The Deadman #1 Review
Writer: W Maxwell Prince
Artist: Martín Morazzo
Colorist: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Good Old Neon
Editors: Chris Rosa & Paul Kaminski
Cover Artist: Martín Morazzo
Variant Cover Artists: Tula Lotay; Frank Cho & Sabine
Rich; Mike Choi; Hayden Sherman & Mike Spicer; Martín Morazzo & Chris O’Halloran
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $3.99/$4.99
Release Date: June 3, 2026
The Outer Gotham Rural Hospital is where people come to die.
Sure, the doctors and nurses try to imbue hope into hopeless situations. Sadly,
there's not much they can do for the patients in "the Hospice Hotel."
Dr Barrows, Sasha, and Tammy may not be able to offer their
charges more than painkillers and kindness. Yet someone walks the halls who can
ease them onto the next level of their existence. Who is Boston Brand? And why
do they call him The Deadman? Let’s slip on our scrubs, leap into The Deadman
#1, and see!
Story
Sasha is new to nights at the Outer Gotham Rural Hospital.
So as Dr Barrows and Tammy offer Sasha insights on how to approach her work,
Boston listens. When Tammy inadvertently passes through Boston, his spirit
awakens forgotten memories. While she recalls something that bound her with her
grandmother in life, Boston feels the love that time and death have not
vanquished. Then, sensing a patient’s end, Boston follows Tammy down the hall.
After perceiving events from the staff’s perspective,
readers follow Boston Brand’s journey in The Deadman #1. While the story
introduces memorable characters, Boston emerges as someone immensely intrigued
by those around him. At times, he may wish he had chosen another role in the
afterlife. Still, he enjoys a much fuller life than those who linger in
Robertsville.
Yet in W Maxwell Prince's story, a threat emerges to
threaten Boston's future. He may not be your typical hero. Nor may he seem
especially brave. Still, Boston Brand vows to fight it. For while he loves
people, he also loves their stories. And despite his wishes that he had been
braver when his life ended, Boston enjoys serving others in The Deadman #1.
Art
As another soul departs the hospital, the moon forces apart
the clouds to gaze down with its crater-eyes. Dr Barrows greets the nurses at
their station, while the halls are devoid of family members lingering after
visiting hours have ended. As Tammy approaches Boston, he doesn't step aside.
Instead, he glows brighter when she passes through him, casting the nurse
briefly into shade. When Boston levitates, his white coat and outstretched arms
evoke an angel. And when he intervenes at a moment of transition, Boston
conjures an image of fragile life from his palm. Then, departing the hospital, Boston
leaves behind whisps of cosmic ether as he travels toward another favorite part
of his day.
As Martín Morazzo packs pages with panels, Chris O’Halloran
fills this nighttime world of The Deadman #1 with colorful souls that brighten
the darkness. The hospital may resound with muted tones of gray, beige, and
green. Yet in the rooms of the dying, green walls suggest the willpower that
helps those lingering eke out their final moments. Dr Barrows wears blue scrubs
under his white coat, while the nurses who bring comfort to the dying wear
violet uniforms. At the frightening moment of death, yellow souls depart gray
bodies. Boston wears orange clothing as he savors the thoughts and memories of
the living. Yet, his clothing turns red when others' actions infuriate him.
As Boston welcomes readers into his world and guides them
through his extraordinary evening, Good Old Neon fills gray boxes with black
lowercase letters. The letters grow bold with intonation and enlarge when
expressing anger. They shrink when relaying minutiae of his existence, or when
Boston lowers his voice. Other souls sustained in their moment of death summon
yellow dialogue balloons. Like Boston, they were too frightened to venture onto
the next phase of their existence. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story
with us.
Final Thoughts
Love may help the world grow round, but it also makes the
afterlife a kinder, gentler place. As Boston Brand adheres to the strictures of
his calling, he finds leeway to exercise kindness. Even when others regard the
dying as monsters, he seeks to dispense compassion. Yet as a danger arises that
threatens his calling, Boston Brand vows to fight it with all his soul in The
Deadman #1.
Rating 9.2/10
To look inside see my preview of The Deadman #1.
