DCeased: War of the Undead Gods

DCeased (Collected Editions) #5

by Tom Taylor, Trevor Hairsine (illustrator)

What began as a battle for Earth has become a war for the galaxy as the epic final chapter in the massive DCeased franchise is here! The emergence of a reborn, undead Darkseid in Dead Planet sets the stage for the most devastating conflict yet for Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman! As the Anti-Life Equation spreads into the cosmos, the survivors of Earth prepare for the coming apocalypse and realize their only hope could lie in the most powerful surviving hero from the first DCeased series… Collecting War of the Undead Gods #1-8.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Horror, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Zombies

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2022

About the author

Once a professional juggler and fire eater, Tom Taylor is a #1 New York Times Bestselling, multi-award-winning comic book writer, playwright and screenwriter.

Well known for his work with DC Comics and Marvel, Taylor is the co-creator of NEVERLANDERS from Penguin Random House, SEVEN SECRETS from Boom Studios and the Aurealis-Award-winning graphic novel series THE DEEP. Taylor is also the Head Writer and Executive Producer of The Deep animated series, four seasons of which is broadcast in over 140 countries.

He is perhaps best known for the DC Comics series, DCEASED (Shadow Awards Winner), NIGHTWING (nominated for 5 Eisner Awards), SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL (GLAAD Award Nominee), INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US, SUICIDE SQUAD, EARTH 2 and BATMAN/SUPERMAN as well as Marvel's FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN, ALL NEW WOLVERINE, X-MEN: RED, DARK AGES and SUPERIOR IRON MAN. Taylor is also the writer of many Star Wars series, which include STAR WARS: INVASION and STAR WARS: BLOOD TIES (Stan Lee Excelsior Award winner). Taylor has written for Marvel, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, Boom Studios, Wildstorm, 2000 AD and Gestalt Comics.

He can be followed on twitter @TomTaylorMade.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good ending to the DCeased storyline.
Like Injustice, Tom Taylor was able to take what should have been a go-nowhere story and turn it into an interesting Elseworlds franchise.



I think one of the main reasons I enjoy Taylor's Elseworld comics is that I'm always surprised by the choices he makes. You never know who is going to die, who is going to make it, or who is going to take up the mantle of a fallen hero.



I can't say much without giving away the outcome, but while this time around the heroes have the cure to the Anti-Life equation, they still have to face down the gods of New Genesis and the rest of the godlike powerhouses that the virus has taken over. In the process they discover that the virus isn't just sentient, it is actually a being of immense power.
And this isn't the first time it has ended all life as they know it.



Mr. Taylor, thank you for taking me on another great ride.
Recommended.

[Scott Rhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome. "War of the Undead Gods" is the satisfying conclusion to Tom Taylor's surprisingly decent graphic novel series DCeased, which pits the DC superheroes against a universal zombie apocalypse.

In this final volume: A cure has been found, and the heroes are busy inoculating the infected, but far out in distant galaxies, Darkseid's anti-life equation virus is spreading, including to Darkseid himself. It turns out that Darkseid has been duped by an even more-powerful, more-malevolent supernatural entity called Erebos. Every superhero on every planet in every galaxy is called to battle in the ultimate showdown.

Super-fun, with entertaining and weird cameos (Lobo and Mr. Mxtlplk, e.g.), "War of the Undead Gods" is a perfect anti-boredom equation.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

We're finally at the end of the Tom Taylor's DCeased saga, an epic that I've been following from the beginning, showing the entire DC Universe contending with an outbreak of a spoiled Anti-Life Equation turning who ever comes into contact with it into anti-living "zombies." This time, even though the survivors on the New-Earth have found a cure, the virus has now gone beyond Earth and is spreading throughout the universe, infecting beings that prove to be bigger threats than they've ever faced.

Once again, Taylor is really clever with some of the twists and plot-points, like the way that the virus ultimately goes universal. But I really wish that there wasn't yet another big bad multiverse villain introduced as the true source behind the virus. I'm pretty surprised that this decision was made. It's like the Anti-Life virus wasn't enough and the creators had to come up with a half-baked explanation for everything. This really weakened everything that came before and it never really came to anything of impact.

