DCeased: Unkillables

DCeased (Collected Editions) #2

by Tom Taylor, Karl Mostert (Illustrator), Trevor Scott (Illustrator)

Autores: Tom Taylor • Karl Mostert
¡EN EL FIN DEL MUNDO, LOS VILLANOS HEREDARÁN LA TIERRA! El virus Antivida ha devastado la Tierra, convirtiendo a su población y a la mayoría de sus máximos héroes en zombies voraces y sin sentido. La Liga de la Justicia ha caído. Los sobrevivientes se aferran a la vida. Y en estos tiempos oscuros, ¡solo los metahumanos más oscuros sobrevivirán! Liderados por Deathstroke, el mayor asesino del mundo, una tripulación letal de villanos y antihéroes ha sobrevivido al ataque inicial, y el inmortal Vándalo Salvaje los ha reunido como los improbables guardianes de las últimas vidas en el planeta. Mientras tanto, el antihéroe Red Hood también conocido como Jason Todd, el antiguo Robin ha reunido a un escuadrón de luchadores contra el crimen y vigilantes dedicados a hacer retroceder la oscuridad. Nadie esperaba que estos dos grupos fueran los salvadores de la (súper) humanidad. Pero a menos que todos dejen de lado sus diferencias y luchen juntos como uno, la Antivida reinará... Si pensabas que el Apocalipsis era malo, ¡espera a conocer a los sobrevivientes!
Corresponde a DCeased: Unkillables #1-3.

Formato: Libro | 17x24 cm, Peso 500 grs., 144 págs
ISBN: 978-987-724-686-5

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

142 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 13, 2021

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]

This is a fun end of the world scenario from DC!



I'm loving DCeased, and Taylor's take on this group of unkillable villains was incredibly entertaining.



The only thing I wasn't in love with was Karl Mostert's art.



Something about the proportions of the faces are just off. Red Hood's cheekbones look like he's been assaulted with a knife. And while some panels are better than others, this was never something that I would call a feast for your eyes.



But the story was good enough to make me overlook characters who appeared to have been hit in the face with a shovel.
PS - The covers were amazing!



Anyway, the main DCeased storyline has the heroes doing spoilery stuff elsewhere, so this focus on a small group of orphans who are currently being protected by Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain, Jim Gordon.



Plot things happen, and you end up with a group of villains who have been gathered together by Vandal Savage because of their unique resistance to the virus getting thrown together with our heroes and these kids.
Is there anyone who can resist a scrappy little orphan?
I highly doubt it.



Good stuff!
Highly Recomended.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

This companion piece to DCeased may even be better. It's about the people left behind when the heroes leave Earth. A group of villains along with some Batman sidekicks and orphans. Taylor really knows how to bring the heart out in a zombie apocalypse comic. It even survives some terrible art by Karl Mostert. He really tries hard to ape early Frank Quitely but with some very fugly faces and overly skinny bodies.

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 5 out of 5]

The end of the world brings strange alliances and a band of villains and anti-heroes finds out still having an heart.



Probably better than the original DCeased mini-series and artist Karl Mostert was born to draw great action scenes, sadly its style of drawing faces was not much my cup of tea.



Luckly storyline was so good that you can just forgive that and enjoy the ride.



☆☆☆☆1/2 rounded up to ☆☆☆☆☆ by  that unexpected badass ending.



It's hard to write a good and original tale in the zombie genre but Tom Taylor, at ease with apocalyptic elseworlds after working on Injustice: Gods Among Us, totally made another bullseye here.



Nota: ho comprato e letto l'edizione italiana del volume ma, essendo ormai abituato a leggere e recensire fumetti inglesi/americani in lingua originale, mi ci è scappata la solita in english maccheronico e non mi andava di rifarla.



Già che ci sono aggiungo che il mio voto per il volume edito da Panini è di ☆☆☆☆ stelle invece di ☆☆☆☆☆ a causa di un errore di traduzione che mi ha fatto veramente inorridire, altro che gli zombi: "Stamina of Atlas" (ATLANTE) è diventato "La resistenza di ATLANTIDE".



