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Deadman Collection
Deadman, Book Five
Deadman, the groundbreaking undead super hero driven to find his own murderer, returns in this fourth collection of his 1970s adventures. Featuring appearances by Swamp Thing, the Challengers of the Unknown and more, this title finds Deadman continuing his quest to bring his killer to justice while battling occult menaces throughout the DC Universe.
Collects stories from DEADMAN #1-4, SECRET ORIGINS #15, CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN #85-87.
Collects stories from DEADMAN #1-4, SECRET ORIGINS #15, CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN #85-87.
176 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1986
About the author
Gerry Conway
2,124 books89 followersGerard Francis Conway (Gerard F. Conway) was an American writer of comic books and television shows. He was known for co-creating the Marvel Comics' vigilante the Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man. At DC Comics, he was known for co-creating the superhero Firestorm and others, and for writing the Justice League of America for eight years. Conway wrote the first major, modern-day intercompany crossover, Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man.
On April 27, 2026, Marvel Comics announced on its website and social media accounts that Conway had died at the age of 73.
News of Conway's death from Wikipedia
On April 27, 2026, Marvel Comics announced on its website and social media accounts that Conway had died at the age of 73.
News of Conway's death from Wikipedia
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 15, 2026
This collection pulls of a daring balancing act but somehow manages to make the kitsch mellowdrama work!
The first half or so focuses on a connected guest appearance in the Challengers of the Unknown. The story is pretty weak and the CoU remain one of my least favorite DC titles, but it's not terrible to see Deadman moping around with Swamp Thing of all characters. ( I really just want a story with the two of them!) the CoU story gets more and more over the top, and eventually turns into a hardcore SF time travel adventure which is actually pretty fun. The art really is great though and the fantastic creatures and weird tech devices really helped me get through the first few bits.
Then finally at long last we get back to the "real" DM story which offers a closing to the Rama Kushna holy-land arc. It's a pretty dramatic story, but is also riddled with plot holes and weird moments of "why didn't they do that earlier?" that make the collection frustrating from a birds eye view, but the individual issues are great. The art is fantastic and offers a good combination of trippy metaphysical DM art with dramatic action. It still cracks me up the Rama Kushna looks like a 70's blueflim star. The last few pages are especially well done I thought and managed to button a lot of the preceding lore that started way way back with Neal Adam's run and finally solidify DM full blown character. Although flawed, I would totally give this arch 4 stars.
The final issue is a prequal/backsplanation that was really unnecessary, and cheapened the classic DM story and set up in an attempt to make the previous Rama Kushna story seem like it was all predetermined. I didn't like this in particular because it made some of Boston's old circus buddies very recent acquaintances that made their relationship very thin indeed, especially considering all that's been done, and sacrificed up until now. It might have seemed like a good pitch to the editors, but it really betrayed the preceding lore.
The first half or so focuses on a connected guest appearance in the Challengers of the Unknown. The story is pretty weak and the CoU remain one of my least favorite DC titles, but it's not terrible to see Deadman moping around with Swamp Thing of all characters. ( I really just want a story with the two of them!) the CoU story gets more and more over the top, and eventually turns into a hardcore SF time travel adventure which is actually pretty fun. The art really is great though and the fantastic creatures and weird tech devices really helped me get through the first few bits.
Then finally at long last we get back to the "real" DM story which offers a closing to the Rama Kushna holy-land arc. It's a pretty dramatic story, but is also riddled with plot holes and weird moments of "why didn't they do that earlier?" that make the collection frustrating from a birds eye view, but the individual issues are great. The art is fantastic and offers a good combination of trippy metaphysical DM art with dramatic action. It still cracks me up the Rama Kushna looks like a 70's blueflim star. The last few pages are especially well done I thought and managed to button a lot of the preceding lore that started way way back with Neal Adam's run and finally solidify DM full blown character. Although flawed, I would totally give this arch 4 stars.