But I did really love the ending and thought that it was pretty powerful. I just wish that the final villain was something that was a real threat that we were following from the beginning. It would've made the whole series feel a lot more cohesive.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A natural progression and epic conclusion to DCeased. Perhaps contradictory to say, but it’s a little too much of a spectacle at times. It is a dramatic end, but the journey from the first few issues to here is a worthy ride, and one that deserves to be experienced from start to finish.

[Bill Riggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

An appropriate emotional and thrilling end to the series. Sacrifices are made and the true meaning of heroism is displayed when heroes and villains join forces in the final battle to save their universe.

[Marc · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very weak chapter overall.

[Ric · Rating 1 out of 5]

A compeltely random way to end the series.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know that this was a five-star book until the last 3 or so issues and then I was blown away! They pull out all stops for this conclusion to the DCeased world in some of the most ambitious ways, and I loved it! Wasn’t sure how this would end, but I couldn’t have imagined a better narrative. Beautiful story and art make this a great book!

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'M EMOTIONAL, SOMEONE HOLD ME.
What an ending!!!
I have thoroughly enjoyed this series, from start to finish... Amazing.
It made laugh, it made me cry, it made be gasp, it made me feel all the feels.
Definitely something I'd reread and would recommend!

[Abdollah zarei · Rating 4 out of 5]

واقعا پایان خوبی برای این سری بود. راضی بودم ازش. بسیار پیشنهاد می شود

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 3 out of 5]

DComposição, o título brasileiro para DCeased, a realidade alternativa em que um vírus da anti-vida de Darkseid transformou quase todos em zumbis desmortos chega a seu volume final, de uma série de vários encadernados. A série de sucesso foi encabeçada por Tom Taylor e Trevor Hairsine com diversos colaboradores. Contudo toda vaca cujo leite é muito sugado acaba definhando e é o que acontece com DComposição, com um final muito aquém daquele começo divertido e estarrecedor da saga, ou das partes mais intensificadas e subjetivas com o volume 2 que não em arte de Hairsine. Nesta edição, o vírus de Darkseid finalmente chega nos Novos Deuses que prometem destruir a tudo e a todos. Então se nota que a ameaça não era bem Darkseid, que foi também dominado, mas algo muito maior e mais existencial que vai precisar da ajuda de um novo Espectro. Acho que quando essa série começou ninguém contava que iria tão longe e Tom Taylor conseguiu mais um feito, mesmo com a trama toda dando seus sinais de desgaste.

[Peter Derk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m all in on the return of crusty biker Lobo and his resurgence.

In the anals (I know that may strike you as being incorrectly spelled, but I assure you, it’s correct) of DC blunders, slim, emo Lobo has to be one of the more inexplicable ones.

Were we courting the audience of chicks who like Edward Cullen and Legolas? Which is fine, but did we think LOBO was that gateway character?

The first Lobo story I read involved him being killed, eaten by snails, shit out by said snails, and then being stitched back together by his healing factor.

There have to be dozens of better options. Off the top of my head:

1. Nightwing: slam dunk.
2. Animal Man: young him up, and he’s catnip for the furry crowd.
3. Booster Gold: dude time travels, so just make him a young influencer or whatever.
4. One of them Legion kids. Take your pick.
5. Nightwing again. Because c’mon, it’s right there.
6. Plastic Man: he could easily identify with the challenges of modern beauty standards.
7. Deadman: just make him a little sexier, less rot-y.
8. Swamp Thing: guy is a nice set of teeth away from being a total hunk.
9. Superboy: I think he’s gay now(Superman’s son is gay, not sure if he’s Superboy, though). But that doesn’t mean he can’t be the target of crushes.
10. Damian Wayne: dark past, lithe figure. It’s all there.
11. Mercury from the Metal Men: why not?
12. That Uncle from the Marvel Family: get the man in a crossfit gym.

