Checking Out Some Zombie Comics--"Dceased: Dead Planet," #3 and, "Marvel Zombies: Resurrection," #1

You like zombies? You like comics? Well, buckle-up and get ready for some fun via zombie-themed comics that both have really long titles. I'm talking about the latest DC mini-series in the, "DCeased," line, "DCeased: Dead Planet," and the first-but-kinda-second issue of, "Marvel Zombies: Ressurection." I liked both for similar reasons--they are clever, a little gruesome, but also quite funny.

"DCeased: Dead Planet," takes place a number of years after the first mini-series, with a grown-up Damian Wayne as Batman and Conner Kent as Superman returning to their original Earth after fleeing to one from another dimension in the hopes of actually curing a zombie plague. Things have gone quite awry, however, and the people left alive on this Earth are both the best and worst of humanity. Trevor Hairsine illustrates the nasty zombies quite well and Tom Taylor injects levity where needed--such as when Damian Wayne and Jim Gordon hug and observe if any villains had realized Bruce Wayne's biggest fear was emotional vulnerability they could've run him out of Gotham with a reassuring pat on the back. There is also a bunker full of DC's richest jerks who've managed to use their money and some questionable tech to stay alive, and it is hinted they will be quite an issue a bit later. It's good stuff.

"Marvel Zombies: Ressurection," is a new take on the, "Marvel Zombies," that were quite popular some years ago, and although this is the first issue, it actually is a follow-up to a one-shot that laid the groundwork for this series some months ago pre-pandemic with the same creative team on that comic as this one--writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and fantastic illustrator Leonard Kirk. I'm not as familiar with Johnson's writing as I am Kirk's artwork, but he gives us a solid yarn, discussing how the zombie virus seems to alter mutants and those with powers in ways a bit stranger than normal folk, and he keeps things light too such as with a sentinel that was reprogrammed to act and talk like British nanny for the Fantastic Four's kids--Franklin and Valeria. As with, "DCeased: Dead Planet," certain threats are foreshadowed and questions are raised (Franklin has mysteriously lost his powers and Spider-Man seems to know why but ain't telling) and thanks to Kirk the whole thing looks gorgeously disgusting.

"DCeased: Dead Planet," and, "Marvel Zombies: Ressurection," both provide quality zombie-related yarns thanks to great writing and artwork that fits the at-times gruesome scenes well too. I enjoyed reading both and would recommend checking each series and the issues that came before these out.
4 out of 5 stars (for both).

Rant Reviews: All Marvel and DC

The Two Big-Shots

When it comes to comic-books there are companies making quite a place for themselves in the market with the, "Big Two," arguably being the, "Big Three," with Image around (plus other sizable publishers making a solid dent in the market). That said, Marvel and DC generally have the most books coming out and are generally the best known companies. I often discuss a wide-range of books from mainstream to more independent when I do my capsule-style reviews, but today I thought I'd change things up and go all commercial for ya'll, making all my reviews about books from the two big-shots.

And Now, Reviews!

Powers of X #6
Jonathan Hickman's big lead-up combo mini-series to the relaunch of the X-Men officially concludes by...starting the relaunch. I loved, "House of X," and, "Powers of X," and all the ideas introduced that will surely be explored in the new X-books, but I know some people online read all this and said, "That's it?" Well, yes, the whole point of these books was to kick-off all the new X-men titles, so expecting a mega last-minuted twist of everything taking place in an alternate universe or something would have undermined what Marvel told you was the plan all along. As it is, the books were great and this final issue of the two series did its job of telling some cool stories and generating excitement for new X-books (some written by Hickman and all of them curated/overseen by him to some degree) so I'm pleased, even if some folk online seemed underwhelmed.
4 out of 5 stars.

