{"id":26809,"date":"2022-10-26T17:00:23","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T17:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=26809"},"modified":"2022-10-26T16:18:14","modified_gmt":"2022-10-26T16:18:14","slug":"deadman-book-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2022\/10\/26\/deadman-book-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Deadman: Book One"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" \"\"
\nBy Arnold Drake<\/strong>, Jack Miller<\/strong>, Carmine Infantino<\/strong>, Neal Adams<\/strong>, George Roussos<\/strong> & various (DC Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-4012-3116-3 (TPB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

As the 1960s ended, a massive superhero boom became a slow but certain bust, with formerly major successes no longer able to find enough readers to keep them alive. The taste for superheroes was diminishing in favour of more traditional genres, and one rational editorial response was to reshape costumed characters to fit evolving contemporary tastes.<\/p>\n

Publishers swiftly changed gears and even staid, cautious DC reacted rapidly: making masked adventurers designed to fit the new landscape. Newly revised and revived costumed features included roving mystic troubleshooter The Phantom Stranger<\/strong> and golden age colossus The Spectre<\/strong>, whilst resurgent traditional genres spawned atrocity-faced WWII spy Unknown Soldier<\/strong> and cowboy bounty hunter Jonah Hex<\/strong>, spectral western avenger El Diablo<\/strong> and game-changing monster hero Swamp Thing<\/strong>, spearheading a torrent of new formats, anthologies and concepts.<\/p>\n

Moreover, supernatural themes and horror-tinged plots were shoehorned into those superhero titles that weathered the trend-storm. Arguably, the moment of surrender and change had arrived with the creation of Boston Brand<\/em> in the autumn of 1967, when venerable science fiction anthology Strange Adventures<\/strong> was abruptly retooled as the haunted home of an angry ghost\u2026<\/p>\n

Without fanfare or warning, Deadman<\/strong> debuted in #205 with this first collection (of five) re-presenting that origin event and thereafter, pertinent contents from #206-213: cumulatively spanning cover-dates October\/November 1967 to July\/August 1968. The drama is preceded by Introduction \u2018How Deadman Came to Life\u2019<\/em> by originator Arnold Drake and the Foreword – \u2018A Most Unusual Character\u2019<\/em> by Carmine Infantino – each reminiscing, recapitulating and confirming just how daring and unprecedented the new kind of hero was\u2026<\/p>\n

Then it\u2019s straight into eerie action with \u2018Who Has Been Lying in My Grave?\u2019<\/em> – by Arnold Drake, Carmine Infantino & George Roussos – as we attend the funeral of high wire acrobat Boston Brand<\/em>: a rough, tough, jaded performer who had seen everything and masked a decent human heart behind an obnoxious exterior and cynical demeanour.<\/p>\n

As \u201cDeadman\u201d, Brand was the star attraction of Hills Circus and lover of its reluctant owner Lorna Carling<\/em>, as well as a secret guardian for the misfits it employed and sheltered. That makeshift \u201cfamily\u201d includes simple-minded strongman Tiny<\/em> and Asian mystic Vashnu<\/em>, but also had a few bad eggs too\u2026 people like alcoholic animal trainer Heldrich<\/em> and chiselling carnival Barker Leary<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The aerialist kept them in line\u2026 with his fists, whenever necessary\u2026<\/p>\n

One fateful night, Brand almost missed his cue because of Leary and Heldrich\u2019 antics and also because he had to stop local cop Ramsey<\/em> harassing Vashnu. It would have better if he had been late, because as soon as he started his act – 40 feet up and without a net – someone put a rifle slug into his heart\u2026<\/p>\n

Despite being dead before he hit the ground, Brand was scared and furious. Nobody could see or hear him screaming, and Vashnu kept babbling on that he was the chosen of Rama Kushna<\/em> – \u201cthe spirit of the universe\u201d. The hokum all came horribly true as the entity astonishingly made contact, telling Brand that he would walk among men until he found his killer\u2026<\/p>\n

The sentence came with some advantages: he was invisible, untouchable, immune to the laws of physics and able to take possession of the living and drive them like a car. His only clue was that witnesses in the audience claimed that a man with a hook had shot him\u2026<\/p>\n

Outraged, still disbelieving and seemingly stuck forever in the ghastly make-up and outfit of his performing persona, Deadman\u2019s first posthumous act is to possess Tiny and check out the key suspects. Soon the dormant Hercules finds that the cop and Heydrich are involved in a criminal conspiracy, but they definitely are not Brand\u2019s murderers\u2026<\/p>\n

Eventually, the ghost learns a shocking fact: his desperation is not worth the life of anyone else and he must not let his anger put his \u201cvessels\u201d in harm\u2019s way\u2026<\/p>\n

Second episode \u2018An Eye for An Eye!\u2019<\/em> was scripted by Drake, and was Adams\u2019 illustrative debut. Originally inked by Roussos, here it is rather unfairly reinked by Adams and further enhanced by modern colouring techniques. I understand how the artist should have autonomy and agency in his own work, but for the sake of chronology and authenticity, I take quite a bit of umbrage on behalf of old \u201cInky\u201d, whose efforts seem unfairly judged and slighted by these revisions\u2026<\/p>\n

That being said, the tale is a strong one and indicates a sea change in narrative style as Deadman expedites his hunt for justice. The stories henceforth focus on those who are temporarily occupied by Brand: a string of episodic encounters that mirrored the protagonist of contemporary hit TV series The Fugitive<\/strong> (and by extension, Victor Hugo\u2019s Les Mis\u00e9rables<\/strong>), with an unfairly accused victim searching for personal justice all across America, to the benefit of many people in crisis.<\/p>\n