Oh, santo cielo...

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

DCeased: Unkillables is a sequel-ish/companion piece to DCeased that mostly focuses on what the villains were up to during the events of the first book while the heroes were dealing with the deathly-modified Anti-Life Equation - and, surprisingly, it’s actually better than the main book!

The story follows Deathstroke, his daughter Ravager, Red Hood, Batgirl/Cassandra Cain, Jim Gordon, and Ace the Bathound as the fallout from the Anti-Life virus sends them out of Gotham towards an orphanage in Bludhaven. Meanwhile, a buncha villains headed up by Vandal Savage are hiding out on a remote island to wait out the zombie apocalypse before emerging to take over what’s left of the world.

To those who are planning on reading this and don’t want to know specific plot points, I’ll leave you with the verdict that DCeased: Unkillables is a decent superhero/zombie mashup that’s worth a look even if you didn’t love the first volume - and SPOILERS here on out!

It was fairly interesting following Deathstroke’s adventures as he takes out a house of white supremacists in the opening scene and discovers his healing factor makes him impervious to the virus. There’s a lotta silly humour in this one (mostly provided by The Creeper and his “tree lobster” material) which felt a bit much at times though in other scenes it worked well, juxtaposed with the violence. I also liked that Jason insisted on putting Joker’s corpse on the hood of the Batmobile before they left the city!

The story got a bit dull once they were all in the Bludhaven orphanage waiting for things to happen. As well as Tom Taylor writes the villains so that they’re more than simply the one-dimensional baddies they normally appear as, he does overdo it a bit so that they become these sappy friends to the orphans in a predictable turn. Also unsurprising is how the parent characters like Deathstroke and Shiva behave towards their daughters in cliched final scenes.

Karl Mostert’s art was pretty good for the most part but the way he drew characters’ faces was really irksome. Jason Todd in particular looked horrendously ugly, though no character’s face looked normal.

Zombie Wonder Woman proves to be an effective and entertaining foil to the villains (“Unkillables” is a laughably inaccurate name for this group - they are very killable!), though the appearance of a character near her power level at the end was very convenient, particularly as she seems to have been hiding in plain sight the whole time but only chose to reveal herself in the final act!

Similarly contrived is Poison Ivy’s sanctuary in Gotham - how can her garden not be breached? And, if that’s the case, why not continue extending it further out to encompass more and more of the city?

Anyhoodles. Parts of the story are uncreative and stereotypically uninteresting while others are imaginative and entertaining. It’s a mixed bag but DCeased: Unkillables overall isn’t a bad read - a surprisingly fun follow-up to the first book.

[Jim Ef · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.8/10

Like in the first volume, Tom Taylor does such a good job. The character interaction is great, there is action and tension but it's also emotional.
The art is a yes and no for me. It does everything fine except the faces. They look weird at best

If you like post apocalyptic / zombie type of stories you should definitely check out DCeased.

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS WAS AGAIN SO GOOD OMG!

I loved this one!

We see how the villains reacted to when the whole thing with heroes vs zombies was going on and I love again how Taylor writes it. Seeing how the villains come together and the thing with Red hood and Gordon and how they all meet and then saving a group of children and seeing the good side of the villains but with the coming of zombie army of Anti-life and the one leading them aka WW herself.. it will not be easy. The series will make you love these villains and when the time comes for them to go, its gonna make you cry and its so well done, just brilliantly written by Taylor over here!

Plus the endings for Lady Shiva and Deathstroke are like some of the best ever and it connects really well with the main DCeased series in the end really well plus amazing art again!! Taylor is on fire with this whole universe and he is really delivering one of the best stories in DC multiverse.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as bloody and somehow almost twice the fun (if that's what you can call it). There are two sides to every coin and getting to explore that from both a hero and villain perspective allows for interesting introspection and team up moments. With Gordon and Slade leading the charge, the game of survival continues, but with less morals and mercy.

triggers graphic violence, gore

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A spin-off from DCeased that is happening at the same time but doesn't so much cross over as suffer from the aftershocks of the events there. As the world is overrun with Anti-Life zombies, a group of villains led by Vandal Savage takes refuge on a small Pacific Island to wait out the disaster. Meanwhile, James Gordon has retreated to Bludhaven with a couple Bat-family antiheroes -- Jason Todd and Cassandra Cain -- and finds himself protecting the survivors of an orphanage. As is wont to happen in zombie fiction, the situation deteriorates and the two storylines collide.