DCeased #5
You would think DC having their own take on, "Marvel Zombies," would seem derivative, but, "DCeased," has been very good, with a lot of thanks probably due to writer Tom Taylor who previously took the relatively barren, "Injustice," game's plot and fleshed it out heavily in the initial mini-series some years ago. Taylor gives us mutated version of Darkseid's anti-life equation that turns anyone who sees it or is attacked by someone infected with it into a zombie yet injects a good deal of heart and humor into the proceedings as well, amplifying just how, "Human," our superhuman heroes are in the face of such an unstoppable threat. This issue has things looking a little bit more hopeful as the remaining living folk work together to make a plan to escape Earth, but by the issue's end things have gone from bad to worse. I'm thinking we will not be getting a very happy ending to this series when it does conclude, but I'm cool with that as long as Taylor is working his magic.
4 out of 5 stars.

Contagion #2
This is kind of like Marvel Zombies except its a weird fungus and this story is a 5-issue mini that takes place in the regular Marvel Universe so you know everything will be alright in the end. Writer Ed Brisson said in the back-matter of the first issue the idea here is to do a horror-style story with street-level heroes (the heavy-hitters have been advised to stay away as this fungus seems to steal powers and have a hive-mind of sorts). It's perfectly fine, but there is nothing that remarkable to it beyond, "The heroes have to stop this fungal virus with punching and their smarts!" It is not especially horrifying so much as its a little gross at times, although a big mutation-monster that appears at this issue's end is a bit scary-looking. My feeling is once this mini-series concludes it will be considered decent but forgettable.
3 out of 5 stars.

Batman's Grave #1
Warren Ellis is not writing as many comics lately due to being so busy with big-deal multi-media projects like his delightful, "Castlevania," show, and artist Bryan Hitch seems to only do comics sometimes as he is really talented but not exactly able to turn-in projects at great speed. Hence, the long-rumored and apparently long-in-development (so as to avoid delays) comic, "The Batman's Grave," by Ellis and Hitch is a very welcome sight indeed. A 12-issue maxi-series I will tell you it is beautifully illustrated, with busy-and-full cities drawn by Hitch looking gorgeous and a decomposing dead body being suitably gross. Also, Ellis has Batman/Bruce Wayne actually do some solid detective work--something we seem to not see that often considering how Batman is the World's greatest detective. I'm not sure where things are going beyond Batman solving a weird serial-killer's latest murder, but with Ellis and Hitch at the writing-and-drawing helm (respectively) I know it is gonna be entertaining!
5 out of 5 stars.

Runaways #25

While there are big-deal Marvel titles coming out (such as the above-discussed X-Men book revitalization) it is also worth being aware of some lesser-known books that keep being stellar month-in-month-out as well. "Runaways," has frankly not been this good since the original stuff by Brian K. Vaughn and I say a lot of that is down to writer Rainbow Rowell (she's been one of my writers of the year for this title before) and some damn good artists too. With this issue not a lot actually happens, with it being more transitional as the Runaways realize they need to relocate out of their latest hiding-spot and may be heading-towards an attempt to be more traditional heroes. I'm eager to see where it goes! Yes, simply focusing-in on some former teen heroes as they come to terms with now being young-adult heroes has resulted in some stupendous storytelling and, "Ruanways," is a treat I hope does not end anytime soon. 

4 out of 5 stars.

Deathstroke #48

Speaking of amazing books that are ending soon, here we are as, "Deathstroke," approaches its 50th and final issue. The entire series has been written by Christopher Priest and has taken a character I used to never care about and given us one amazing run. It is not surprising considering just how much experience and skill Priest has, but I sincerely hope he has something else awesome lined-up with DC in the near future. As it is, Priest is still introducing weird twists as he nears the end of his time with Slade Wilson (the real name of Deathstroke) as a strange doppelganger emerges, DC's big, "Year of the Villain," event plays a bit of a role without feeling too intrusive to what Priest is up to, and basically everything keeps going deliciously wrong in shocking ways as soon as us reader think we've figured everything out. I'm gonna miss this book.

5 out of 5 stars.

Closing Thoughts
While Marvel and DC put-out some books that are not too great, they also thankfully release some really solid titles too and I quite liked the majority of these titles I reviewed. Just as some indie books are amazing and some are mediocre, the same can apply with these big-dogs as well, I suppose.