REVIEW: DCeased #6

DCeased #6 is here and I have been so excited to find out what happens next in this incredible series, but at the same time I didn’t want it to come… As I know this is the last issue. This series really has been stellar, I cannot fault it. It’s safe to say the final issue did NOT disappoint. I don’t think I’ve ever been this upset toward the end of a series.

Once again, with such an epic series, comes many epic covers. The standard cover by Mark Brooks is awesome. It shows the our favourite Gotham City Sirens with an infected Catwoman on a chain. There are so many little details within it, and the way that the PVC leather has been lightened is just so realistic.

This variant by Francesco Mattina is just gorgeous. Mattina is known for his incredibly realistic portraits, but this one of no other than Darkseid just takes that up a notch. I love it, and part of me wishes I’d collected all of his variants – perhaps now I’ll get them. The way that he has drawn and coloured light is just impressive, it just looks so real.

Yasmine Putri’s final horror variant for the series features a character that’s rather under-used in my opinion – Detective Chimp. This cover is a homage to the film ‘Critters’. I have really enjoyed Putri’s covers for this series, I love seeing how she incorporates our favourite heroes and villains into well known horror posters. It’s genius.

The final variant by Inyhuk Lee is another installment from the Midtown Comics variants. This is one of my favourites. His detail and realism is just incredible. To see our heroes fallen in such ways is just terrifying, never mind seeing them turn into uncontrollable and raging monsters. This series has genuinely brought us some of best covers I’ve seen for a while.

The issue started exactly where the last issue ended, with Superman’s unfortunately timed death as he attempted to fly to space to contain himself. Well, it was too late. Our Big Blue Boy Scout didn’t make it and it was now the responsibility of the remaining survivors to stop one of the more powerful beings on the planet from destroying them.

I have to say the whole issue was like a blockbuster film. I’d pay BIG money to see that in the cinemas. Throughout the whole series there has been unexpected and brutal deaths, well this issue just carried on that expectation and possibly had THE most deaths in one single issue within it. Of course, I won’t spoil who the fallen are, but my eyes almost popped out of my head every time something happened. This was brought to life even further with the gruesome artwork of interior artist Trevor Hairsine. Every detail and blood splatter was captured perfectly.

Not only was it brutal, it was incredible emotional. We saw Lois Lane who has lost her job and her husband allow the only thing that she has left to go up against him. She knew the risk, and knew the strength that they were us against, but she had no choice. My only criticism of the entire series is that I would have liked to see Superman reek havoc for a little longer. It’s rare that we get to see his full power and anger released without him holding back, so it would have been great to have a bit more of that.

Tom Taylor has created one of the best comic series I have ever read. His writing is like no other, it’s precise yet so detailed. You know exactly what people are feeling, and what they are going through. He constantly breaks down the barriers of normality when it comes to comic writing. Usually there are little clues throughout to hint at how things can be stopped, or how people can move forward. Well not in this series, at the end of the issue we finally understand what the antidote is just as it is destroyed, leaving humanity to deal with the consequences. This really added to the shock factor as usually comics involving Superheroes tend to steer towards a happy ending – not in this case.

Each issue of Dceased has been horror perfection, and DCeased #6 certainly is no exception to that. DCeased #6 brought us everything! Tom Taylor really went to town on these characters and put them through unimaginable things. It is clear that he understands each and every one of them as they are each written perfectly in their scenes.

Back to the artwork, which is incredible. Hairsine is a master at bringing such intricate scenes to life. I could genuinely not even read the text within the comic and just look at the artwork and still know what’s going on and what people are feeling and that is one hell of a skill to have. The action shots are unlike anything I have seen before, I love his art style, it just really works with this genre of comic and I hope to see more from him in the future.

Like I’ve said before, this comic series has been one of my absolute favourites. Every single issue has been so damn entertaining, so damn shocking, but so damn good! I am genuinely gutted that this series has finished.

If you haven’t yet picked up or read this series yet, I URGE you to do so. You will not be disappointed. You can pick up the standard cover of DCeased #6 by Mark Brooks here (UK), or here (US). Sucker for a variant cover like me? The Francesco Mattina variant is available here (UK), or here (US). You can also pick up Yasmine Putri’s horror variant here (UK), or here (US).

In addition to that, DC Comics are releasing a hard cover of Dceased, with all issues combined. It’s available to pre-order now and will be released on 26th November. You can pre-order your copy here (UK), or here (US).