The final issue is a prequal/backsplanation that was really unnecessary, and cheapened the classic DM story and set up in an attempt to make the previous Rama Kushna story seem like it was all predetermined. I didn't like this in particular because it made some of Boston's old circus buddies very recent acquaintances that made their relationship very thin indeed, especially considering all that's been done, and sacrificed up until now. It might have seemed like a good pitch to the editors, but it really betrayed the preceding lore.
May 13, 2014
Well, this was a disappointment.
In this, the fifth collection of Deadman stories, we are treated to two distinct Deadman tales. In the first, Boston Brand meets up with the Challengers of the Unknown, racing into the future to prevent an attempted take over of the current time, and in the second, we have Andy Helfer and Jose Luis Garcia Lopez's seminal take on Deadman from the four issue mini-series from 1986.
The Challengers story is written by the intrepid Gerry Conway, who seemed to be everywhere at DC in the late 70s. The story isn't all that bad, and we see more characterization of the Challs than in their previous, Silver Age series. Unfortunately, for some inexplicable reason, DC did not include the previous issue in this collection, which also had Deadman guest-starring and set up a lot of what happens here. So, the reader is kinda left in the dark with respect to what is happening, like why is Swamp Thing hanging around, and why is Prof in a wheelchair? Ugh. The art is by Kieth Giffen and brings to mind his much later Legion work, before he started aping Kirby and Munoz. The covers are by the always underrated Rich Buckler.
The mini-series is basically a huge middle finger to every Boston fan, as Helfer undoes practically everything about Deadman and kills off much of his supporting cast, including the god Rama Kushna and his brother Cleveland. Ugh again! Much of the tale takes place in Nanda Parbat, so Deadman doesn't get to do a lot of Deadman stuff. The beginning of the tale seems to take place just a few months after his first series ended, bypassing the Challengers and Phantom Stranger stories, but including Deadman's appearances with Batman in Brave and Bold. Just really strange. I don't know the reason why such a drastic change was required, but it really sucks. Helfer is wordy, even by Bronze Era standards, and Garcia Lopez is forced to rely on ten and twelve panel pages to fit it all in. It's a muddled mess, and a huge downer. Hated it.
Garcia Lopez's art, though, is magnificent. He inks himself here, and it's all beautiful to behold. He is a true master, who needs more exposure for his work from this time period.
The last story is Helfer's Secret Origins story from issue #15, which also starred The Spectre (not included here). Art is by Kevin Maguire who was drawing the Justice League title at the time. His art is fine, but Helfer's story, which takes up some of the revised plot lines in Deadman's story, is just as jacked as the miniseries.
This volume is worth reading for the art by Giffen, Garcia Lopez, and Maguire. Conway's Challengers story isn't that bad, typicaly mid-70s DC stuff, but I found myself skipping over a lot of the words in the Helfer stuff. So it's all 50/50.
In this, the fifth collection of Deadman stories, we are treated to two distinct Deadman tales. In the first, Boston Brand meets up with the Challengers of the Unknown, racing into the future to prevent an attempted take over of the current time, and in the second, we have Andy Helfer and Jose Luis Garcia Lopez's seminal take on Deadman from the four issue mini-series from 1986.
The Challengers story is written by the intrepid Gerry Conway, who seemed to be everywhere at DC in the late 70s. The story isn't all that bad, and we see more characterization of the Challs than in their previous, Silver Age series. Unfortunately, for some inexplicable reason, DC did not include the previous issue in this collection, which also had Deadman guest-starring and set up a lot of what happens here. So, the reader is kinda left in the dark with respect to what is happening, like why is Swamp Thing hanging around, and why is Prof in a wheelchair? Ugh. The art is by Kieth Giffen and brings to mind his much later Legion work, before he started aping Kirby and Munoz. The covers are by the always underrated Rich Buckler.