[Zhyar Jasim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not crying. I'm not crying. I'm not crying.

[Spens (Sphynx Reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5

Kind of an underwhelming conclusion. Something about superhero stories turning to cosmic levels of chaos just makes me less interested in the story and characters. I wish we'd seen more of the aftermath of the events as well.

[Bene Vogt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taylor‘s talent for playing the ridiculous straight but grounding it with excellent character work, elevating it with strangely effective drama and tragedy and lightening it with witty banter is once again in full display here, only turned up even further than in previous volumes.
(I’d now list some of the ever escalating cliffhangers in this seemingly infinite series of threat escalations, but that would feel like spoiling half the fun)
Sadly, the final boss is somewhat of a now-event, but the way there is very much fun.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man...this made me CRY. I didn't see that coming. I've only read this volume in the DCeased series and I think it held up really well on its own. I didn't feel lost or confused about anything that was happening. Artwork was very well done and I was completely invested in this from the beginning. Picked this one up on a Kindle deal...will have to keep an eye out for others in this series. Loved this one.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice ending to the whole story. I hope DC allows this storyline to stand on its own, rather than attempt to return to it over and over. It was a very good story with a beginning, middle, and end. It was interesting to see such a big story with such a satisfying conclusion. Overall DCeased was well done, reminding me of Injustice in that we had a great alternate universe take on the DCU.

[Cristhian · Rating 4 out of 5]

¿Por qué un cómic de zombies me hace llorar?

[Madara · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3/5
Quality of writing: 5
Plot development: 4
Pace: 4
Characters: 4
Enjoyability: 4
Ease of reading: 5

[Nick Olwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic conclusion, great characters and storylines and crossovers. My only issue is that it feels fairly rushed. I wish they wrote a bit more and elaborated on some plot/exposition.

[Kelsey Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ A good ending for a series I’ve really enjoyed. A great concept!

[Jesse A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unnecessarily convoluted but over all still fun.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

holy f*ck that ending WRECKED ME

[Louis Skye · Rating 5 out of 5]

More 4.5, than 4. I’m really surprised by how much I’m enjoying this series, even though some of my favourite characters died early on or simple don’t exist here.

But what’s absolutely incredible about this series is Alfred. Holy fatherly bonds, Batman, everything about Alfred is so moving. Love it!

[Eco · Rating 2 out of 5]

They were dragging this for too long

[Brian Rosenberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

DCeased: War of the Undead Gods
DC, Collects issues 1-8

Then. The city of Kandor is under attack by Brainiac. Her parents send Kara Zor-El to New Genesis. Bad Idea. New Genesis is overrun by the DCeased.

Cut to the present. With the cure in their possession, the heroes set out to save the infected Superman, currently residing in the Sun’s core. They succeed. And there was much rejoicing. A badly damaged Brainiac appears, “The Gods are dead. But still, they come… The Dead Gods will end everything.” Brainiac offers the bottle city of Kandor to Superman as a sign of his good faith.

Big Barda and Mr. Miracle arrive on New Genesis, finding it in ruins. The Black Racer appears. Darkseid has returned. The Mother Boxes have been infected. Boom Tubes have been replaced by Doom Tubes. Darkseid’s first target was the planet Korugar. Their distress call was heard by Korugar’s native son Sinestro and his Yellow Lantern Corps. Sinestro arrives with Warworld in tow, joined by Green Lanterns Kyle Rayner and Sinestro’s daughter Soranik. Enter DCeased Kara Zor-El. Darkseid kills Sinestro and gains possession of his power ring. I was not expecting that!

Flashback to Wonder Woman infecting Adam Strange. Strange returns to his adopted planet Rann, now at war with the plant Thanagar. Given his present state, Adam’s family isn’t smiling about his return.

DCeased Thanagarians mistakenly kill a bartender in the Rylex System. The mistake being it’s Lobo’s bartender. The Main Man responds in typical Main Man fashion.

Cut to Themyscira and Diana’s funeral. God of War Ares warns “…a war is coming that cannot be won. The Final War.” Ares reveal the real enemy is Erebos, the primordial personification of Darkness. Pretty ominous right?

Interlude with Alfred, Damian, and Leslie Tompkins.

The next stop on Darkseid’s tour is the planet Almerac, a planet of warriors. The inhabitants flee the planet. Maxima and Primaa stay to fight. Mistake.

Cut to the planet OA. Twelve planets have been lost, over a hundred billion lives. The Guardians sanction lethal force. A fight breaks out between the Guardians, the GLC, and the gathered heroes. Batman confronts Ares about manipulating those present. “I just gave you all a little nudge.” Enter 5th Dimension trouble-maker Mr. Mxyzptlk.

The next stop on Darkseid’s tour is the planet Bolovax Vik, Kilowog’s home planet. Darkseid infects Mxyzptlk. Things get bleak. Exit Kilowog, John Stewart, the planet Bolovax Vik, the planet OA and the Central Battery, what powers the GLC rings. Enter the Spectre who restores power. Spectre and the GLC clash with Mxyzptlk. Mxyzptlk is defeated with Superman’s help. The Spectre also falls.

Earth 2 is attacked by the DCeased thanks to the infected Mother Boxes. Alfred becomes the Spectre’s new host. I was not expecting that! The new Spectre ends the DCeased Highfather.

Cyborg takes control of an infected Brainiac and frees the inhabitants of Kandor. They join the battle. The kill list increases. The new Spectre returns with the Cure, resurrecting some of the fallen, including Darkseid. I did not see that coming!

Damian consults with the Black Racer and Cyborg on how to stop Erebus.

Ares, Black Racer, Darkseid, and the heroes confront Erebus. Amazingly, their plan works but the victory is not without loss. Be warned - It’s a tearjerker. Grab some Kleenex.

Best quotes:
Guy Gardner – “Should I be worried about hurting the feelings of a planet-killing super-villain?”
Guy Gardner – “For a guy called Brainiac, you’re a bit of an idiot.”
Guy Gardner – “… if Brainiac is your side, maybe you should rethink your side.”
Lobo – “I’ll save the stupid universe.”
Darkseid – “My vengeance will be terrible.”
Damian – “I’ve been talking to Death.”
Lobo on Ares – “He’s more like the creepy stalker of War than the God of it.”
Guy Gardener – “ Poking fun at Darkseid was a level of stupid that even I’m self-aware enough to recognize.”

Overall, I loved the series. One of my favorite reads in recent memory. Shocks, twists, and a good portion of the DCU appears. The TPB comes with variant covers. Highly recommended.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good. The artwork is fantastic, I am no art critic, but I just love the way the pictures jump off the page.

The story was solid. A satisfying conclusion to an arc I've only been able to follow tangentially. I had my issues with the story, but it ended well enough.

It seemed like Kara got a raw deal and didn't have much agency, she makes more of a cameo in the beginning and then is immediately turned and made Darseid's henchmen.

I didn't care for the reveal of this Erebos (?), seemed like instead of coming to the conclusion that all life is sacred and important, like they did with Big Bartha earlier in the series, they just gave evil a face so it could be punched. Seemed like they oversimplified a message that would have landed with impact.

Minor characters ended up being major players (Vengeance? Big Barda and Mr. Miracle?) While other characters were set up to do something great only to be left on the sideline (Lobo, the Guardians, Kara would fit here). I liked that Alfred play a larger role, and I liked that other characters were able to step up, but it seemed like you were getting pretty close to the bottom of the barrel considering I don't remember seeing Aquaman, Booster Gold, the Question, or Constantine.

And before you come at me for the earlier stories in the series killing these characters. They found replacements for everyone else, I don't think they needed Death (who????) to play that large a role. The have entire rogues galleries full of characters that I don't remember seeing before I need to care about that one guy from that one world, or the girl from the other world, or fifteen different Green Lanterns who are all basically worthless.

I like Damien's sacrifice at the end. Seemed like we bent over backwards to find a happy ending, and I liked that there was sacrifice. There has to be sacrifice for anything to matter. Honestly, I wish there had been more.

