Neal
Adams returns to one of the characters with which he most closely identified –
Deadman. He didn’t launch the property in the 1960s, but he stepped in close
behind original artist Carmine Infantino, and illustrated his early appearances
in Strange Adventures and Aquaman.
In recent
years, Adams has returned to writing and drawing comics for DC. Given his
legendary status in the industry, he has seemingly been given carte blanch to
write and draw and property he so chooses. Unfortunately, it is not always with
stellar results.
This first
issue of a six-issue miniseries revisits Deadman’s final encounter with his
assassin, Hook, and the killer’s master, known as Sensei. Sensei killed Hook,
who in turn was “killed” by Batman – a rather debatable point to be sure, and
readers are not given a clear answer here. Hopefully with the recap out of the
way, Adams will be on the path to telling an entertaining story.
His artwork
is as dynamic as ever, though upon closer examination, some portions seem poorly
finished. It’s almost as if they are printed from an original pencil sketch,
but a sketch from Adams carries more weight than finished inks from most
artists.
Having
written and drawn new Batman, Superman, and now Deadman stories in the past 10
years, I guess it’s only a matter of time before Adams resurrects the Green
Lantern/Green Arrow adventures from the early 1970s. Like I said, his newer
efforts are often hit-or-miss, but always interesting.
Rating: 6/10