The Deadman Collection

Deadman Collection #1-2

by Neal Adams, Carmine Infantino, Arnold Drake

When circus acrobat Boston Brand died, a mysterious supernatural being called Rama Kushna gave him the ability to enter and possess the bodies of the living. Obsessed with exacting revenge against the man that killed him, Deadman began an afterlife of vengeance but soon turned his paranormal abilities towards more heroic endeavors. DEADMAN COLLECTION is an intriguing look into the beginning of Deadman's quest for his killer as he struggles to understand and accept his new existence.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics

356 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2001

About the author

Neal Adams was an American comic book and commercial artist known for helping to create some of the definitive modern imagery of the DC Comics characters Superman, Batman, and Green Arrow; as the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates; and as a creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

Adams was inducted into the Eisner Award's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1998, and the Harvey Awards' Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1999.

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Deadman" ushered in a new age in comics, initiated by Carmine Infantino but ultimately solidified by Neal Adams. The big change was a comics character that wasn't a crime fighter battling supervillains, but a high-wire aerialist who seeks his killer.

Every issue showed him aiding innocent victims from evil people that exploit them. There was even an episode about illegal aliens being transported across the border and planned for extermination.

If there are any negatives to this series it was:
1) The re-inking of the 3rd episode is too busy to the point of distraction and actually spoils the story for me.
2) The climax of the tale still looks sloppy. First there's one killer, then the killer has another killer after him, and Deadman chases both, and it never really reaches a satisfying conclusion. The person that really needs to get waxed doesn't, and it's even messier than it reads right here. Terrible conclusion, just disappointing.

These comics haunted me when I first read them in the Sixties and to this day they still do. Deadman pretty much made Neal Adams a star. Not bad for a ten-page feature in "Strange Adventures".

[JM · Rating 2 out of 5]

I absolutely love the idea of Deadman, from his 'powers' and disposition to his look . I can't explain why but it just tickles me the right way. Seeing it in action here though it is less appealing, mainly due to weak story. There is at the start a great mystery set up, "Who is Deadman's killer?" and it doesn't have the greatest start...it was the one armed man! The man with the hook for a hand! Hmm. But in spite of that opening, I think a great story could have been salvaged. Unfortunately the writing never really takes off and the discovery of the killer is fairly anticlimactic.

What makes things worse is that there has been little (to my knowledge at least) apperance of Deadman in his own series since then. He has made his way into other comics (Batman, Swamp Thing etc.) but only a few issues where he headlines. And I want more Deadman. There seems to be a rich soil with which to til great narratives (in the vain of Ditko's Dr. Strange or Gaiman's Sandman)

Neal Adams on pencils throughout the majority of the book makes it worth looking at, if not 'reading'.

[El Neo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of the Deadman character and Neal Adams. The stories are fun, but not that engaging to me. Still, a welcome addition to my bookshelf.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

cheesy but fun

[Askaso · Rating 2 out of 5]

Un trapecista muere asesinado y le dan la oportunidad de vengarse vagando como fantasma y poseyendo cuerpos.
Es una historia muy viejuna de esas en la que los bocadillos lo que hacen es explicar qué está pasando en la viñeta.
Para ser leída si estás muy aburrido.

[Eloy Nogueira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Estos cómics me han gustado mucho y Deadman me ha parecido un personaje muy interesante. Se nota que son de los años 60-70, porque las viñetas tienen mucho texto y algunas historias son algo simples e ingenuas. Lo que no me gusta es que estiran demasiado la búsqueda del Gancho. Deadman tiene muchos enemigos y el asesino podría ser cualquiera de ellos, y cuando parece que Deadman está cerca de pillarlo resulta que no es él, que el garfio que lleva es falso o lo lleva en la otra mano. No es hasta el número 12 que Boston descubre la dentidad de su asesino y el motivo de su muerte, y eso es estirar mucho la historia, y dicho motivo es muy banal.

De todas formas la serie es muy entretenida y es una lástima que la cancelaran.