jon. 

DCeased #4 Review
DCeased #4

In that one simple panel, Trevor Hairsine reminds us about the power of family.  This is what the heroes of this world are fighting for, and it is going to be great to see them unite together…hopefully.  Now, if you’re a fan of Wonder Woman, she is finally making her appearance in this story, but it’s very short and she seems to be a little too forward with her attacks, which I hope doesn’t lead to her being headstrong and infected later on.  We also are treated to Flash Barry Allen and Kid-Flash Wally West — they’ve been assigned to hiding by the late Batman in order to keep them away from the infection.  Good call; could you imagine a super speedster zombie?  This series would’ve been done in issue #1. 

I really like how Tom Taylor is getting us to think about how the infection would be horrible in a world of superheroes.  One of the appeals of The Walking Dead was that it was a “no powers” comic; here in this miniseries, we can see why that is a good thing. I mean, the Atom alone would be so scary, just randomly infecting others even when you think you’ve avoided screens. 

Earlier I mentioned hope, which is normally great in other situations, but here I think it makes the falls that much harder.  So we are reunited with Flash family members and the group comes up with a good idea of having them wear contacts that will distort their vision so we think they’ll be safe.  Superman himself believes that the infection can be cured, so he has been handling the infected with kid gloves. That makes me worried for those that Superman has run into on his inspection of the Daily Planet in issue #3. 

We do have some characters return in this issue and they pack quite the punch.  We see Alfred Pennyworth make it to the rally point to reunite with Damian and pass the cowl on, which shows that Tom Taylor has a great respect for Alfred (he also gave Alfred some amazing and endearing moments in Injustice).  Cyborg also is back but he has the sad task of informing us the infected are not alive, which I’m sure will very much clash with Superman, but the scary part of Cyborg’s words is that the living will attracted the infected. 

DCeased #4 Review
DCeased #4

All in all, this is a very strong issue continuing on the hardship of an Anti-Life Equation-infected DC Universe.  There are some great reveals about the infected and how they interact with the living and reuniting of characters and their family.  Trevor Hairsine continues to make the action intense and emotional, especially with the ending to this issue — remember how I talked about Captain Atom’s powers?  Yeah, and the Captain is infected too.  Tom Taylor continues to hit us in the emotions, but the series isn’t over yet. So let us see what comes next, good or bad.

DCeased #4 Review
DCeased #4
Is it good?
The action and drama continues to hit hard, and more DC characters make their DCeased debut, which might not be best for them. Lower tier characters get big moments and some revelations happen as the DCU continues to fight for survival.
More DC universe heroes make their debuts and have great moments
Family reunions and a hero returns
Trevor Hairsine makes the horror and drama really stand out in his art
You're excited to see some other DCU characters make their appearance just to find out they're cannon fodder
9
Great

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