The mini-series is basically a huge middle finger to every Boston fan, as Helfer undoes practically everything about Deadman and kills off much of his supporting cast, including the god Rama Kushna and his brother Cleveland. Ugh again! Much of the tale takes place in Nanda Parbat, so Deadman doesn't get to do a lot of Deadman stuff. The beginning of the tale seems to take place just a few months after his first series ended, bypassing the Challengers and Phantom Stranger stories, but including Deadman's appearances with Batman in Brave and Bold. Just really strange. I don't know the reason why such a drastic change was required, but it really sucks. Helfer is wordy, even by Bronze Era standards, and Garcia Lopez is forced to rely on ten and twelve panel pages to fit it all in. It's a muddled mess, and a huge downer. Hated it.
Garcia Lopez's art, though, is magnificent. He inks himself here, and it's all beautiful to behold. He is a true master, who needs more exposure for his work from this time period.
The last story is Helfer's Secret Origins story from issue #15, which also starred The Spectre (not included here). Art is by Kevin Maguire who was drawing the Justice League title at the time. His art is fine, but Helfer's story, which takes up some of the revised plot lines in Deadman's story, is just as jacked as the miniseries.
This volume is worth reading for the art by Giffen, Garcia Lopez, and Maguire. Conway's Challengers story isn't that bad, typicaly mid-70s DC stuff, but I found myself skipping over a lot of the words in the Helfer stuff. So it's all 50/50.
March 2, 2022
This wasn't the best. We start off with an unusual Challengers of the Unknown story arc featuring Deadman and Swamp Thing. Then we lead into the 1986 limited series that picked up right after the original Strange Adventures series ended. This was okay but seemed to drag a little. Then we have a Secret Origins issue that totally retconned the origin of Deadman, which I didn't care for. I'm usually not a fan of retconning, and this was a blatant example of why I'm not fond of it.
Overall this was not what I'd call a strong volume. I enjoyed this series that reprinted all of the original Deadman stories, but not every issue was a classic by any means.
Overall this was not what I'd call a strong volume. I enjoyed this series that reprinted all of the original Deadman stories, but not every issue was a classic by any means.
March 10, 2026
Great collection of this heroes stories. Recommended
November 29, 2020
Eu sempre curti o conceito do Desafiador, mas nunca li uma história que me vendesse o personagem.
E continuo não tendo lido, já que essa história, exceto pela arte, é uma porcaria.
Começa com o Desafiador alugando o corpo do irmão e mandando Nanda Parbat e Rama Kushna pras picas para dar uma banda pelo mundo dos vivos, claro que dá errado. É por aqui que a história começa a se perder, poderia ter uma discussão sobre a luta do homem contra o destino, mas tudo isso é abafado pelo discurso de coach de day-trade da Rama Kushna que, como todo ser onipotente de qualquer história, não pode fazer nada.
Logo depois descobrimos que há um outro Desafiador, o primeiro discípulo de Raminha, que tá revoltado, fundou a Liga dos Assassinos - cadê Ra's? - e quer destruir Nanda Parbat e Raminha.
No final, as coisas meio que se ajeitam, mas Boston Brand precisa aprender o preço de ser um Desafiador ou alguma bobagem do gênero.
Contudo, o Garcia-López tá magistral como sempre, mas não o suficiente pra salvar essa porcaria.
E continuo não tendo lido, já que essa história, exceto pela arte, é uma porcaria.
Começa com o Desafiador alugando o corpo do irmão e mandando Nanda Parbat e Rama Kushna pras picas para dar uma banda pelo mundo dos vivos, claro que dá errado. É por aqui que a história começa a se perder, poderia ter uma discussão sobre a luta do homem contra o destino, mas tudo isso é abafado pelo discurso de coach de day-trade da Rama Kushna que, como todo ser onipotente de qualquer história, não pode fazer nada.
Logo depois descobrimos que há um outro Desafiador, o primeiro discípulo de Raminha, que tá revoltado, fundou a Liga dos Assassinos - cadê Ra's? - e quer destruir Nanda Parbat e Raminha.
No final, as coisas meio que se ajeitam, mas Boston Brand precisa aprender o preço de ser um Desafiador ou alguma bobagem do gênero.
