“Dead Space”
Writer/Artist/Colorist: Francis Manapul
I wonder if Manapul lurks on Tumblr and DeviantArt (wait! He has a DeviantART) He must know the underground world of the DC Trinity fandom. I noticed a few well-placed jokes… he’s seen all the fanart, hasn’t he?
Trinity has turned into a series of creature features, throwing us one monster at a time. What else is there in space? It’s just dark, cold death, and Manapul brings in a few horror-esque features.
In issue #10, Cyborg is on the brink of death, and Batman is doing his best to save his young team-mate. Wonder Woman and Superman are left to deal with an unknown being, who may or may not be trying to help. The drawings are gorgeous as always, and I laughed more than I should have at the inside joke. If you’re wanting to look into a comic with creature features, this is a good series set! Some of my favorite films are Deep Blue Sea, Deep Rising, and Event Horizon. I find Manapul’s story a mixture of horror movie tropes. With a twist of beloved children’s (and adult) superheroes!
I’ll start with the art. Cyborg is not in the best situation, and has anyone seen American Horror Story: Asylum? He’s pretty cut up, like the butterfly whose wings have been snipped off. His silence and death-like position, with the addition of space gives this issue a major creepy vibe.
As for the major reason, I laughed out loud:
Christ, Manapul. Poor Bats, he always seems to fall victim to the tentacles.
I’m a major fan of Manapul’s artwork, I’ve been following his works on DeviantART for a while now (check it out!) His rendition of monsters, transforming both Arthur and Diana into possessed Alien-like creatures is captivating. The images are alluring because even though it’s filled with horror, the colors are child-friendly. There are massive highlights of soft orange-red, and ice-blue which looks approachable. The creatures could have looks easily more frightening than they already appear.
Superman doesn’t have much to play here, but Wonder Woman goes in to dig deeper. This is never a good thing when the white folks go on to digging deeper in horror movies. Come on, Diana!
Conclusion
Say what you must, but I enjoyed this issue! As a fan of creature features and superheroes, I’m loving this. It’s friendly and fun, and hopefully, we’ll get back to the deeper themes between the Trinity. My only complaint is that I would love to see more chemistry between the three.
Images courtesy of DC Entertainment