So... What Did Deadman Do While He Was a Stripper?
Kicking off with a the beginning of a Deadman story, DC Universe Presents impresses with its reboot of DC's leading ghost. Paul Jenkins and Bernard Chang reintroduce readers to Boston Brand as a man not terribly likable in life but very sympathetic in death.
I'm coming into this as a reader who has basically hated everything Jenkins has written for the past several years. Before this issue, I had written him off as a writer. I would not have even tried this issue were I not making my way through the entire New 52. Needless to say, this issue surprises the hell out of me.
Jenkins skillfully takes us through Deadman's origin without punishing us with the burden of heavy exposition. Oh, there is exposition, but it is handled in such a great way that it just feels like part of the story. A familiar, Quantum Leap-like approach is taken with Deadman, turning him from a wandering ghost with an ambiguous purpose to a character with a very clear and understandable purpose. He must help others to help himself.
The conflict here is very compelling. After a run of people with clear and concrete needs, Deadman is now coming across people with more complicated crises that he has no idea what to do with. Saving someone from a terrible accident is an easy task for Deadman, but he doesn't know the first thing about how to save someone from their own depression or loss of faith.
Jenkins and Chang pull off the surprise cliffhanger at the end of the issue extremely well. It's easily the best part of the issue and the thing that really puts this issue over the top. The whole issue was surprisingly good up to that point, but that's where it jumped to a whole other level.
Do not come into this issue with any questions about continuity, though. We know from Hawk & Dove that Deadman's role in Brightest Day remains in continuity, but how this story fits in with that sure isn't clear. This is essentially a reboot of Deadman, so it is probably not happening in the present day. The issue doesn't explicitly say this, but that really seems like the only explanation. I would approach this like Superman's origin being retold in Action Comics.
Anthology series are a tricky thing, which is a shame because they can produce some great stories like this one. Unfortunately, they can also produce some real weak ones and often do. There is really no way to judge DC Universe Presents as a series yet. It's off to a great start with this Deadman story, which will hopefully keep up this quality all the way to the end, but who knows what the next story will be.
For now, DC Universe Presents is a relaunch well worth checking out, even if you aren't a fan of either Deadman or Paul Jenkins. It's an excellent reintroduction of an iconic DC character, and who knows what other stories this series could lead to.
