At the midway point of the story, the heroes have become unsure how to address the upcoming threat. As the Unliving Darkseid tears through the universe collecting stronger assets, the survivors sadly find it difficult to unite.
I’ve been trying to figure out the hook of DCeased. Beyond the gratuity of bloodshed and morbid violence, the series takes an interest in the exploration of grief. Every issue of Undead Gods touches on the mourning of dead worlds like New Genesis or characters like Adam Strange. In this issue in particular, we get a deeper look at Alfred’s regret. Alfred sees himself as the father of Batman and his disciples, and has recurring nightmares about having to kill them. While making efforts to heal by shacking up with Leslie Thompkins on Earth-2, Alfred still largely feels shame for his actions. At the very least, it is nice to see Damian and Jon eager for him to be happy.
The conflict at play in issue #4 is entirely ethical. Following the Guardians of Oa’s invitation, the Justice League meet with the Lantern Corps to develop a battle strategy. Although the heroes have finally discovered a cure for anti-life, Ganthet believes the threat of the horde is more important to kill than cure. This is an interesting dilemma, because the League’s code of ethics disallow them to take lives they could potentially save. Of course pit against the authoritarian Guardians who believe the end justifies the means, they immediately resort to infighting. However, my genuine interest in the conflict depreciates when we learn Ares is making it worse just because.
Additionally, Tom Taylor takes time to reintroduce new supporting characters from the planet Almerac. Queen Maxima is an obscure 80s Justice League character on par with Superman or Mongul. Despite Maxima and her followers defending themselves against the Forever People, their planet falls prey to the anti-living. My theory is that Taylor wants to write in stronger characters on the side of the anti-living to overwhelm the remaining heroes. While I’m not sure why an undead Sinestro Corps Darkseid needs more Superman level assistance, nothing will survive if someone manages to infect a fifth dimensional imp like Mr. Mxyzptlk.
I’ve had a constant mixed reaction to the artwork in the series. Usually I can ignore the inconsistent facial renders, but there are a lot more problems with perspective and composition than before. There seems to be a rushed quality to the line art that causes blatant issues in foreshortening, missing or distorted limbs, and terrible perspective. Simply put, the art is bad. However, I think readers who can overlook the technical problems will still have a fun time flipping through the bloody action.
Recommended If…
- Interested in seeing Alfred handle misery and regret.
- You can ignore subpar artwork and enjoy DCeased as is.
- You are waiting for new appearances of Maxima and Almerac.
Overall
Although the artwork seems rushed and sloppy, there are a few good things about this issue. I really enjoyed how Alfred’s guilty conscience continued to affect him, especially knowing there is a cure. I also like how the cure complicates the tactics the Justice League are willing to commit to. Overall, the story should have accomplished more by its midpoint. While its complex ideas are redeeming, nothing has hooked me in enough to encourage anyone to continue reading this.
Score: 5.5/10
DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purposes of this review.