Contudo, o Garcia-López tá magistral como sempre, mas não o suficiente pra salvar essa porcaria.
December 22, 2021
Interessante o dilema do Desafiador de ser um espírito, mas querer ter mais tempo de como humano. Isso gera consequências Interessantes, é uma história ok.
April 6, 2021
This is more like 3.5 stars.
I love the Deadman stuff. He's a cool character and anything with the League of Assassins is cool too. But the Challengers of the Unknown run was rough...and that's putting it mildly.
I love the Deadman stuff. He's a cool character and anything with the League of Assassins is cool too. But the Challengers of the Unknown run was rough...and that's putting it mildly.
August 1, 2019
Nesta edição de Desafiador, que segue as histórias criadas por Neal Adams e depois desenvolvidas no encontro de Boston Brand com o Batman, quando ele passa a "habitar" o corpo de seu irmão Cleveland Brand, temos um destaque muito maior para a arte que para o roteiro. Isso porque a arte é feita pelo virtuose e marca-registrada da DC Comics, o desenhista José Luiz García-López. Aqui percebemos que López incorporou bem a experimentalidade narrativo-mainstream que Neal Adams aplicava em seus trabalhos para a Marvel e DC Comics, produzindo lindos layouts de páginas de uma fluidez e desenvolvimento difíceis de encontrar mesmo nos trabalhos de Adams. Além disso se pode perceber outras influências dessa vanguarda narrativista dos quadrinhos como Jim Steranko e principalmente Jim Starlin, no que trange à visualização das cosmicidades e misticalidades de alguns conceitos como os da "deusa" Rama-Krushna. Desafiador: Retorno à Eternidade é uma publicação inusitada, que não estaria disponível à toa no catálogo da Panini Comics e nem é um quadrinho muito visado, mas a narrattiba de García-López vale cada centavo.
July 27, 2024
This was a rough collection to get through. The four issues of the 1986 relaunch were decent, even if they seem to have continued the relentless streak of every single Deadman comic featuring a retelling of his origin story which, given it's a fairly straightforward one, feels punishingly dull at this point.
Worse still, Deadman's half of Secret Origins #15 (the entire point of the Secret Origins series was tweaking/clarifying origin stories) is yet another retelling of his origin story. The changes made by this 1987 release are welcome ones, making the entire thing tighter and more cohesive BUT I never want to read about his origin again unless it's mentioned in passing or dealt with in a few lines of text.
The wackiest part of this collection - the last three issues of the 1970s' run of 'Challengers of the Unknown' - in which Jark Kirby's pre-Fantastic Four creation feel weirdly like a weak rip-off of the FF take Deadman and Swamp Thing along to 12,000,000 AD to have some incredibly rushed and largely very silly. Deadman plays very little role in the story, acting more like an exposition device than a superhero. I struggle even with higher end 1970s comic book storytelling and these often confusingly drawn issues are definitely not higher end.
Worse still, Deadman's half of Secret Origins #15 (the entire point of the Secret Origins series was tweaking/clarifying origin stories) is yet another retelling of his origin story. The changes made by this 1987 release are welcome ones, making the entire thing tighter and more cohesive BUT I never want to read about his origin again unless it's mentioned in passing or dealt with in a few lines of text.
The wackiest part of this collection - the last three issues of the 1970s' run of 'Challengers of the Unknown' - in which Jark Kirby's pre-Fantastic Four creation feel weirdly like a weak rip-off of the FF take Deadman and Swamp Thing along to 12,000,000 AD to have some incredibly rushed and largely very silly. Deadman plays very little role in the story, acting more like an exposition device than a superhero. I struggle even with higher end 1970s comic book storytelling and these often confusingly drawn issues are definitely not higher end.
September 15, 2026
And so ends the trek through 2 decades of Deadman appearances. We begin with a three-part story in Challengers of the Unknown. This is interesting because Deadman is operating only as a ghost and no one is aware they are having a team-up with Deadman.