More muted than the mothership, events pick up at the end while still almost succeeding at getting -- huh? -- heartwarming?? It's a satisfying read, but the script is a bit clumsy at times as it tries to balance humor and drama, and the plot certainly has a lot of dangling strings that will not hold up to any sort of tugging. Good popcorn fare though.

[Adah Udechukwu · Rating 5 out of 5]

DCeased Unkillables is lit. It's got a great plot, great artwork, great everything.

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 4 out of 5]

DCeased: Unkillables is not only the best drawn volume in the series but also the one with the most emotion and character development, making it, unarguably, the best one in the series.

[Kadi P · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was nearly almost perfect. So close to perfect. I'd give it 4.8 stars.

Although this was on the relatively short side I'm very impressed with how much they managed to fit into it. There was perhaps more character growth in this than in DCeased which had twice as many issues. The character growth really was this limited series' strong suit. We get to see Jason dealing with the loss of most of the batfamily, having to shoot Billy Batson, seeing Joker dead but never having the chance to kill him himself and so much more.

We also get, and this is really my favourite part, hardcore villains showing their softer side. It's that villains becoming heroes trope that really made this whole comic for me. Creeper in particular is weird (I noticed that he's green like Beast Boy and has a similar humour too, so he's like the villain version of Beast Boy) but he shone in this.

There were some horrifying moments, some heartfelt moments and quite a bit of gory fighting, as is required of DC's zombie equivalent comic. In my opinion anti-virus Wonder Woman was overused.

One thing I didn't really understand was why Mary Marvel said she'd explain why she never told everyone who she really was but then she never did explain. I guess I'll forever wonder about that!

The ending was really cute but in a sad way. It was like a very dim light at the end of a very dark tunnel and hats off to Tom Taylor for managing to make me attached to these characters after only 3 issues.

There's a lot more awesome moments I haven't written about here but they're all in my status updates for this comic so you should check those out too (beware there are some spoilers there).

One thing I haven't mentioned but a lot of others have is the art. It was really bad. Like the artist CANNOT draw faces, which is pretty bad for a comic artist where that kind of thing is required more than in any other medium. That's why I'm not saying this comic was perfect. Luckily, the story was solid enough to overcome the terrible art.

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK, maybe just 4.5 stars. But this was a rally well done story. It takes place around the main DCeased story and really is much better. I like the villains teaming up to survive. The villains getting the chance to do good and they do more than be good they saved people. My only real dislike for the story is how they get chased out of their safe place - it was dumb. Then having Zombie Wonder Woman show up batting clean up for evil but then unable to ruin the day. It would have been a better story without Wonder Woman when there are so many other infected god level supers still on that Earth. Besides we know they can't kill WW she is in other DCeased stories.

Anyway, good stuff.

[Jess Bragg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved all of DCeased but this was my fave

[Vigneswara Prabhu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating 5 out of 5 |Grade: A ; You've just stopped being a study group. You've now become something unstoppable. I hereby pronounce you a COMMUNITY


Review:

If you’d told me that someone can take a group of antiheroes & villains, people that years of continuity have conditioned you to portray as the bad guys, and then turn them into likable, empathetic, decent, even heroic individuals, then I’d ask you what you’re smoking, and let me try some. But that is exactly what writer Tom Taylor and co. managed to do, with some of DC’s lesser known baddies. All in a barely 150 pages, spin off limited series no less.

So, here’s the skinny. Following the events of DCeased, a corrupted anti life equation, with Cyborg as its patient zero managed to infect, through technology & blood, the majority of the human population, including several of our greatest heroes. What remained of humanity, aided by the remnants of the Justice league, managed to escape in massive arks. And with some late assists from the Green Lantern corps made way to colonize a new home. Leaving Earth to be taken over by the undead creatures, slave to the techno-organic plague that was the anti life virus.


