ACW #626 - Deadman

Action Comics Weekly #626 (Deadman)
"Finale"
Writer - Mike Baron
Pencils - Kelley Jones
Inks - Tony DeZuniga
Letters - Albert DeGuzman
Colors - Daniel Vozzo
Editor - Barbara Kesel

Today is the day we say goodbye to a Deadman.  He is the first of our "original six" ACW features to (permanently) head into the sunset (and the fourth feature overall to do so).  For twenty out of the past twenty-six weeks (twenty-one of the past twenty-seven, if we're counting our Christmas With the Super-Heroes #2 special), Deadman has had a "spot" on this humble blog.  It's going to be a bit strange moving forward without him...

Speaking of "moving on" and the "original six"... we're now four weeks away from bidding adieu to the Secret Six, and four weeks after that... Blackhawk and believe it or not, Green Lantern!

--

Picking up right where we left off, having just been tickled silly... Deadman finds himself faced down by the Peckshaw Twins, who have occupied the bodies of Madame Waxahachie and Groundskeeper Whatshisface!  "Mabel" offers up a deal for Deadman... she'll fetch the Brogden Twins, Deadman will shift into Waxahachie's body and just leave.  So long as Deadman "never looks back", this Peckshaw promises not to repossess the tots.  Complicated enough?  Dagwood-sandwichy enough?

Rather than comply completely, Boston waits for Delia to de-possess Madame Mabel... after which, he takes up residence and proceeds to kick poor possessed Luke in the crotch.

He continues to pummel on Luke, until Delia Pechshawk nyoinks Stella out of the body.  Okay then...

"Mabel" and Luke head outside to their waiting car so Deadman can once again swap bodies and fill the Madame in on everything that's gone on.  Waxahachie lights up a cigarette, and doesn't seem to express all that much concern.  If the Peckshaws don't find new hosts... they might just fade away.  Yeah, that worked out so well last time, right?  She decides it's best to just call it a "win", and bring the Brogdens back to their folks.

We wrap up back at Peckshaw Estate where Stella has decided to occupy the body of... a rat.  Delia claims she'd rather fade away than to take up residence in some vermin.  Though, maybe if that rat had wings?  I dunno...

--

This was, uh, underwhelming...

Not that I needed some hyooge twist or revelation or anything... but, I definitely wanted something more than what we get.  I mean, if it was always just this easy... why did it take us 64 or so pages to get here?  I had figured there'd be a trick up Deadman's sleeve that would facilitate the fall of the Zombie Queens... but, all it came down to was: a kick in the crotch?

Last week, it was a tickle-fest... this week, a kick to the crotch?  C'mahhhhn.  Then... if that wasn't pedestrian enough, Waxahachie decides not to even pursue eradicating the Peckshaws?  I mean, they were able to pull this all together once, what's to stop them from doing it again?  I dunno... maybe they were being set up as the big-bads for a proposed Deadman series to spin out from this?  Either way, that doesn't do a whole heckuva lot for the story we just read.

The "let's make a deal" segment from early in the chapter... I mean, talk about overly complicated, right?  You take this body, I'll take this body... the twins stay here, you go there.  You almost need a flowchart for that conversation... because, I couldn't swear to who'd be coming out on top of that arrangement!

Okay, enough of all'a that... the story, to this point was pretty good.  The ending was unfortunately sub-par.  Which brings us to our last bit...

This is it for Deadman!  Twenty chapters, 160 pages (give or take), and two adventures.  I went into this with some preconceptions... never having been a really big fan of the character.  The only time I ever really cared about ol' Boston Brand was when he was no-longer dead during Brightest Day!  When he's "dead", I find him mostly dull.  A neat scene here and again, but for the most part... I can't really call myself a fan.

Over this past half-year... wait, half-year?  Yikes, where does the time go?  Anyhoo, over this past half-year, I found myself in the position where I had to cover Deadman... if I wanted to do this Action Comics Daily thing right, that is.  And, I did... so, I did.

