“War Of The Undead Gods” – Book Two
Artists: Trevor Hairsine and Andy Lanning
Color Artist: Rain Beredo
Letterer: Saida Temofonte
Review by Steve J. Ray
DCeased: War Of The Undead Gods #2 delivers a pitch perfect cosmic good vs evil comic, set in a universe scarily similar to the one we know and love, although one that’s being observed through a blood-soaked mirror. I love this book, and the entire DCeased canon and premise.
Tom Taylor, Trevor Hairsine, Rain Beredo, and Saida Temofonte are producing a final tale that will cement these stories as absolute classics. The DCeased Universe has married superheroics and horror beautifully, and with War Of The Undead Gods, has also finally brought the cosmic side of DC into these realms flawlessly.
Where the original DCeased, Unkillables, Hope At World’s End, and Dead Planet showed readers the devastation that the Anti-Life Equation caused on Earth, seeing the ramifications of the disease on a universal level is thrilling. Korugar, Green Lanterns, New Gods and Monsters fill these pages, making them an absolute joy to read.
Oh… and the undead Supergirl is spine-chilling.
While there’s (understandably and necessarily) a large amount of blood and horror in this comic, what elevates it is the level of emotion and characterization the creative team brings in. Scott and Barda have already suffered enough, but what they go through in this issue makes us all love them all the more. My heart broke with theirs.
While this is a story that’s been designed to scare us, and make us think; it’s also one about love, life, loss, and family. What makes comics characters great isn’t colorful costumes and flashy powers, it’s the sense of community, camaraderie, and caring they share. These are unreal characters that have been made to feel very real indeed.
Conclusion
DCeased: War Of The Undead Gods #2 is slowly, but surely, turning the dial up to 11. Upping the ante to a cosmic scale, while making the premise larger and more all-encompassing, hasn’t taken away from the sense of claustrophobia and shortness of breath that only the best horror stories deliver.
The fact that we’re seeing characters we’ve loved forever suffer in new and horrible ways, yet still act like the heroes we wish we could be, is truly inspiring. I have no doubt that this trilogy in five parts (Douglas would be proud) will become one of the greatest, and most loved, DC stories of all time.
Images Courtesy of DC Entertainment