Even though the heroes managed to ferry several million uninfected people, majority of the human survivors to safety, pressing constraints in time and the overwhelming legions lined against them meant that they had to leave many more to the mercy of the anti life zombies.



DCeased; The unkillables, deals with several such groups of individuals, heroes, antiheroes, villains, civilians, who were left behind, and are trying to make most of the world and their life, after its fall. At some point, these various groups of survivors come together, trying to reach some semblance of safety, away from the looming pervading specter of death which had taken up their world.

The story focuses on mainly three groups of survivors; a group of supervillains under Vandal Savage who, either due to their natural healing factors, or innate talent, have managed to stave off the Anti life equation. The second group, composed of Red Hood, Commissioner Gordon, Cassandra Cain & Bat dog Ace, as they make their way out of the ruins of Gotham, after dealing with the deaths of their family. Finally, there is a large group of children, who managed to barricade themselves inside their school premises, when their fellow classmates and caretakers were taken by the plague. In course, these groups would come together and help each other in their survival.

One might naturally ask ‘V, how does one make a group of murdering, conniving and antisocial criminals and villains into relatable individuals. While reminding that said group consists of the likes of Bane, Solomon Grundy, Cheetah, Lady Shiva, Dead Shot, Death stroke, Lady Death stroke, Mirror Master, Captain Cold, Creeper and the likes.’

Well, what you first do is take off all of their masks. Because in this new ruined world, there is no purpose in playing with capes and masks. There are no cops & robbers playing the eternal game of chase. There are no longer any Big blue boy scouts, trying to appeal to your humanity. No caped crusaders putting the ever-living fear of God in you. There are only the people next to you, all bound by a beating heart, against those of the undead.

You make them talk like normal people, about their fears, loss, pains, mistakes. You make them argue over their differing ideologies and force them to confront the fact that no matter what their lives were before, now, here and now, none of those matters. Only Survival matters.

Then, you take them and make them into mentors for the children, for, as cold logic dictates, once civilization has collapsed, even children need to learn how to defend themselves, so as not be left behind, and to be able to contribute to their collective survival. You show them teaching, interacting, communicating, bonding and in no time something changes.

Solomon Grundy, the unfeeling Immortal murder machine, becomes Uncle grundy who gives the children swing rides on his massive arms.

Deadshot, the cold indifferent marksman, becomes the mentor that teaches you how to bash a zombie skull in with a slingshot.

Cheetah the homicidal hunter hellbent on killing Wonder woman, becomes the survival teacher and adorable kitty cat, who would dare no harm to her children.

Creeper becomes that eccentric cousin, who is able to make you crack up even during the direst of circumstances.

Finally, Deathstroke, the former unfeeling assassin who would murder anyone for the right price, he, along with Gordon becomes the exacting, fair and caring Den father to this group of orphans. This group now, from the ragtag group of survivors which it starts off as, becomes something more, something which cares; It becomes a study group…. I mean, a family.

When you then take this newly founded family of misfits, and throw them into the testing grounds, these characters, who formerly all acted upon self-interest, begin to show aspects of their personality which would surprise.

In defense of these children, and their newfound family, they are willing to battle insurmountable odds, lay their own lives on the line, and dare say even learn to act heroic.

The writers do such a good job of making the villains likable that there is one scene where Cheetah, Grundy & Creeper are taking on Zombie Wonder woman. Not only do you want the former villains to win, but you actually fear for their lives, as to what not Diana might do to them. R.I.P Kitty Cat.



That could be considered the quintessential essence of this story. How to make unlikeable characters, likable, even admirable. For a standalone spin off, that is quite the band for the buck.





The Art:

The art style for The Unkillables is, admittedly a step down from the dark, horrific yet captivating frames put forth in the main series. The action is adequate, however the character design, the way they emote and move seems a bit janky.



But those are aspects which you can forgive, as from the onset, the relatively slow and easygoing pace demonstrates that this is a more content and character heavy narrative. The purpose is not just to draw fantastical fight scenes, of which there are a few, but to explore these characters in this setting. And in that regard, the series does a phenomenal job.

