THE DEADMAN #1 / Written by W. MAXWELL PRINCE / Art by MARTIN MORAZZO / Colors by CHRIS O’HALLORAN / Letters by GOOD OLD NEON / Published by DC COMICS

The Deadman was easily the one title from DC Comics’ Next Level initiative I was most excited about when it was announced. How could I not be given the creative team involved, who produced last year’s excellent Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum and the Eisner Award nominated anthology Ice Cream Man? Given that, I expected something unique that pushed the boundaries of the DC Universe. I was not disappointed.

The opening scenes quickly introduce us to Boston Brand, with a knowing nod to All-Star Superman #1. Sadly, Boston Brand cannot be summed up in eight simple words, though W. Maxwell Prince does make a game attempt. Even so, the opening scenes explain how the assassinated acrobat was chosen by a goddess of balance to act as her agent on Earth and just what that entails.

The classic Deadman comics usually had Boston Brand possessing people to see justice done. This time, however, his duties are a bit more spiritual, as befitting the servant of a nominally Hindu goddess of karma. Yes, he puts the fear of Hell into a wicked man so the man can earn a shot at reincarnation into someone decent, but he also prevents the death of a teenage girl who is due to have a miraculous recovery just in time for prom.

The overall effect makes Deadman into a more heroic version of Beetlejuice. I think this an apt comparison, even though he’s a doctor, janitor, counselor and/or exterminator rather than a bio-exorcist. The level of humor in Prince’s script is comparable to the Tim Burton films, even before Boston busts out a rule book or starts talking to ghosts who did not die as clean a death as he did while trying to bring them peace. Things shift into more traditional superhero territory near the end, with the introduction of soul-eating monsters that can actually hurt Boston.

The script is brought to life beautifully by the art team, which is unsurprising given all their experience together. Martin Morazzo has a distinctive style, well-suited to subverting slice-of-life visuals. We see commonplace things off-set by weird figures. These are subtly punctuated by the coloring effects of Chris O’Halloran. The ghosts, for instance, have a quiet glow, despite their muted shades (no pun intended) in comparison to the less flashy colors in the backgrounds. And Good Old Neon lives up to their name, with some good old lettering.

The Deadman #1 puts an interesting spin on an often overlooked character. More than any of the DC Next Level titles to date, it truly lives up to the ideal of giving new creative teams a chance to do something unique to redefine the DC Universe. That should give it broad appeal beyond the audiences of supernatural and horror comic fans who will definitely enjoy this series.