Didn't hate it, either!  It was very seldom in my "top 2-3" stories of the week, but I was seriously expecting to find myself dreading "Deadman Day" each and every time out.  I didn't.  There were some duds, to be sure... but, that's gonna happen.  It's just the comic book law of averages.  I will say that I dug the second story more than the first... it felt better structured (until this final chapter), and didn't overstay its welcome (like the first one sorta-kinda did).

So... there's one of the "originals" being put out to pasture... I'll kinda miss him.

Tomorrow: Do Not Disturb

--

Your Moment of Vartox:

From Superman (vol.2) #148 (1999)
Dan Jurgens (w) / Steve Epting (a)

The Main Man joins the post-Crisis DCU... a decade and a half later!  Rendered into a generic warrior rather than the tragically deep character he once was.  Thankfully, this version only hung around for two-issues before buggering off into the cosmos.

ACW #625 - Deadman

Action Comics Weekly #625 (Deadman)
"Tickle, Tickle"
Writer - Mike Baron
Pencils - Kelley Jones
Inks - Tony DeZuniga
Letters - Albert DeGuzman
Colors - Daniel Vozzo
Editor - Barbara Kesel

Getting this post up a bit later than I intended.  Had myself a bit of car trouble yesterday that precluded me from getting this one up and published ahead of time.  Apologies if this messes with anyone's regular-reading-routine!

Today we... hey, look'it that!  "Deadman Wraps it All Up!"  Looks like we're in for a rollicking, senses-shattering conclusion.

Yeah... it sure looks like it...

--

We open with the army of undead Confederates approaching Peckshaw Estate... at the behest of the Zombie Queens of New Orleans!  Inside, Deadman and Madame Waxahachie stand by... and appear to be rather unimpressed with the entire proceeding.  One of the horde is Delia and Stella's father... the specter of whom we met last week.  He is put in charge of the "army", and demands to swap hats with the current zombie General... mayyyybe, it's Robert E. Lee?  I dunno... I think "Confederate General", and he's the only name that comes to mind.  Couldn't pick him out of a lineup if I had to!

Whatever the case, this exchange does not go well for Papa Peckshaw.

Deadman then decides it's time to stop lollygagging... and so, he vacates Groundskeeper Luke's body, and... get this... scares the spirit of Stella Peckshaw out of the body of whatever Brogden Twin she's currently occupying.

He then grabs her by her ethereal wrist, and holds tight.  He threatens to take her to "a place in Tibet" where she won't ever be able to escape, unless her sister vacates the other twin.  And so, she does!  The Brogden twins rush over to Mabel, and everything seems to be alright.  Hey, maybe the cover wasn't lying at all... maybe this week Deadman really does "wrap it all up"!

Well... no, that's not the case at all.  The Peckshaw Twins begin to... and I can't believe this is a real thing, but... the twins... tickle Deadman.  Yeah, like "coochie-coochie-coo".  After Boston loses his grip, the twins decide to take up residence inside the bodies of... Madame Waxahachie and Luke Whatshisface!

--

Now this?  This was one weird chapter, wasn't it?  I almost can't believe it's a thing we just read.

Feels like we've been building up to this "Army of the Undead" for a few weeks now... and, their arrival doesn't actually do a whole heckuva lot.  It allows for a little back-n-forth between Papa Peckshaw and (perhaps) Robert E. Lee... but, other than that... it kinda fell flat.

Much of this chapter has to do with Deadman attempting to bargain with the ghosts of the Peckshaw twins.  This was pretty weird... but I liked it.  Sometimes the most obvious solution is the best to go with... so, if you're Deadman... you perform a scare-orcism, then threaten the excised spirit with eternal imprisonment.  Works for me!

