[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers!]
Writer: Sarah Vaughn
Pencils: Lan Madina
Summary
Deadman receives a cry for help at Glencourt Mansion, the home of a newlywed couple that’s just moved in. However when Deadman arrives to help, he soon finds himself trapped in the house fighting against an ancient and dark entity. Just exactly who is this vengeful spirit and how does it tie into the house’s new owners? As Boston Brand starts to investigate, it’s clear that not everything is exactly what it seems.
Positives
Sarah Vaughn gives us a very impressive story with Deadman in this preview. Lan Madina gives us a mystery/ horror film noir that’s pretty impressive and goes with the overall flow of the book perfectly. It seems that Bernice, the wife of the owner of Glencourt Mansion has a sort of connection with Deadman. She can actually sense when he’s around and later in the book she can actually hold a conversation with him. This I found to be a real personal moment for Boston Brand aka Deadman. Since he’s already dead, communicating with those that are still alive is quite difficult, so he’s relieved when someone can finally reach out and talk to him. Vaughn gives us a glimpse of how lonely the world of Boston Brand can be, and yet he still pushes on to be a hero. Although Bernice is a complete stranger to him, he helps her anyways and I think in some parts of this book it was more about helping heal himself as well.
Negatives
I really have no negatives about this book. It has moments of slow pacing but that’s completely forgivable since Deadman is essentially solving an ancient mystery involving this house. Once the dark history of Glencourt is uncovered, Deadman and Bernice have to race against time to stop this dark entity before it traps them both in the house forever. I found myself following along on each page, trying to piece the history of the house together myself. I don’t want to give too much away but the ending completely threw me off and I love Sarah Vaughn for it. She pulls no punches with the reveal of this dark entity and when the reveal was made about who it was, I was blown away!
Verdict
If you’ve never read a Deadman title like me, then I’d definitely suggest you’d dive into this book. While the JLA, Green Lantern Corps, Suicide Squad and etc. deal with the physical threats to the world, Deadman is in a world all of his own fighting supernatural threats on a regular basis. Vaughn does a great job of showing the human side of Brand as well as we see moments of him recalling his past, moments where he wishes for real human communication and times where he shows frustration while confronting this evil. If you’ve never picked up a Deadman title before this will definitely make you a fan.
