'DCeased: Dead Planet' #1 Review: A new Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman face a twisted, terrifying challenge
Spoilers for 'DCeased: Dead Planet' #1
When the world has ended and the world's greatest heroes have fallen a great many years ago, is there anything left to lose? Tom Taylor's return to the world of 'DCeased' answers just that, turning hope to horror in a way by asking the one question most zombie genres tend to avoid: What if all the infected people you killed could have been cured?
Five years after the heroes of Earth gave up on the planet and left it all behind to give what few survivors remained a new home, Cyborg sends out a signal for the Justice League to return home. Unfortunately, as the opening page reminds us, the Justice League is all either dead or succumbed to the Anti-Life virus, their entire lives devoted to spreading the virus and killing anyone they can get their hands on.
Rain Beredo's colors set the tone perfectly for the series. No bright shiny colors of a superhero's world, everything is just a little bit faded, like a memory you don't want to go back to. There's almost a peace in a world that's moved on from its biggest threat — the zombies of Earth are very much confined to the planet, and everyone else is making a new life for themselves on Earth-2, out among the stars, led by President Lois Lane.
There's a new Justice League protecting what's left of humanity. Trevor Hairsine does a great job of giving the new Superman and Batman their fathers' costumes but still making them noticeably different, and Cassandra Sandsmark's Wonder Woman outfit is a visually striking look that the regular Wonder Woman should consider adopting. On receiving Cyborg's signal, the vote to go home and save him is unanimous, despite the threat.
Tom Taylor has excelled in writing DC's best characters both in and out of the canon, mixing death, horror, comedy and tragedy. His best work lies in character beats, in simple human moments that shine through superhero costumes, highlighting just what audiences love best about their favorite characters when he brings them onto the page. His Green Arrow and Black Canary are the most heartwarming couple no matter what universe he writes them in, and the two pages of them just talking are worth the price of admission alone.
Unfortunately, what Taylor also knows to do well is hurt your favorite characters in ways you did not see coming, as is the case when Green Arrow is taken out by a zombified Wonder Woman when the Justice League returns to Earth. The moment is visually shocking, especially with the relatively quieter tone the issue had up to that point. Earth quickly goes from a quiet, dead wasteland to a terrifyingly dangerous planet in moments.
It's then we learn what Cyborg was really trying to contact the League for — there's a cure for the Anti-Life Virus. It's a brilliant story move, as the hardest part of any zombie story is having to destroy friends and loved ones because the heroes believe there's no other choice. If there was a choice, however, it means that every zombie they decapitated was the murder of a loved one or innocent person that they could have saved. It's a powerful hook for the rest of the mini-series and gives the League more reason than ever to remain on Earth, in search for that cure.
'DCeased: Dead Planet' continues DC's excellent 'DCeased' universe — ones where iconic heroes are given the iconic moments they deserved, where no hero is safe, and the heart that suffuses every page just makes the reader that much more vulnerable to the series' more horrific moments, twisting the knife.
Written by: Tom Taylor
Pencils: Trevor Hairsine
Inks: Gigi Baldassini & Stefano Guidiano
Colors: Rain Beredo
Letters: Saida Tomofonte
The next issue of 'DCeased: Dead Planet' releases on August 12, wherever comics are sold.