Where this kind of made me raise an eyebrow was... the tickling.  I mean... that's something that happened?  For real?  Don't get me wrong, I kinda laughed... but, that's just so weird, right?  Really wasn't expecting that... though, when a story is called "Tickle, Tickle", I probably should have!

Overall, I really dug this... weirdness and all.  Next week this one actually gets wrapped up (it will be our final ACW Deadman chapter... ever), so we'll see where all the pieces fall then!

Tomorrow: When she comes crashing down, and it hurts inside...

ACW #623 - Deadman

Action Comics Weekly #623 (Deadman)
"Seventeen"
Writer - Mike Baron
Pencils - Kelley Jones
Inks - Tony DeZuniga & Pablo Marcos
Letters - Helen Vesik
Colors - Daniel Vozzo
Editor - Barbara Kesel

It's been a minute since we've looked at Deadman.  He had himself a well-earned week off last time out... then we had our Christmas on Infinite Earths... in July Special.  Hopefully his adventures are still fresh-ish in your mind... because, uh, I'm not sure even I remember where we're at!

--

We pick up with the twins (Stella and Delia, the "Zombie Queens of New Orleans") relishing the fact that they've been brought "back to life".  They don't even seem to notice that Deadman has left until he's already gone.  The twins figure he and the Madame will prove to be thorns in their side before long... and, they're probably right.  At that very moment, Deadman-as-Clara is given the down and dirty on the girls by Waxahachie.  Turns out it has something to do with the fact that the number seventeen (heyyy, that's the title of this chapter!) is a base-integer.  Ya see, the twins committed suicide when they were 17... and that was 17 years ago.  This, for whatever reason, enhances their twinning power.  I don't know diddly-squat about Voodoo, so I'll just take her word for it!

We also learn here that Legros (now being written as LaGros... now also, a vegetable) was acting in the interest of the twins as a sort of facilitator in trying to summon an African Deity called "Gage"... and, at least according to Waxahachie, it looks like they were successful!  She drives Deadman-as-Clara back to the school so he can jump-bodies.

This is where Old Luke rejoins the story.  We saw him early on in a brief scene.  He is described as odd and simple, and the Madame is certain he won't "miss any time" if Deadman were to take up occupancy.  And so, he does!  The thing of it though, once Clara stirs back to normal, she's none too pleased to learn she'd been possessed... like, two or three times at this point.  She calls Waxahachie a witch, and storms off.

The Madame shrugs it off, figuring Clara will cool her jet eventually... and turns to Deadman-as-Luke.  She gives him their mission... in order to stop the Peckshaw Twins, they're going to have to find their original bodies... and destroy them!  Grave desecration, hmm?  I guess I'm starting to understand why Waxahachie might not want Clara('s body) involved with the proceedings! 

Waxahachie takes Deadman to Wildwood... where the Peckshaw Twins had once called home... and are now buried... so, uh, I guess technically, they still call it home.  It's here we learn that Wellman LeGros also lived here, as when he was a boy, the family found him there.  We close out with their arrival at the boarded up Estate.

--

I wanna take a minute (or two) and compare the way this story is being told to a more contemporary "Voodoo-themed" book.

If you've listened to our Sandman Universe Gatherum series of episodes over at the Chris and Reggie Channel, you'll know that among those titles is one called House of Whispers.  It's a book steeped in Voodoo mythology... almost to a fault.  That's all well and good, right?  But, here's the thing... that book doesn't tell us a darn thing about the mythology.  If you're uninitiated to Voodoo lore, you're really just dropped in blind.  You're not likely to understand any of the references or allusions... and, because of that, the twists, turns, and revelations in the story fall absolutely flat.

I feel like writers today try and challenge themselves... overusing symbolism and real "deep cut" references in order to make themselves feel smarter than they are... and, if any of the readers actually "get" the references... well, they're just one of the "cool kids".

Another thing writers try to do is tell only the exciting stories.  Just like building a house, you need to put in the difficult (and comparably un-glamorous) work of laying a foundation before you can start putting up walls.  Sure, putting up walls makes it look like a house... but, a stiff wind can knock it all down without a solid foundation.

