REVIEW: DCEASED: War Of The Undead Gods #6

DCEASED: War Of The Undead Gods #6 continues a brutal and thrilling series that has been an absolute pleasure to read. The mind of Tom Taylor never ceases to amaze me, and this is just one of his numerous projects that have me hooked.

But before we get into the issue itself, let’s take a look at the covers. The standard cover is by Howard Porter and Rain Beredo and it’s as action packed as the issue itself. The detail is incredible especially with so much going on, as a plethora of characters fight for the mother box. The colours are great here too, adding a slightly cosmic vibe to this eye-catching cover.

The first variant cover is by Jeff Spokes and it pays homage to the iconic album cover Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A. I adore this cover, I admit I wasn’t expecting it, but it is a very welcomed and fun surprise. We see our favourite heroes zombified and see them clawing at the reader. Homage covers are always fun and I hope to see more.

The second variant is by Kael Ngu and shows Wally West running with all his might. I love this series of variant covers, they are so striking, especially seeing those iconic emblems blood splattered against a black background. The detail is perfect and the slight blurring of the legs and torso creates the sense of speed for the reader. This is definitely an attention grabbing cover.

DCEASED: War Of The Undead Gods #6 opens up with a proposition for Lobo. The United Planets are trying to get his help to save the universe and despite him being an inhabitant of it, he still wants some sort of reward, which is classic Lobo. I have to say, Tom Taylor’s ability to accurately write SO many different characters is extremely impressive! Despite the horror, there are moments of humour that are subtly peppered through the series are so welcomed and this moment with Lobo is exactly that.

We then see Superman and Kyle Rayner mourn not only the loss of billions of lives, but also those of his fellow Lanterns. This moment really shows the chaos of the series, with absolutely NO character being safe from a brutal death. This moment provided us with a great insight into how monstrous Superman’s powers can be to him. His microscopic and x-ray vision, speed and super-hearing means he hears and sees absolutely EVERYTHING.

After all that has happened, Superman still has his hope and optimism and Tom Taylor, lettered by Saida Temofonte, did a great job of showing us why this man is Superman in this issue. Though Darkseid, who is responsible for the deaths, is standing right in front of him, Superman doesn’t let his anger get the better of him and uses his rage towards another fight.

This issue felt incredibly relentless, and next up to face trouble was Jon Kent, Big Barda, Batman and the rest of the survivors on Earth 2. Whilst they are trying to make a strategic plan, they find that the motherbox they have is too infected and brings some serious trouble straight to their doorstep. Here, hope starts to dwindle as we continue to see more and more fatalities and horrendous casualties for our heroes. But then, something incredible happens, whilst one god dies, another is born. This pairing was so unpredictable, but a very welcome one. Tom Taylor continues to push the boundaries with these characters and their powers and this is one I cannot wait to explore.

The artwork is by Trevor Hairsine and Andy Lanning, with colours by Rain Beredo and it is fantastic. This creative team are perfect for this series and they’re great at depicting action sequences and colossally epic fights without sparing any details. The colours are slightly grungy yet realistic which really adds to the tone of this series.

DCEASED: War Of The Undead Gods #6 continues a non-stop thrill ride, with catastrophic twists and fatal turns. This is easily one of the most unpredictable and exhilarating series I’ve ever read and I cannot wait to see where it goes from here.