Closing Thoughts:

DCeased stories seem to have a habit of giving us badass, and at times inappropriately funny scenes. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention them.

For example, there is this one page, where Jason, upon finding Joker to be already dead, works through his issues in an unconventional manner against his nemesis. Namely



There is a scene where Vandal Savage, the 50000-year-old Immortal, who sees a zombified wonder women in bloodrage, and makes a face which clearly conveyed ‘Oh Damn, I went and f**ked up’.



Or when Deathstroke, in a final act of sacrifice, holds off an entire undead horde, by himself, just so the group can escape.



Or a traumatized Mary Marvel, after Billy Batson becomes zombified, finally overcoming her fears and goes toe to toe against Zombie Diana and turns her to paste.





Lady Shiva, the deadliest assassin on earth, finally acknowledging her love for Cassandra, and as a final act of defiance, rips out her own heart so as not to turn into a zombie



I started off DCeased with an amount of trepidation, as outlined in my review for that title. But not only have I grown to love it; I’m loving each accompanying tie in title. This world which Tom Taylor has cooked up, is ripe to be explored and mined for quality content.

Here’s looking forwards for more engaging stories from ‘The DCeased’.

TREE LOBSTERS FOR LIFE!

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom Taylor does it again.

Revisiting the DCeased universe, this three issue mini-series puts the focus on a small group of ragtag characters that have no business being friends and yet after these three issues you'll wish you had more time with them together. Across such a short space of time, Taylor creates bonds that you'd never expect to see forged, and then rips them apart with zombie versions of your favourite characters so it hurts twice as much as usual. Whereas the original DCeased was a broad, wide-ranging story, this is a much more personal affair, and that almost makes the stakes feel higher.

The art is by DC newcomer Karl Mostert; it's much more grounded and solid than DCeased's Trevor Hairsine, and he sells the emotions in these characters without even trying. He's definitely going to be one to watch in the near future, I can guarantee it.

Unkillables is the second entry in the DCeased universe, but after these three issues you'll think you've been there for years and years, and I hope that long continues.

[Shaun Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

DCeased: Unkillables collects 1-3 of the comic of the same name by Tom Taylor with art by Trevor Scott and Karl Mostert.

Unkillables is mini story that takes between DCeased and DCeased Dead Planet. Deathstroke has survived the Anti-Life equation due to his healing ability. He saves his daughter Ravager where they are left to fight for their lives against the undead. Vandal Savage saves the two and invites them to his hidden base to survive the apocalypse. Savage has put together a group of villains with unique abilities including Mirror Master, Captain Cold, Deadshot, Solomon Grundy, Creeper, Lady Shiva, Bane, and Cheetah. Meanwhile, Red Hood finds Commisioner Gordon and Cassandra Cain in Gotham. On the run from the undead, they find themselves at an orphanage and decide to protect the abandoned children.

This series was so much fun. The action in nonstop and it has a kind of twisted humor to it. It also ends up being a surprisingly touching story. I really loved the focus on Cassandra Cain as Batgirl (The BEST Batgirl. Fight me.). Creeper and Solomon Grundy are other characters I really enjoy who usually don't get much time to shine. I have been really impressed with the DCeased series so far and am eagerly awaiting the next installment!

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set just after the the Anti-Life Equation virus struck earth, Unkillables turns its attention from the Superheroes to the Supervillans as they are brought together by Vandal Savage’s offer off survival.

Unkillables lacks the focus of DCeased, even the humour here isn’t on the same level. It’s a mixed bag of less interesting stories and therefore lacks the pace as well. On the plus side the artwork is more consistent and its a shorter read too making it a bit more punchier on the one hand but on the other lacking the same intensity as DCeased. However it does pick up pace towards the end, the last part is the best, it’s a satisfying ending. So it’s not totally bad and I’d still entertaining, just don’t expect a repeat of the first book.

Despite the dip in form here I am still enjoying this series enough to carry on. I haven’t read any Graphic Novels in a while and I’d forgotten how de-stressing they can be, pure escapism.