Why am I talking about this?  Well, here in this Deadman feature, we're getting a bit of a learnin' in Voodoo, African deities, symbolism, the effect base-integers might have (whether it's "legit" or not)... but, with Waxahachie's words... Mike Baron is laying a foundation.  This might have been a comparably unexciting chapter, but it was a necessary one.  Had this come out in "current year", I fear these scenes would have been omitted... with a hope/expectation that a reader wouldn't have a problem reading this alongside a Wikipedia tab.

What I'm trying to say... though, I've clearly taken the scenic route, is... I appreciate this chapter doing the un-glamorous work of attempting to educate the reader in either actual Voodoo lore, or the Mike Baron-take on Voodoo lore.  This way, as we approach our pay-off, we'll all be at a similar level of understanding.  There (hopefully) won't be any "out of left field" deus ex machina type stuff... it'll (again, hopefully) all make sense in the context of the story being told.

Art's still great, though the Madame seems to be looking more and more bestial with each panel.  I'm not sure if that's a conscious decision... or, maybe we're just not getting her "best side".

Tomorrow: Antichrist Superstarman?!

ACW #621 - Deadman

Action Comics Weekly #621 (Deadman)
"Part 4"
Writer - Mike Baron
Pencils - Kelley Jones
Inks - Tony DeZuniga & Pablo Marcos
Letters - Albert DeGuzman
Colors - Daniel Vozzo
Editor - Barbara Kesel

Welcome to the last Deadman chapter... for, uh two weeks.

--

Picking up where we left off last week, Deadman-as-Wellman Legros is faced with the caged Brogden Twins... who are now commanding the zombie horde.  Ya see, they're no longer Lisa and Letritia Brogden... they're now Stella and Delia Peckshaw: The Zombie Queens of New Orleans!  He introduces himself as "Deadman", which doesn't really impress the girls... after all, everyone else there is a "dead man".  He clarifies what he means, and the girls actually recognize him as the aerialist, Boston Brand... they saw him perform with the Blake Kellogg Circus back in 1969!

We shift scenes to join Madame Waxahachie, who has tired of waiting for Deadman to return.  She enters the grounds, and fights off a zombie or two with her "fetish" and "mojo".  She finally comes across Wellman Legros, who is all hunched and prone in the middle of a darkened room.

Legros goes to attack the Madame, but something stops him... which is to say, his "passenger".  Deadman and Legros struggle long enough for a knife to be plunged into Wellman's chest.  This frees Boston from the vessel.  Moments later, Waxahachie kayos Wellman with a tremendous right hook.

Deadman flutters away to re-inhabit the body of Waxahachie's assistant, Clara so they can catch up.  In a funny bit, Boston wonders if he might be unwittingly giving poor Clara a psychosis by invading her time and again.  The Madame assures him that Clara is strong enough to handle it.  We find out here that the Twins did some hoo-doo to muddy up the Brand/Legros union.

We wrap up by learning a thing or two about Delia and Stella.  Turns out they were part of a crazy family, and somehow ascended to become the Zom... er, Voodoo Queens of New Orleans.  In fact, back in 1971, they nearly took over the city.  They're currently buried at St. Bart's cemetery... or, at least they were!

--

Pretty interesting chapter... though, perhaps a bit slower than the previous three.

We find out that the Twins have become the vessel for the Zombie-Voodoo Queens of New Orleans... and that their plans are to raise an army of zombies.  Not sure if Wellman Legros was working on his own accord up to the point, or was being controlled by the girls... though, I suppose that probably doesn't matter all that much.

Other than that, though... not a whole heckuva lot to talk about.  Still enjoying it... still really digging the art.  Just a (relatively) "quiet" outing this time around.

Tomorrow: The Truth about the Aviatrix... and Leslie!

ACW #620 - Deadman

Action Comics Weekly #620 (Deadman)
"Part 3"
Writer - Mike Baron
Pencils - Kelley Jones
Inks - Tony DeZuniga
Letters - Albert DeGuzman
Colors - Daniel Vozzo
Editor - Barbara Kesel

Welcome to the penultimate Deadman chapter... before a one-week intermission (?)  Well, that's kinda weird.  Looks like two-weeks from now, we'll be getting a one-shot Starman feature in its place... so, look forward to that!

--

We resume our conversation between Deadman-as-Clara and Madame Waxahachie.  If you recall as we closed out last week, the Brogden Twins have been nabbed by Wellman Legros' zombie horde... for reasons we're about to learn a bit more about.  The zombie Police Officer that Deadman "rode in" still lays motionless on the ground, with that blade embedded in his gut.  Waxahachie calls in a fella named Uncle Estes to watch over the children while she and "Clara" try and track down the Twins.

Deadman and the Madame head out into town... and, get this, there are like a whole lotta zombies just shambling through the streets!  Deadman finds this odd, but Waxahachie quite matter-of-factly explains that most passersby just assume the zombies are derelicts or junkies, and don't pay them much mind.  She further explains that many years ago, a pair of twins were able to rouse the undead... so, that might just be what Legros has in mind for the Brodgens.  Oh!  We also learn that it's actually daytime in New Orleans... so, disregard the dark skies.

They follow the zombie parade into the Garden District where they assemble near a tall wooden gate.  Deadman body-hops into a random zombie so he can "attend" whatever meeting they're about to have.  He finds the new undead bod to be a bit stiff, but controllable.

Before long, Wellman Legros addresses the horde... welcoming them to his "Army of the Undead".  Behind him hangs a wooden cage, inside that cage... Lisa and Letritia, the Brogden Twins.  "Perfect Twins", much the same as the Ioa, through which "Bon Dieu" will speak.  "Bon Dieu" is French for "Good Lord", so I guess Legros is trying to communicate with a God?  Fair enough!

By now, Deadman has heard enough... he vacates the zom-bod, and hops into Legros himself!  No sooner does he get control, than the Brogden Twins order the horde to "tear Wellman Legros to pieces"!  Uh-oh!

--

This one's turning out pretty cool!

I'm a bit dubious that everyone in New Orleans mistakes zombies for junkies, but I suppose we can allow it.  It might be sort of a "conscious" thing for the Louisianans.  Maybe it's like... if you don't wanna see any zombies, then you just don't see any zombies?  Whatever the case, I think we can work with it.

I appreciate Deadman being able to occupy that random zombie.  This illustrates how powerful Wellman Legros' power of suggestion is.  Since Boston wasn't able to maintain any real measure of control over the Officer last chapter, I wasn't sure if zombies were just "off-limits" overall.  Looks like that's not exactly the case.

We get a pretty good cliffhanger here.  Perhaps a bit too similar to the one we got in the opening chapter for this arc, but still exciting... and makes me wanna check back next week to see how it all plays out.

Overall, still really digging this and I'm looking forward to more.  The art still rules, and I'm enjoying all of the characters.

Tomorrow: Belt-Off Black-Hawk

ACW #619 - Deadman

Action Comics Weekly #619 (Deadman)
"Part 2"
Writer - Mike Baron
Pencils - Kelley Jones
Inks - Tony DeZuniga
Letters - Albert DeGuzman
Colors - Daniel Vozzo
Editor - Barbara Kesel

"An unexpected delight" - Ain't it Chris News.

That's sure to be the cover blurb if-and-when this Deadman arc gets trade-collected.  Hmm... maybe I should have added a "10/10"... DC really likes it when ya do that.  They must, since... ya know, that's what all the "legit" sites do!

Ahem, with that pith out of the way... let's see what happened to Sgt. Cosgrove's tongue!

--

Picking up where we left off last week, Deadman-as-Cosgrove is about to have his traitorous tongue cut out by Wellman Legros, the Voodoo King of New Orlean(s).  Thinking fast, Boston makes Cosgrove mutter out a reply that he is truly under Legros' control.  At least I think that's what happened... as we're about to see, controlling a zombie is a bit different than inhabiting a living, breathing human.  Now, we get a refresher on the mission... Cosgrove is to head to Madam Waxahachie's place and abduct a pair of twin girls... which is to say, two girls total... not two sets of twins.  Ya follow?  Now, here's the thing... Cosgrove is instructed not to speak with Waxahachie herself.

Deadman-as-Cosgrove hops into a squad car and... begins driving directly to Waxahachie's place.  This comes as a surprise to Boston, as... well, he hasn't the foggiest idea where they're headed!  He assumes that the corpse is simply following Legros' power of suggestion.  Along the way, he attempts to contact the local police... however, they assume the call to be a prank, since... ya know, Cosgrove is dead and all.

Upon arrival at the Day School (nevermind that it looks to be nighttime), Cosgrove is admitted entrance by a woman named Clara.  Deadman is instinctively drawn toward the twins... and is powerless to stop the body he's inhabited.  Panicked, he begins to shout for Madam Waxahachie!

Moments later the Madam arrives (wearing the Comedian's Button to boot!)... Boston attempts to convince her that he's not actually a policeman... but a deadman.  Waxahachie quickly realizes that this is Legros' doing... just as Cosgrove's corpse wraps his hands around her throat.  Boston tells her to do whatever she can to stop him... because, he's not an ordinary zombie, but a Double-Zombie!

Waxahachie complies by... breaking all of Cosgrove's fingers!  Well, that was all kinds of hardcore...

She then plunges a ceremonial dagger into Cosgrove's gut in order to allow Deadman to escape the vessel.  He bodyhops from the corpse to Clara so he and the Madam can talk for a bit.

While Deadman-as-Clara shares his experience with Wellman Legros (and learns that "perfect twins" make for the best zombies), another school aid named Sid bursts into the place.  He reports that, despite Boston's best efforts, the Brogden Twins have in fact been abducted!

--

Ya know, I think I just realized why Doomsday Clock is running so far behind.  I betcha Geoff Johns is reading every single comic book DC has ever put out, and is marking down every time a smiley-face button ever shows up on panel... with a plan to make them all somehow "sync up".  I mean, that's just gotta be it right?

Well, to do my part as a DC shill, I might as well help out... besides the one on Madam Waxahachie's blouse, here are a few more appearances of "The Button":

From Hero Hotline #3 (June, 1989)
Bob Rozakis (w) / Stephen DeStefano (a)

From Justice Society of America (vol.3) Annual #1 (September, 2008)
Geoff Johns (w) / Jerry Ordway (a)

From Beetle Bailey (5-29-20XX)
Not DC, but I'm sure we can make it fit

Alright, with that bit of frivolity out of the way... let's chat about this chapter.

I quite enjoyed it!  The new wrinkles about how different/challenging it would be for Deadman to fully control an inhabited zombie really added to the tension of this one.  Despite the convenience factor, I appreciated that the only part of the corpse he could control was the tongue (and I assume the vocal chords).  This, more or less, rendered Deadman a powerless "passenger" for this little excursion.

Let's talk Waxahachie (waxahachie, waxahachie).  Now, let's say you're a parent in New Orleans.  Would you A) leave your child(ren) in overnight daycare? and 2) leave 'em with... Madam Waxahachie?!  I mean, this is one scary-looking woman!  For heaven's sake, she carries around a skull on a stick!  Think about that for a second... a skull on a stick!  And... AND... since she intends for it to have affects against random zombies, I think we might assume that it's an actual human skull!  I don't think I'd want my kids hanging out there.

