Bullet Points:  Raging Bullets online DC Comics reviews 
 

Deadman number 1 
 

by 
 

Matthew G. Guy 
 

November 30, 2006 
 

I wanted to try something different and I found in the new Justice League of America so I was reading that title and then I found a new character that I was curious about, it was Deadman.  So I looked on the internet via the Vertigo website and saw that Deadman had a series.  So I picked up the first issue and wanted to broaden my knowledge of the DC Universe including the two main imprints with Wildstorm & Vertigo.   The writer is Bruce Jones, penciller and inker is John Watkiss, colorist is Jeremy Cox, letterer is Jared K. Fletcher, editors are Pornsak Pichetshote and Jonathan Vankin & the cover artists are Jeremy Cox and John Watkiss.  So I read the issue and here are my thoughts into Vertigo title Deadman. 
 

The book starts with quotes from Einstein and Wittgenstein against the backdrop of space.  Then we see a plane blow up along the slide up philosophical questions about life and death.  Brandon is dreaming about being a pilot along with his brother Scott as the plane is about to crash.  Brandon tells Scott the story but is focused on other things.  The two ride their bikes to a little ways further and they stop to have a bite to eat where Brandon calls out Scott about always being in denial about everything and seeing their father working on the lawn who has a bad heart.  Soon the two are fast forwarded into the future thirty years at Ester Brook hospital where we find their father as a ‘vegetable’ and their older counterparts deciding what to do about their dad.   
 

Brandon keeps drifting back to the dream as doomed pilots while Scott tries to snap him out of it.    Brandon begins thinking about Sarah, the love of his life.  He takes a tour of his life with her—from the first they met each other all the way to when Scott was having sex with Sarah.  Scott tells Brandon you can’t focus on the past for too long here and Brandon insults Brandon instead.  They flashback to the plane as it is about to crash into the airport only to change the setting and talk about what it takes to pass the test to fly a 747.  The setting changes back to the dangerous situation of the plane crashing and Brandon dies.  Scott tells him about the caffeine pills and deliberately crashing the plane including Brandon and all the passengers about the plane.     We then move to the move to the hospital where he has to decide to crossover or not.  He stays in his body, he is in a coma and dies two weeks later.  At the morgue, two nurses have a little fun with his body as one nurse leaves for lunch the remaining nurse finds that the Deadman is not really dead and she faints. Brandon is alive but with no pulse. Brandon gets a lab coat and walks out of the hospital but is questioned by a security guard.  He tackles him and takes his uniform and walks out.  Brandon decides to pay Sarah a visit.  When he drops by she is half dressed in a bra and panties.  He tells he is dead but alive and Sarah faints.  Brandon Cayce is truly a Deadman walking as the issue ends. 
 
 

Here Is How The Bullet Fired (For Me) 
 

Art: 9 out of 10 Raging Bullets   
 

Story: 8 out of 10 Raging Bullets (At certain points I was thinking the plane sequences were a dream he was having and that confused me early on) 
 

Cover Art: 9 out of 10 Raging Bullets 
 

Overall Rating:  8.7 out of 10 Raging Bullets 
 

The Bottom Line:  This is a interesting premise a Deadman who lives seeking answers to questions of life and death.  Other than a confusing beginning the story served its main purpose into me wanting to know more about the main character of the story, Brandon Cayce and in that Mr. Jones and Co. succeeded in doing just that. I will be purchasing the first trade that covers the series first five issues when it is released on March 21, 2007.  I would suggest if you are suffering from superhero burnout to try this title for something different and maybe you will enjoy the wild ride that Deadman offers. This is a mature themed title and should not be read by persons under 18.   
 

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