Here, that\u2019s young Jeff\u00a0 Carling<\/em>, who\u2019s fallen in with a dangerous biker gang and is set up to pay for their crimes. He\u2019s also Lorna\u2019s brother, which is how Deadman gets involved in the mess, after learning the cash-strapped kid had taken out a life insurance policy on the circus star just before the Hook struck\u2026<\/p>\n

Having saved the kid from a perfect frame, Brand resumes his search and, as Jack Miller took over scripting in #207, is forced to ask \u2018What Makes a Corpse Cry?<\/em> The hunt leads him to revisit the night he saved bar girl Liz Martin<\/em> from a drunken assault by her boss Rocky Manzel<\/em>, but when the spook checks in, he finds Liz and boyfriend Paul<\/em> being terrorised by Rocky, who coldly implies he caused the death of her last protector\u2026<\/p>\n

Even after using his ghost gifts to disqualify Manzel, Deadman is compelled to help the young lovers, and exposes the club owner\u2019s criminal secret, but once again almost causes the death of his human ride\u2026<\/p>\n

Miller & Adams were providing a very different reading experience with innovative, staggeringly powerful art, but struggled with deadlines, and \u2018How Many Ways Can a Guy Die?\u2019<\/em> was delivered in 4 parts across Strange Adventures<\/strong> #208 and 209. The revelatory tale introduces Brand\u2019s trapeze artist rival Eagle<\/em>, who had tried to kill him years before, and now seeks to replace him in the circus and Lorna\u2019s bed – whether she wants him or not\u2026<\/p>\n

When Deadman again borrows Tiny to dissuade the brute, Eagle threatens the gentle strongman with the same thing Brand got and the ghost is convinced his quest is almost over. However, the truth is far crueller, and when Deadman uncovers his rival\u2019s actual scheme, the cost to Tiny and alternate vessel Pete<\/em> is far too high\u2026<\/p>\n

The hunt stalled again, Brand finally thinks to check the official police investigation in #210\u2019s \u2018Hide and Seek\u2019<\/em> (cover-dated March 1968). To his disgust, he finds the case is cold, with assigned detective Michael Riley<\/em> dishonourably discharged from the force due to the testimony of a man with a hook\u2026<\/p>\n

Sensing a breakthrough, Deadman possesses Riley and, visiting the other \u201cwitness\u201d to the former cop\u2019s reported use of excessive force, uncovers a devious plot. Sadly, despite clearing Riley\u2019s name, Brand misses The Hook who coldly disposes of the only man who could describe him before fleeing to Mexico\u2026<\/p>\n

Hot on the trail, Deadman arrives in El Campo in #211, and endures a shocking surprise in \u2018How Close to Me My Killer?\u2019<\/em> as Miller\u2019s last story introduces wayward twin brother Cleveland Brand<\/em>. Flashbacks show the sibling had plenty of motive to murder his showbiz brother, but as the tale unfolds, Boston learns he has an unsuspected niece and his people-trafficking but repentant brother needs some haunted help to save smuggled \u201cwetback\u201d labourers from a Texan businessman looking to whitewash his criminal endeavours\u2026<\/p>\n

Adams took over scripting with #212 and \u2018The Fatal Call of Vengeance\u2019<\/em> sees another change of direction, adding more conventional fantasy elements to the mix as Cleveland and his daughter Lita head north to Hills Circus.<\/p>\n

Wearing his brother\u2019s costume, Cleve revives the Deadman act and, in Mexico, a man with a hook sees a headline and rushes back to the USA.<\/p>\n

Faster than any jet, Boston is already there and watches helplessly as his brother makes himself a target of the unknown killer. The phantom is also completely spooked by new lion tamer Kleigman<\/em> who is rude and unfriendly and is missing his right hand\u2026<\/p>\n

With everyone at odds, both Boston\u2019s returned killer and the circus family set traps with disastrous results, but in the end the Hook escapes again and it\u2019s Tiny who\u2019s left bleeding out from a gunshot\u2026<\/p>\n

This first collection concludes with a dip into the madly metaphysical as \u2018The Call from Beyond!\u2019 <\/em>tests Deadman\u2019s abilities to the limit as he enters Tiny\u2019s consciousness to promote his recovery and break a assumed-fatal coma. Following that miracle, the restless revenant repays his debt by saving the reputation and life of Tiny\u2019s surgeon Dr. Shasti<\/em> after the medical savant is duped by murderous con artist\/medium Madam Pegeen<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n

With groundbreaking covers by Infantino, Sekowsky, Roussos & Adams and \u2018Biographies\u2019 <\/em>of the creators involved, this spectral delight perfectly captures the tone of an era in transition through a delirious run of comics masterpieces no ardent art lover or fanatical fear aficionado can do without.
\n\u00a9 1967, 1968, 2011 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Arnold Drake, Jack Miller, Carmine Infantino, Neal Adams, George Roussos & various (DC Comics) ISBN: 978-1-4012-3116-3 (TPB\/Digital edition) As the 1960s ended, a massive superhero boom became a slow but certain bust, with formerly major successes no longer able to find enough readers to keep them alive. The taste for superheroes was diminishing in … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Deadman: Book One”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[76,235,66,272],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dc-superhero","category-deadman","category-horror-stories","category-neal-adams"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-6Yp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26809"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26812,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26809\/revisions\/26812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}