[Mel (Epic Reading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This whole DC universe where (almost) everyone is dead or was a wicked virus that creates (essentially) zombies is pretty cool. I enjoy the rampant killing off of main characters, that Wonder Woman is now an uncontrollable monster, and that we put some lesser known villains and heroes in sticky places.
Deathstroke is by far the best character in this run. And my girl, Harley Quinn, had a short cameo; thus making this a must have set for my comic collection.
If you want mayhem, sweet endearing moments that are then torn to shreds, and monstrous Wonder Woman; this is 3-shot set for you.

[Christian Zamora-Dahmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love how Taylor can blend great characterization with a high-packed action story. And zombies!
Taylor is a one-class writer, I really hope he keeps going on because his writing is amazing. Spin-offs are rarely as good as the original runs, yet he achieved, once again, to deliver a touching, dramatic and fast-paced story, this time focused on a rag-tag team of villains.
I need to look up his Injustice run. I hope it is this good!

[Lucas Savio · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 estrelas sem tirar nadaaa. Viva Tom Taylor sempreee, nunca erra. Nessa história perfeita com um desenvolvimento lindo de personagens em tão poucas páginas vemos como os acontecimentos afetaram outros personagens, principalmente vilões e anti-herois e continua em muito alto nível. Nunca achei q ia torcer para a mulher leopardo vencer da mulher maravilha 😂😂 mas é isso quero nem falar mais pq vc tem q ler.

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overlapping with the first, this includes the stories of the villains and anti-heroes of the DC Universe and how they face the outbreak.
As amazing as the first tbh, I am a sucker for this kinda shit... I am having a bloody great time binge reading these!
Again... It went THERE. Emotional, funny, dark. Ticked all my boxes!
NOW GIMME THAT NEXT ONE!

[Rylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty solid entry into the DCeased series, it starts out pretty fun then gets kinda emotional.

[Bookwraiths · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t like this as much as DCeased. Not sure why I’m, sort of, in the minority with that opinion, but I guess everyone just likes different things. I really enjoyed the opening issue, but once the book turned into a standard protect the orphans from undead horde story it just lost steam for me. Guess all the touching moments of villains melting under the kindness of children didn’t ring true for me. Probably the fact I don’t really have any emotional attachment to any of the main characters also hurt. Not saying I don’t like Red Hood, Commissioner Gordon and all the rest, but their ultimate fate didn’t touch me the way that watching Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the rest did. Still well worth a read though.

[Abdelhak · Rating 5 out of 5]

DCeased: The Unkillables #01

[Yursa Tahir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blown away literally. Tree lobsters for life. Loved Lady Shiva, Uncle Grundy, Creeper, Floyd Lawton, Slade Wilson, Kitty Cheetah and everyone

[OMNIBUS GOD · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE WORLD OF DCEASED CONTINUES TO GROW AND SO DOES MY EXCITEMENT, AND INTEREST!

The next installment in the world of Tom Taylor’s ‘DCeased’ acts as a sort of part 1.5. Showing what was going on when the anit-life virus spread, but from the perspective of some villains, and part of the Bat Family. The first group we follow is Deathstroke and his daughter, Rose. Deathstroke's healing ability (which I honestly didn’t know he had) helps him avoid being infected by the anti-life virus. Him and Rose get met by Mirror Master who takes them to where he’s been hiding out with his own group, led by Vandal Savage. The group grows and we see a team of Solomon Grundy, The Creeper, The Cheetah, Captain Cold, Lady Shiva, Bane, and Deadshot. The second group we follow is Red Hood, Cassandra Cain, and commissioner Gordon, who group up as the last survivors from Gotham. They eventually find refuge in an orphanage being kept up by some kids. As you could probably guess, both groups eventually meet and must fight together to survive. But when there’s bad guys involved, anything can happen.