Now, that's not to say I dislike the character... from what little we know to this point, I think she's pretty cool (I just wouldn't entrust my kids to her).  I like that she is knowledgeable about the Nawlins Zombie scene... and that she's aware of Wellman Legros.

I'm still not quite sure what he wants with the Brogden Twins... something about their having the makings of the "perfect" zombies?  So, are we to assume that Legros is going to sacrifice them?  I guess we'll find out!

Overall, even though I didn't hate the previous Deadman (Baron/Jurgens) arc... this one is worlds better so far!  I'm actually looking forward to seeing where this one goes!

Tomorrow: The Blue Light Special... and Superman appears on a single panel!

ACW #618 - Deadman

Action Comics Weekly #618 (Deadman)
"Chapter One: Grave Doings"
Writer - Mike Baron
Pencils - Kelley Jones
Inks - Tony DeZuniga
Letters - Albert De Guzman
Colors - Daniel Vozzo
Editor - Barbara Kesel

Hey... Deadman's back!  Believe it or not, we're just one week away from having all six of our original Action Comics Weekly features back in the book!

Something you might notice when you scroll down though... Deadman looks a little bit different this time out!

--

We open in a graveyard with Boston Brand.  For whatever reason, he references Elvis and Bruce Lee as being dead... just like him.  I mean, he's not wrong (well, maybe Elvis is still on that island)... but, what a random mention, right?  Maybe it was supposed to be poignant in a way... but I didn't see it.  Anyhoo, he spies a well-dressed fellow escorting a pair of undead gravediggers onto the scene.  It looks like they're there to dig up a fallen Police Officer named Sgt. Cosgrove.

The man identifies himself as the Voodoo King of New Orleans, Wellman Legros... and, get this... he ain't messin' around, he even senses Deadman's presence!  His followers unearth the casket, while Legros alludes to the fact that he's at least tangentially responsible for Cosgrove's death.

Boston follows the trio... er, quartet, back to a mansion.  Inside, Legros initiates a resurrection ritual... with Cosgrove's corpse arranged within a star-symbol surrounded by candlelit skulls.  This Wellman really knows how to throw a party, don't he?

Before we know it, Cosgrove sits up, alive... ish.  The Voodoo King begins to give the arisen Sarge some orders... however, is interrupted when he is, once again overwhelmed with the vibes of Boston Brand's presence.

After shaking it off, Legros goes ahead with his orders.  Corpse-grove is to abduct the Brogdon twins from Madame Waxahachie's Day School.  Waxahachie, Waxahachie... too bad this isn't an audio blog... that'd be fun to say.  At this point, Deadman decides to test the limits of his possession powers... by hopping into the vessel of the zombified Cosgrove... annnnnd, it works!

Boston-as-Cosgrove fights off the suggestion of the Voodoo King, only to find himself grabbed by his other followers.  Legros wields a blade, and is about to cut out Cosgrove's tongue, when Deadman realizes... he stuck!

--

This was pretty cool!

Before getting into the story itself, I want to talk a bit about Kelley Jones' art.  I mean, wow... how fitting is Jones for Deadman?!  This is just great!  Previous Deadman artist Dan Jurgens is certainly no slouch, but... this is certainly a more fitting style!  For fans of this style... wait til Black Canary comes back in a handful of weeks... artist, Randy DuBurke definitely evokes the Jones style there!

Now, for the story... it's a Voodoo story, which I suppose is interesting enough.  We don't have a whole lot in the way of context just yet... but enough to get excited for what's to come.  Legros has the ability to raise the dead, and is looking to assemble an undead army for... well I'm sure he has his reasons, we just don't know what they are yet!

My Deadman game isn't the strongest... but it seems like every time I read one of these, someone is able to "sense" his presence.  Is that always supposed to be the case?  I dunno... it's not a good or bad thing, just a pattern I've noticed over time.

Overall... solid first chapter with really fun art.  Didn't think I'd be happy to see Boston back, but here we are!

Tomorrow: Closing out Nightwing!