The Review
no weird hiccups of text bubbles being in the wrong order for easy reading or panels arranged in a confusing way. Tom Taylor writes everyone with their own voice and has a great grasp on the story he wants to tell and the world he's telling it in. The art is mostly consistent throughout the book with just enough detail in the art for this type of story.
The DCeased books aren't like most zombie apocalypse books.
It is horror and people (even ones we love) die and turn like the rest of the
genre, but DCeased is not written without hope. It's about superheroes still
trying to be heroes in the most trying of times. Bonus - because it's not tied
to the main continuity the stakes are real and the status quo will not return
at the end of it with a slight twist. I'm very interested in where this goes.
I highly recommend this book.
High Point(s)
- The interplay between Jonathan and Damian when fighting off the aliens ending with Damian asking the alien leader if he has a spleen
- The conversation between Ollie and Dinah where you find out that they are married and how effortlessly the scene shows how much they care about each other
Low Point(s)
- Most of the sound effects
- Practically a full-page splash of Green Arrow getting sneak attack by the original, anti-life Wonder Woman. I love me some Green Arrow and this hurt.
The Editing
The Cover
The coloring of the DC logo and number fits with the
coloring of the book and the cover image leaves good spots for them.
The title logo is a continuation of the original series
(makes sense) and is good. Has enough horror feel while still being very
legible. The biggest issue is that the "E" is just the same letter
copied over and has the same degradation pattern on it. As a font, that's fine.
As a title image, each letter should have been unique. The "D" is
also used twice, but the degradation is less, so it's easier to miss.
The bylines should have been in just a solid sans-serif font
vice the style of the DCeased font. The text is too small to take advantage of
the slightly degraded style.
The tag line at the bottom "The war for Earth is just
beginning" is gross. Because of the red drop shadow on the yellow and
white text, it has a weird "not 3D" effect to it. The font with the
line going through the middle of each letter is distracting. The weird angling
of the text on either end leading into the straight text in the middle is also
weird because of the different sized and colored words interspaced. Needs an
overhaul.
Page Two
The red drop shadow of the locating text is bad. Also has that "not 3D" effect. A disservice to the tone and style of the story.
In panel 2 Constantine almost seems like he's talking in
response to the narration box. Moving all of Constantine's dialog to panel 3
after he says "Cheers, mate." still had the same tone and removes
this issue.
The other issue with panel 2 is with the area around
Constantine's chin. There's a bit of… his overcoat? Regardless of what it is,
it's also brown and blends in a bit too much with his face on a quick pass.
Removing that would make it so that his chin doesn't look enormous.
Removing "You know, as you do." from panel 3 keeps
the narration tone consistent. It feels a little too jokey for where it's
placed and how the narration has been so far.
Page Three
I know that Zatanna's magic is powered by her backward
speech, but there's no reason for her to be speaking backward in the first
panel. It's just normal conversation.
Page Four
"Poor Bastard" in panel 4 and "Which, him
being only a head, made a lot of sense" in panel 5 should be removed. The
same tonal issue as on page two. Could leave panel 4 empty of text (would work well)
or move the second narration box from panel three into panel four if it must
have text in it.
The second narration box has a weird sentence that doesn't feel right. Change "were blighted ones" to "a blight".
Page Five
The location font changes from here on out. It's now just a
red outline vice a red offset drop shadow. It's better than the offset.
On a nice note, Tom Taylor uses the real Morse code for J
and L that he says it is later in the issue.
Page Six & Seven
The red outline of the tiny white text for the creators is
very hard to read.
Superman looks like a vampire from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
in the first panel and Green Canary gets lost in the title in the second panel.
Additionally, I don't know why the "S" is so much
larger than the rest of the letters in the title. The sound effect font and
coloring are less than ideal.
In panel 5 there's no reason Wonder Woman's text bubble
can't point to her head vice her torso.
Page Nine
The sound effect in panel 2 feels a bit like clip art
dropped on the page.
The "CNNNNNNNG" sound effect applied to a chunk of
metal wall falling against the metal flooring feels wrong. Would read better as
"CHNNNNNNNG" or "CHUNNNNNNNG."
Page Eleven
Should be using a different text box style for the
continuation of Superman's dialog from the previous page instead of using the
narration box with a different color.
On the previous page, Batman has a text bubble that goes
past the edge of the panel, but in panel 3 on this page, Lois's gets cut off.
Pick a style and stick with it.
Batman has a grimace on his face when talking to Alfred over his communicator in panel 4 of page eleven which doesn't fit the situation. Also, the panel is shorter than the one above it and the one below, but isn't centered.
Page Twelve
Fill in the weird missing chunk from the right side of panel
3.
Remove the random line over Ollie's shoulder in panel 4.
Page Fifteen
Ollie's expression in panel 2 of page fifteen doesn't match
the dialog and his shoulders don't look right in panel 5 of the same page.
In panel seven the image and the narration box should be
moved to the left just a little bit so the narration box doesn't line up with
the panel boundary. Or move the narration box to the left side of the box.
Page Sixteen
Same issue as on page eleven with using the narration box
(colored differently) for a character's dialog.
Page Eighteen
Superman's face looks weird and Krypto's tongue looks a
little too far back. Making panel one a little shorter and panel 2 a little
taller so you can see Krypto's lower jaw would also help.
Page Nineteen
Narration box being used for dialog again. Additionally, the
box is too close to the top border of the panel.
Hawkgirl's head is too long in the background of panel 1.
Page Twenty
In panel 2 Superman's dialog bubble is cut off by the panel
despite his head going clear into the previous panel.
Page Twenty-two & Twenty-three
The sound effect blends in a bit with the explosion and
shouldn't overlap with panel 6.
Page Twenty-four
The sound effect added its own blood splatter over the blood
spatter of the artwork and is not the same shade.
Why are there starbursts in the letters of Dinah screaming
in panel two?
Page Twenty-five
More starbursts in the letters of dialog.
Remove the "Shnng" sound effect in panel 4.
It's not overly clear how Dinah gets the sword from Ollie. I
can make it out as the sheath has mostly been ripped off his body in the
background of panel 4, but it's a little jarring.
Page Twenty-six & Twenty-seven
The "Toom" sound effect looks very out of place.
Superman looks weird in panel 6. It might be the really
strong shadow along his adam's apple that makes it look like his neck is really
thin.
Page Twenty-eight
More starbursts in letters.
It's unclear where Wonder Woman is being stabbed between all three panels on this page. It's either her neck, shoulder, or back.
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