The Deadman #4 Review
Writer: W Maxwell Prince
Artist: Martín Morazzo
Colorist: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Good Old Neon
Editors: Chris Rosa & Paul Kaminski
Cover Artists: Martín Morazzo & Chris O’Halloran
Variant Cover Artists: Chris Brunner & Rico Renzi; Hayden Sherman; Chloe Brailsford
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99/$4.99
Release Date: September 2, 2026
Boston Brand believed his job was important. He assisted the dying as they transitioned to the next stop on their eternal journey. He even granted them amnesty from eternal suffering if someone loved them. But on his recent visit to Hell, the Deadman realized he isn't the final arbiter of how a soul spends eternity. So now, Boston isn't conferring with the Rama Kushna. He's acting on his own initiative and thinking higher thoughts.
Will Yahweh be less parsimonious with the truth about the Syphons who devour souls like Mr M dines on the living? And what colors of crayons make God rejoice? Let’s leap into The Deadman #4 and see!
Story
The more he contemplates what he learned in Hell, the angrier Boston Brand gets. Rama Kushna led him to believe that what he did was important. But after discovering that Lucy could override his decisions, Boston’s role in eternity seems purposeless.
In The Deadman #4, Boston lives in Robertsville along with other spirits of the departed. While he has a body and freedom of movement, the others aren't so fortunate. Even though he's dead, Boston can still learn and grow like a living person. Most of the ghostly residents of Robertsville are stuck in their final moments of life, reliving the traumas that tormented them. Bobby died many years ago. Yet, he retains a boy’s interests, emotions, and attention span. He lacks a job to define him. So, after accompanying Boston to Hell, Bobby regards the forces disrupting the souls' cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth differently.
Boston may have an inflated opinion of his cosmic importance. He may not be as virtuous as he believes. Yet, as Boston undertakes a journey in W Maxwell Prince’s story, he gradually remembers that he is a servant. Boston can make requests. But just like Boston plays fast and loose with the rules, his bosses don’t have to play by his rules. And while he is accustomed to looking down on the boy because of his limited understanding, Bobby both helps and hinders Boston’s search for understanding in The Deadman #4.
Art
Martín Morazzo portrays Boston's heavenly journey via nine-panel grids. As Boston unleashes his anger, his features take a demonic turn. Bobby's youthful features also transform when he tries to tamp down Boston’s anger. Like most souls, flames rise from Bobby’s head. And as the ghosts fly above Robertsville, they resemble burning people. Cognizant of the bigger picture, Boston takes an escalator to Heaven. Yet like the souls circling above his town, the escalator doesn’t take a straight path through the sky.
Despite his usual calm, thoughtful demeanor, Boston’s red costume links with the anger that leaps to the forefront when faced with injustice. Chris O’Halloran uses blue to link Mr M with someone Boston meets in Heaven. Like the fiery yellow souls, Boston rides a yellow escalator. While the Syphons have violet skin, beige fills Heaven. Even more strangely, while faded green links Robertsville with Heaven's gatekeeper, green glows vibrantly amid Mr M’s beautiful cycle in The Deadman #4.
Good Old Neon fills white and colored boxes and balloons with black lowercase letters. The letters showcase a wide range of sizes and fonts. White uppercase letters in black balloons express anger, while colored letters in black balloons convey power. Balloons grow spiky when Mr M takes an important video call and when he listens to a radio report about cosmic events facing a superhero team. Yet while a chime offers hope, red uppercase letters in black boxes seem intent on robbing Boston of victory. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.
Final Thoughts
While Boston Brand exists outside of time, Mr M fears it. The former Nazi has done his best to defy it. As he disrupts Rama Kushna’s Spiritual Math, Mr M rejoices in the beauty of his alternative cycle. While the Syphons from the Book Of Bedlam devour souls, Mr M hopes his New Math will give him a youthful glow for eternity in The Deadman #4.
Rating 9/10
To look inside see The Deadman #4 Preview.
For earlier issues, see
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