Tom Taylor slams it out the park once again with this mini-sequel. I love how he gave us a more grounded perspective during this crazy event. The cast also perfectly reflects that kinda perspective even more and it all makes everything feel more intense. Once again I was not expecting anything that happened and it’s crazy cause with the cast of characters he chose, you’d think you could see something coming. Everything in this mini-series feels greatly paced and because it’s more grounded a lot of it feels more personal. More great touching moments between characters just like the main series but it feels amplified due to the characters and setting they’re in. It’s obviously also super entertaining and action packed in such a balanced way. I found myself breezing through the 44 pages of each issue and thinking “I’m already done?” it really gets you sucked in. I kinda wish it was a bit longer, but it’s also satisfying and wraps up very nicely.

Karl Mostert is the artist for the mini-series and I found his work pretty good. I wouldn’t say it’s what made the book for me, however Mostert does his job fairly well. His art feels lighter in tone and kinda “young”, but I will say his *real* gruesome scenes are a nice shift. The only thing I didn’t quite like was his faces. Simply said, they were ugly to me and a lot of characters looked too similar. I feel like the inking could’ve been done a bit better. The task of inking is split up by 3 different artists (Neil Edwards,Livesay, and Trevor Scott) and that might be why. All in all though, I’m not complaining cause it gets the job done and the story is still amazing. (I will say though, Howard Porter provides the cover art for the series and it makes me wish he was the main artist)

Overall; Another great addition to this awesome world Tom Taylor has built. And I think this one is the best yet!

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the first part of this book takes places during the events near the beginning of DCeased, when a corrupted viral version of the Anti-Life Equation spreads through the internet, jump-starting the end of the world, this really reads better as a sequel spin-off as we not only get to see what the villains were up to during the breakdown of society but also some of what happened on Earth after the main book ended.

It’s always known that a global catastrophe could bring everyone together and we get a sense of that happening here as some of the survivors, including hardened villains like Cheetah, Bane, Deathstroke, Lady Shiva, Mirror Master, and Captain Cold step up to put aside their differences with the heroes and come together to try to survive. Like the main DCeased book, this one has great action and dramatic moments but it does feel a bit lightweight after the epic saga that was main book. We do get to see these bad guys turn into true heroes but most of the characters still seem a little stale and half-baked, while the climax leaves a lot to be desired. A definite read if you’re a fan of the new series and want to get the whole story, but don’t expect this to be as awesome as the main book.

[47Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Anti-Life virus is running amok. It has already claimed the lives of many heroes and villans. Deathstroke gets infected too, but recovers thanks to his healing factor. He and his daughter Rose join a group of villains that plan to sit out the carnage on an island free the virus and later pick up the pieces.

Of the Batman family Jason Todd and Cassandra Cain are two of the three left alive. They take Jim Gordon to the relative safety of a school where a group of orphaned childred is also holed up. They plan to barricade themselves inside. Deathstroke's group joins them and convinces them to have the kids take part in the defense of the school. They train together until an infected Mirror Master forces them to fight back. The defenders are overwhelmed and must flee the school. Then they face the infected Wonder Woman. Several kids and superpowered people are killed, but eventually they make it to Poison Ivy's garden. Thankfully, it it protected by magic. Finally they can grieve their lost ones and honor their passing.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuação de DComposição, DComposição: Duros de Matar reúne diversos vilões do Universo DC na luta contra os zumbis da equação antivida (que se manifesta nas telas de celulares) tentando sobreviver em um mundo infestado. Mas nem o proposto isolamento inicial desses vilões consegue surtir efeito num mundo assim. Logo o desastre os encontra e eles precisam se aliar a Jason Todd e à Batgirl para não apenas sobreviverem mas manterem vivos um grupo de crianças de um orfanato. O roteiro de Tom Taylor, para variar, é muito bom e a arte de Karl Mostert por vezes lembra Frank Quitely e Ramon Villalobos. Temos uma aventura com A maiúsculo com os vilões mais poderosos da DC Comics aliados a alguns dos anti-heróis mais queridos da editora. É surpreendente como Tom Tayor tem o poder de pegar assuntos de narrativas batidas e que parecem sem fôlegoe tranformar em coisas interessantes e muito divertidas. Aguardando então, a continuação de DComposição que deve vir em breve por aí!

[Katherine (Kat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars