Deadman (Vertigo)

Last updated
Deadman
Deadman 1.png
Deadman #1 (October 2006), art by John Watkiss.
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
ScheduleMonthly
Format Ongoing series
Publication dateOctober 2006 – November 2007
No. of issues13
Creative team
Written by Bruce Jones
Artist(s) John Watkiss & Ronald Wimberly
Letterer(s) Jared K. Fletcher
Colorist(s) Jeromy Cox
Collected editions
Deadman Walking ISBN   1-4012-1236-0

Deadman is a supernatural comic book series written by Bruce Jones and published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics. The series was very loosely based on the DC superhero character Deadman, although the similarities between the properties are few. The series lasted for 13 issues. [1]

Contents

Plot

Airline pilot Brandon Cayce is killed when a plane he is on crashes. However, Cayce utterly refuses to pass on into death, and resurrects to a sort of half-life, but finds himself experiencing visions of what seem to be other realities and timelines. He meets with Sarah, his former lover and also the pregnant widow of his brother Scott, and tells her that they are being pursued by men who wish to gain possession of her unborn child. Brandon discovers that his brother had been possessed by an entity named "Devlin" while the child was being conceived, and Devlin has abducted the fetus and implanted it in the body of another woman, named Eve. Devlin's agents imprison Eve while waiting for her newfound pregnancy to come to term. Eventually, Eve gives birth to a being Devlin claims is the next step in human evolution, which will be the first human with a complete awareness of other dimensions. After giving birth, Eve is killed by her husband, although Sarah shows up and absconds with what had formerly been her baby. Attempting to reacquire the child, Devlin proposes a bargain to Brandon: take the life of the baby, in exchange for the continued lives of Brandon and Sarah. If Brandon refuses this deal, he will die. Nobly, Brandon chooses death to allow Sarah and the child to live free. [1]

Collected editions

Only the first five issues have been released in trade paperback, under the title Deadman: Deadman Walking ( ISBN   1-40121-236-0).

Notes

  1. 1 2 Irvine, Alex (2008), "Deadman", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.), The Vertigo Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, p. 53, ISBN   978-0-7566-4122-1, OCLC   213309015

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death (DC Comics)</span> DC Comics character

Death of the Endless is a fictional anthropomorphic personification who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. She first appeared in The Sandman vol. 2, #8, and was created by Neil Gaiman and Mike Dringenberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spectre (DC Comics character)</span> Comic book character

The Spectre is the name given to several fictional antiheroes who have appeared in numerous comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in More Fun Comics #52. He was created by Jerry Siegel and Bernard Baily, although several sources attribute creator credit solely to Siegel, limiting Baily to being merely the artist assigned to the feature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Constantine</span> Comic book superhero

John Constantine is a fictional character who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Constantine first appeared in Swamp Thing #37, and was created by Alan Moore, Stephen R. Bissette, Rick Veitch, and John Totleben.

<i>Hellblazer</i> 1988–2020 comic book series

John Constantine, Hellblazer is an American contemporary horror comic-book series published by DC Comics since January 1988, and subsequently by its Vertigo imprint since March 1993, when the imprint was introduced. Its central character is the streetwise English exorcist and con man John Constantine, who was created by Alan Moore and Stephen R. Bissette, and first appeared as a supporting character in Swamp Thing #37, during that creative team's run on that title. Hellblazer had been published continuously since January 1988, and was Vertigo's longest-running title, the only remaining publication from the imprint's launch. In 2013, the series concluded with issue 300, and was replaced by Constantine, which returned the character to the mainstream DC Universe. The original series was revived in November 2019 for twelve issues as part of The Sandman Universe line of comics, under the DC Black Label brand. Well known for its extremely pessimistic tone and social/political commentary, the series has spawned a film adaptation, television show, novels, and multiple spin-offs and crossovers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucifer (DC Comics)</span> Comic book character

Lucifer Samael Morningstar is a character who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is an adaptation of Lucifer—the Biblical fallen angel and devil of Christianity—and is one of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe. Though various versions of the Devil have been presented by DC Comics, this interpretation by Neil Gaiman debuted in The Sandman #4 in 1989. Lucifer appears primarily as a supporting character in The Sandman and as the protagonist of the spin-off Lucifer.

<i>The Books of Magic</i> English-language comic book mini-series

The Books of Magic is the title of a four-issue English-language comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, published by DC Comics, and later an ongoing series under the imprint Vertigo. Since its original publication, the mini-series has also been published in a single-volume collection under the Vertigo imprint with an introduction by author Roger Zelazny. It tells the story of a young boy who has the potential to become the world's greatest magician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cain and Abel (comics)</span> DC Comics characters

Cain and Abel are a pair of fictional characters in the DC Comics universe based on the biblical Cain and Abel. They are key figures in DC's "Mystery" line of the late 1960s and 1970s, which became the mature-readers imprint, Vertigo, in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deadman (character)</span> Comic book superhero

Deadman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Strange Adventures #205, and was created by Arnold Drake and Carmine Infantino.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Milligan</span> British writer (born 1961)

Peter Milligan is a British comic book writer who has written extensively for both British and American comic book industries. In the UK, Milligan has contributed to numerous anthology titles including 2000 AD, Revolver, Eagle and A1, and helped launch the influential magazine Deadline. In the US, he is best known for his frequent contributions to DC Comics' Vertigo imprint, which include the revamped DC properties Shade, the Changing Man and Human Target, a four-year run on the imprint's premier title Hellblazer, and original series Enigma, The Extremist, Egypt and Greek Street, as well as the Marvel series X-Statix, co-created by Milligan and artist Mike Allred.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neron (character)</span> Fictional demon, a comic book character published by DC Comics

Neron is a supervillain appearing in various American comic book stories published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Underworld Unleashed #1 and was created by Mark Waid and Howard Porter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madame Xanadu</span> Fictional character in DC Comics

Madame Xanadu is a comic book mystic published by DC Comics. The character is identified with Nimue, the sorceress from Arthurian mythology made popular by Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kobra (DC Comics)</span> Two fictional supervillains published by DC Comics

Kobra is the name used by two supervillains published by DC Comics. The Jeffrey Burr incarnation of Kobra and his brother Jason first appeared in Kobra #1, and were created by Jack Kirby. Jason Burr debuted as Kobra in Faces of Evil: Kobra #1 by Ivan Brandon and Julian Lopez.

<i>The Books of Faerie</i>

The Books of Faerie was a series of three mini-series spun off from Vertigo Comics' series The Books of Magic written by Bronwyn Carlton and John Ney Rieber. It featured characters used predominantly in the parent series – Titania, Auberon and Molly O'Reilly – to tell stories set in the realm of Faerie prior to the start of The Books of Magic, and later in the present era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faerie (DC Comics)</span>

Faerie, The Fair Lands or The Twilight Realm is one of two fictional otherdimensional homelands for the Faerie, as published by DC Comics. The Vertigo Comics realm of Faerie is an amalgam of the mythological realms of Álfheimr, Otherworld, the Fortunate Isles, Tír na nÓg and Avalon. This mix is heavily influenced by Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. It is home to the faeries and other mythical races, ruled over by the Seelie Court and King Auberon and Queen Titania. Faerie debuted in The Books of Magic #3, and was created by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.

The fictional character the Swamp Thing has appeared in five American comic book series to date, including several specials, and has crossed over into other DC Comics titles. The series found immense popularity upon its 1970s debut and during the mid-late 1980s under Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette, and John Totleben. These eras were met with high critical praise and numerous awards. However, over the years, the Swamp Thing comics have suffered from low sales, which have resulted in numerous series cancellations and revivals.

<i>Sweet Tooth</i> (Vertigo) Comic book series by Jeff Lemire

Sweet Tooth is an American comic book limited series written and drawn by Canadian Jeff Lemire and published by DC Comics' Vertigo imprint. Dubbed by some as "Mad Max meets Bambi", it takes place in a mostly rural post-apocalyptic setting where some creatures are human/animal hybrids. Following the conclusion of the original series in January 2013, a sequel, subtitled The Return, began publication in November 2020, while a television series adaptation was released on Netflix on June 4, 2021.

<i>Dhampire: Stillborn</i> Title of a graphic novel by Nancy A. Collins & Paul Lee

Dhampire: Stillborn, also known simply as Dhampire, is an American graphic novel published in 1996 by Vertigo, an imprint of DC Comics. The series was created by horror writer Nancy A. Collins and was painted by artist Paul Lee.

<i>American Vampire</i> American comic book series

American Vampire is an American comic book series created by writer Scott Snyder and drawn by artist Rafael Albuquerque. It was published by DC Comics under its Vertigo imprint. American Vampire continued under the newly-created DC Black Label imprint after Vertigo was closed in January 2020. The series imagines vampires as a population made up of many different secret species, and charts moments of vampire evolution and inter-species conflict throughout history. The focus of the series is a new American bloodline of vampires, born in the American West in the late 19th century. The first of this new species is a notorious outlaw named Skinner Sweet, who wakes from death, after being infected, to find he has become a new kind of vampire, something stronger and faster than what came before, impervious to sunlight, with a new set of strengths and weaknesses. The series goes on to track his movements through various decades of American history—along with the movements of his first and only known progeny: Pearl Jones, a young woman working as a struggling actress in the 1920s silent film industry when she is attacked by a coven of European vampires hiding in Hollywood. Sweet saves her (uncharacteristically) by giving her his blood, thereby turning her into an American vampire like him, at which point she seeks revenge on the classic vampires who attacked her in life. The complicated and charged relationship Jones has with Sweet is another focus of the series. The first five issues featured two stories—one by Snyder and the other by Stephen King, both drawn by Rafael Albuquerque. With the sixth issue, Scott Snyder took over as sole writer. The original series ran from 2010-2013 and lasted 34 issues. A second series called American Vampire: Second Cycle ran from 2014-2015 and lasted 11 issues and the third and final series called American Vampire: 1976 ran from December 2020-October 2021 and lasted 10 issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justice League Dark</span> Fictional Superhero team appearing in DC Comics

The Justice League Dark, or JLD, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team would make their debut appearance in Justice League Dark #1. The Justice League Dark team features some of the more supernatural characters in the DC Universe, handling mystical threats and situations deamed outside the scope of the traditional Justice League. Similarly to the Justice League title, the team features well-known characters such as John Constantine, Zatanna, Batman, Doctor Fate, and Wonder Woman while also bringing exposure to lesser-known supernatural characters.

References