Review: DC Universe Presents Vol. 1 featuring Deadman & Challengers of the Unknown
Quick Summary
Pros: The first half of the book is a nice adventure with Deadman that manages to find time to be both fun and deep. The collection’s artwork trends from average to slightly above average.
Cons: The second half of the book is not entertaining at all and ends without resolving the majority of the questions and plot threads it created.
Overall: About half of the book is good, while the other half is bad. The collection starts with a Deadman story that is filled with humor, heart, and meaning. Then it moves on to a Challengers story that is confusing, messy, and ends without resolution. This is a book for people looking to read an entertaining story about Deadman; fans of the Challengers of the Unknown will leave this book pretty disappointed.
Story
DC Universe Presents Vol. 1 featuring Deadman & Challengers of the Unknown tells two unrelated stories about characters in the DC Universe. The first is an entertaining and philosophical adventure with Deadman, written by Paul Jenkins. The second is a chaotic and disappointing mess about the Challengers of the Unknown, written by Dan DiDio and Jerry Ordway. This sharp contrast in quality makes this book hard to judge as a whole, though the high quality Deadman story does take up 60% of the book’s pages. Overall, this is a collection that may be worth it for a fan of Deadman to pick up but is not going to be something that any fan of the Challengers of the Unknown will enjoy.
(spoilers start here)
The first half of this book is a Deadman story that focuses on the character’s origins and unique power set. Writer Paul Jenkins hits all the right notes with Deadman’s character and the adventures he takes him on. Boston’s cocky, yet wholesome, attitude is on display, his powers allow for a number of fun situations, and the entire narrative has a spiritual tone perfect for this friendly ghost. Overall, this is a good Deadman story and an entertaining comic for anyone reading.
This portion of the book isn’t just fun adventures though, it also dives headfirst into philosophical discussions about life and death. Everything Boston does throughout his time here is designed to lead him, and readers, to a question about the meaning of life. Jenkins does not answer this question, or even attempt to answer it, but simply gives readers the materials necessary to approach it. This allows every reader to walk away from this book with their own unique message that is more directly applicable to them than a blanket statement answer would be. I really enjoyed how this was done and thought it was a great way to inject meaning into a story that is already good on its own.
Unfortunately, the book’s second half does not even come close to being as good as the first. This half is focused on the Challengers, a group of reality show contestants who apparently go on archeological expeditions. I say apparently because the entire concept of why these characters are on this show and what exactly they are doing is never explained. Instead, they are just thrown together while the story hobbles along after them. This would be fine if the characters themselves were interesting, yet readers do not have nearly enough time to connect with this large cast before the story completely ends. There is no emotional appeal, no investment, and no interest in what is going on.
Almost all of this could be forgiven if this comic were simply the prelude to something bigger and better. The flaws could be passed off as the growing pains inherent to introductions and the larger mystery would be given more time to unfold. Unfortunately, this is not the prelude to something bigger and is the final time readers see the Challengers for years. Mysteries are left unsolved, questions are left unanswered, and all of the confusion found here is left unjustified. There is little to like about this story, and it is not something I expect many readers to enjoy.
(spoilers end here)
Art
Bernard Chang headlines the artwork in the first half of the book. Chang’s work looks good overall and helps to compliment the supernatural nature of Deadman’s story. He does very well presenting a world filled with mystery and magic, with Deadman’s encounters with Rama and his experiences in the Librarian’s bar being the highlights. This creativity helps the book overall and makes an already entertaining story even better.
Jerry Ordway takes over as artist for the second half of the book. For the most part, Ordway’s art is alright. He presents the Challengers with a good level of detail and draws a number of creative enemies for them to oppose. However, the structure of this portion of the book feels off in more than a few places, and transitions between panels don’t always appear to match up. This does not significantly impact the artwork but leaves it feeling more average that the collection’s first half.
Continuity
DC Universe Presents Vol. 1 featuring Deadman & Challengers of the Unknown starts the DC Universe Presents New 52 series. This is a series that features new takes on a variety of different characters, so background reading is not needed before going into these stories.
This series continues in DC Universe Presents Vol. 2: Vandal Savage. However, Deadman’s story continues in Justice League Dark Vol. 1: In the Dark (Review) and in the #0 issue of DC Universe Presents. The Challengers’ story does not directly continue anywhere.
This volume also makes references to another comic book, detailed below:
- Dawn Granger, a.k.a. Dove, appears in the background of Deadman’s memories. The two started dating in Brightest Day.
- Terrance Thirteen from Trinity of Sin- The Phantom Stranger Vol. 1: A Stranger Among Us (Review) is referenced.