A flawed, but satisfying ending. Worth an hours worth of read time.

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had been waiting around to read this comic for months now but wanted to binge it and omg its so worth it, like it doesn't disappoint one bit, right from the get go showing how cosmic the threat is of the unliving Darkseid more like Deadseid and then infecting the new gods and how they are spreading death across the universe and how the heroes and GLC have to band together to save it, and what they do to Warworld, Korugar and other planets is just insane but makes for great cliff hangers if you were following it in single issues.

It gets even more epic when you see which other heroes are infected and the twist with Brainiac and what will Superman and other heroes do to save the universe? Plus so many other great cameos and moments I don't wanna spoil but the one with Alfred was maybe the best and my god I was screaming when that happened and it made sense considering what he went through and it will make you drop the comic in surprise and then pick it back up again and read . Thats just the testament to how well Taylor writes these characters. Also Erebos as the main villain behind it was such a great reveal and makes sense, and something new to DCU and his design in the last issue is scary and he is literally GOD - god of darkness (the great darkness?) .

I loved every moment of it, but the ending hits so hard like you see it coming and you know how it will go but the way he gives such an awesome moment to that one character and it will make you a bit sad and feel for them considering their whole history and the mantle they inherited, it makes sense but maybe thats the emotional stand point of this story and why you will love it.

Its a story which started with death and ends in life, and comes full circle. Its an amazing comic and I highly implore you to read it and just have one heck of an adventure in this part of the DC multiverse.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the first two volumes of DCeased a lot more than I thought I would. It was even better than similar events like Marvel Zombies or Blackest Night. What I really liked was the new "Trinity" of Batman (Damian Wayne), Superman (Jon Kent), and Wonder Woman (Cassie...something). In the first book they're just young sidekicks but in the second book they grow up.

Unfortunately until the end this doesn't give them a lot to do. Instead because the disease has spread throughout the galaxy thanks to Darkseid there's a lot going on with "New Gods" and Darkseid destroying planets and adding those to their numbers. There's also the revival of Kal-El from the sun so he comes back and is involved a lot along with Green Arrow, Green Lantern Canary (formerly Black Canary), and Guy Gardner. Really I wanted the new Trinity to take charge, which they don't do until the final issue. There's also a lot of Alfred, who gains a new identity.

Still, it's an action-packed book and the story mostly makes sense, especially if you're more familiar than me with all the New Gods and cosmic stuff. The art is pretty standard for DC but it's clean and neat so you can tell what's happening and who's who, unlike some other comics.

The only thing that really ruined it for me was killing the greatest Green Lantern of all. Stupid poozers. While it says "the end" I'm sure they could do more, though I don't know how it could get any bigger than this. I'd just like to see more of what happens to this new universe as it tries to recover. That's always a sign of a good story when you don't want it to end.

[Bob Raul · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely terrible in every way. Forget this is a zombie story because the story forgets about it immediately after it starts.

Finding the cure at the end of the last series was probably a mistake, because this has devolved into random meathead fights with no rythm or purpose. This has all the problems of the other Dceased series, like inventing random situations in a single issue that have nothing to do with the themes or plot of the story to tell the readers "hey, this is sad, you should be sad now. Cry please". The characters are cardboard cutouts with no personality. The narrator telling us what we're seeing and how awesome it is (be amazed you people!) like we're 5 years old and need to be reminded constantly. No stakes, no horror, no plot at all other than action figures smashing against each other for 8 issues.

And lmao at that ending. Not only does it come out of nowhere (like everything else here), not only falls into the trap of making popular but street level characters fell like THE MOST POWERFUL THING EVER because writers want to tell cosmic stories but love Batman, it has the gall to pretend there was foreshadowing in the first series because of a joke Green Arrow made and was looking at Damian, and you can see Taylor's muscles break because of how much he's stretching to try to pretend that was a thing.

LMFAO.

If you're making stuff as you go along, be honest with your readers. Don't insult their intelligence.

This was lame.