DC Universe Presents #1 Review
Coming straight out of his Brightest Day storyline, Deadman makes his New 52 debut in a five issue story arc in the pages of the character-revolving book DC Universe Presents!
DC Universe Presents #1
The issue begins with an introduction to Deadman: who he is (or more accurately, was), what he does, and what caused it all. His origin is quickly explained, then we take a look at the people Deadman has possessed, who he will possess, and a small part of what seems to be the storyline involving one of Boston Brand’s pre-death carnival buddies and a mysterious “Librarian.” The last page is a twist you don’t see coming, and it’s something that makes you want to hurry up and get #2, which is always a good thing.
Simply put, this is the kind of book you need to read three or four times to fully absorb. While the scripting is excellent, it does tend to confuse you with the time jumps and the fact that those jumps aren’t labeled well. I’ve read this book four times now, and I’d have to say it’s a good book, just not a great one. However, there are some things the book does brilliantly, and I’d love to see more of it.
Paul Jenkins took the concept and purpose of Deadman and really fleshed it out, making it relative to the reader through the use of Deadman’s “Living bricks.” The various people Deadman has effected are great parallel’s for the people we come across every day without even realizing, and they run the gamut of good to bad, whether they’re inconsequential to the world or a big piece in an even bigger puzzle. Jenkins’ use of metaphor’s and philosophical viewpoints turn this average story into a really well-written average story. It doesn’t blow me away, but it does keep me here for the rest of the arc.
Bernard Chang’s penciling on this issue is great, on every panel & page. There are some insanely cool artistic elements used, ESPECIALLY on the title page. I only wish there would have been a bit more innovation in the layouts of the panels and the juxtaposition of some of the pages, but overall the art helps the book read really well and provides some really cool visual background to Deadman and the concept of this story. My only complaint about the art is the fact that Chang inks his pencils, and I wish he hadn’t. I think there’s frankly not enough inks, so there’s a lack of depth and detail that would be there had a better inker been given the task. Overall though, the art is pretty damn good.
A COMIC BOOK BLOG RATING
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Scripting is amazing, some really cool artistic composition is used. | The story is pretty average, and Chang inking his own pencils isn’t the way to go. |
| Rating |
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