Then there's the Deadman miniseries that does an okay somewhat retcon of Deadman's origins. If you're going to go out though, go out with the great José Luis García-López as your artist. This miniseries just has a great classic look to it. Garcia-Lopez is just top notch. It provides a nice book end for these books beginning with Neil Adams in Book One and finishing up with García-López here in Book Five.
Then there's the Deadman miniseries that does an okay somewhat retcon of Deadman's origins. If you're going to go out though, go out with the great José Luis García-López as your artist. This miniseries just has a great classic look to it. Garcia-Lopez is just top notch. It provides a nice book end for these books beginning with Neil Adams in Book One and finishing up with García-López here in Book Five.
September 24, 2023
If you are still hanging around for the fifth book in any given line then you are likely a completist, which is fine because only a completist would be interested in reading the material collected in this book. That is exactly where this line of books has failed, though. DC omitted so many Deadman appearances that it makes this line feel like a wasted opportunity, as this will appeal to neither the completists, the casual reader, nor the mainstream bookstore buyer.
Rounding up some of Deadman's pre-Crisis On Infinite Earths appearances, Deadman: Book Five is an okay read. That is the book's biggest problem: it is just okay. It is very middle of the road in terms of writing and artwork, although Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez turns in some fine work on the four issue mini-series. Things never seem to get out of third gear though.
The book starts out in a jarring manner, as you come in during the middle of a Challengers Of The Unknown story guest-starring Deadman and Swamp Thing. Leave it to DC to omit part one of a four part storyline. The Deadman mini-series from the '80s is good, but let's face it. It's Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez's artwork that carries it. The story in and of itself is mediocre. The book ends with a ret-con filled retelling of Deadman's origin from Secret Origins #15. This was an attempt to make it more streamlined for new readers.
So this line is done, although the omissions make it an unsatisfying accomplishment. Oh well. This is DC. They will never right this wrong, so fans will have to take whatever they can get.
Rounding up some of Deadman's pre-Crisis On Infinite Earths appearances, Deadman: Book Five is an okay read. That is the book's biggest problem: it is just okay. It is very middle of the road in terms of writing and artwork, although Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez turns in some fine work on the four issue mini-series. Things never seem to get out of third gear though.
The book starts out in a jarring manner, as you come in during the middle of a Challengers Of The Unknown story guest-starring Deadman and Swamp Thing. Leave it to DC to omit part one of a four part storyline. The Deadman mini-series from the '80s is good, but let's face it. It's Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez's artwork that carries it. The story in and of itself is mediocre. The book ends with a ret-con filled retelling of Deadman's origin from Secret Origins #15. This was an attempt to make it more streamlined for new readers.
So this line is done, although the omissions make it an unsatisfying accomplishment. Oh well. This is DC. They will never right this wrong, so fans will have to take whatever they can get.
January 14, 2023
Bit Of A Mixed Bag
This book is a little uneven.
Some of the teamups are a little weak but some of the other stories are good.
I do enjoy the Deadman stories and this one while not the best of the volumes it is certainly not the worst either.
If you like Deadman you will like this.
It fills in some of the gaps but what gripes me most is that it doesn’t seem to be in chronological order!
Still, it is worth the read.
Recommend with some slight reservations.
Bruce
This book is a little uneven.
Some of the teamups are a little weak but some of the other stories are good.
I do enjoy the Deadman stories and this one while not the best of the volumes it is certainly not the worst either.
If you like Deadman you will like this.
It fills in some of the gaps but what gripes me most is that it doesn’t seem to be in chronological order!
Still, it is worth the read.
Recommend with some slight reservations.
Bruce
February 8, 2024
This was my proper introduction to Deadman. Interesting character that died during a circus act. Now that's he's deceased, he can take over the living. The artwork is great in this trade while the writing is run of the mill.
November 1, 2018
ফান রাইড।
February 27, 2016
I liked it, but it started stronger than it finished in my opinion.
Still, I enjoyed meeting a character I knew nothing about.
Still, I enjoyed meeting a character I knew nothing about.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews