Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Battlefield 6 Classes - Support trailer image

    Battlefield 6 Really Wants You To Play Support (But Knows You Won’t)

    07/31/2025
    Battlefield 6 Multiplayer Reveal promotional image

    Battlefield 6 Classes, Maps, And More: Everything You Need To Know

    07/31/2025
    A glimpse at all the upcoming Star Wars stories coming to the galaxy

    Star Wars Stories: What We Learned At SDCC 2025

    07/25/2025
    Blindspot episode still

    It’s been 5 years since ‘Blindspot’ ended. Why haven’t you watched it yet?

    07/24/2025
    Strange Scaffold

    Strange Scaffold Summer Showcase Delivers Bizarre And Brilliant Games

    07/22/2025
  • Fantasia Festival
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Switch 2 Games
But Why Tho?
Home » DC Comics » REVIEW: ‘DCeased,’ Issue #1

REVIEW: ‘DCeased,’ Issue #1

Kate SánchezBy Kate Sánchez05/01/20194 Mins ReadUpdated:08/08/2021
DCeased #1
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

DCeased #1

DC Comics just got darker with the new series DCeased, from the writer Tom Taylor, with art from Trevor Hairsine, Stefano Gaudiano (1-6, 15-26), and James Harren (7-14), colors by Rain Beredo, and letters by Saida Temofonte. The series has been marketed with the horror genre in mind, with horror movie variants and variants featuring our favorite heroes as zombies or being attacked by them.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

In DCeased #1, we see the series kicks off with Darkseid’s defeat on Earth at the hands of the Justice League, which, as the narrator explains, was the last time they were together. Having been on earth to find half of the Anti-Life Equation, Darkseid willingly leaves having taken what he came for, Cyborg.

Unbeknownst to him, he’s the key to completing the equation that will give Darkseid the power to control everyone, removing free will, and creating only those who will serve him. But instead of creating something he could control, Darkseid has created the Anti-Life virus, a techno-organic virus that takes over his body, spawned from Cyrborg’s body. In a attempt to save Apokolips from the virus, Darkseid’s immune torturing sends our now infected hero away.

At that moment, the true power of the virus is revealed and as Cyborg returns to Earth as patient zero, the virus begins to spread rapidly through screens and through social media, turning 600 million people and growing at an exponential rate.  DCeased #1 sets a devastating scene. People and heroes tearing at their faces, trying to rip the virus from their skulls. But the violence isn’t limited to themselves as they gnaw, scratch and take down others who are uninfected. As the last pages show, even the prepared are in jeopardy and as Taylor explained in his many tweets leading up the launch, anyone from DC can die, any hero, any villain, anyone.

Now, the issue isn’t just good visual horror, setting the scene for the apocalyptic wasteland promised in the press release, it also has phenomenal writing. Told from an unseen and unknown narrator, Taylor’s words begin like any post-apocalyptic movie, telling the reader a story about how it used to be and how the world got to where it is:

Truthfully, Taylor’s writing is the best part of this issue. His characterization of Batman is spot-on, and the tension built up with just the narration is fantastic. Beyond that, phrases like “Superman breaking the jaw of a god,” is something that will stick with me. The separation between what is happening on the page and what is being said about it is perfect, connected but different enough to keep everything interesting.

The art team’s illustrations are the right kind of pulpy with all of the heroes looking slightly smaller and purposefully rougher through the line-work. The colors from Beredo are eye-catching and vibrant. With most people thinking darker and muddied as the palette for horror, it is great to see the violence and heroes leap off of the page with such beautiful colors. Temefonte’s lettering is perfection when it comes to dialogue and the vibrant “KOOOM” shakes off of the page

That being said, I do have issues with the lettering on the credits page and the coloring of it. The red on white and white on red color choice is not easy to read, specifically when it comes to identifying names of the talented people who contributed to this issue. Beyond that, the font of the arc’s title is difficult to read, with the letter G in “Going Viral” resembling the letter C, so much so that I misspelled it in my notes.

But this small flaw does not overturn a horrific and beautiful first issue of DCeased. The poetry in the writing makes this an issue I will come back to and read again and again. The way Taylor mirrors his language in the beginning and the end sets the tone for the next issues. I’m currently on the edge of my seat as a fan of the heroes in harm’s way and of the horror genre.

DCeased #1 is available wherever comics are sold.

DCeased #1
5

TL;DR

But this small flaw does not overturn a horrific and beautiful first issue of DCeased. The poetry in the writing makes this an issue I will come back to and read again and again. The way Taylor mirrors his language in the beginning and the end sets the tone for the next issues. I’m currently on the edge of my seat as a fan of the heroes in harm’s way and of the horror genre.

  • Buy via Our ComiXology Affiliate Link

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘God’s Trigger’ (PS4)
Next Article REVIEW: ‘Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III,’ Issue #1
Kate Sánchez
  • Website
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram

Kate Sánchez is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of But Why Tho? A Geek Community. There, she coordinates film, television, anime, and manga coverage. Kate is also a freelance journalist writing features on video games, anime, and film. Her focus as a critic is championing animation and international films and television series for inclusion in awards cycles. Find her on Bluesky @ohmymithrandir.bsky.social

Related Posts

Cover art for advanced review of Batman Issue 2

ADVANCED REVIEW: ‘Batman’ Issue 2

08/02/2025
Cover art from Batman Issue 1

ADVANCED REVIEW: ‘Batman’ Issue 1

07/31/2025
Justice League: Dark Tomorrow Special Issue 1

REVIEW: ‘Justice League: Dark Tomorrow Special’ Issue 1

07/30/2025
Justice League Unlimited Issue 9

REVIEW: ‘Justice League Unlimited’ Issue 9

07/23/2025
Cover art of Absolute Wonder Woman Issue 10

REVIEW: ‘Absolute Wonder Woman’ Issue 10

07/23/2025
Absolute Martian Manhunter Issue 5

REVIEW: ‘Absolute Martian Manhunter’ Issue 5

07/23/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Wildgate promotional key art
9.0
PC

REVIEW: ‘Wildgate’ Is Co-Op Space Mayhem Done Right

By Adrian Ruiz07/25/2025Updated:07/30/2025

Built for friends and tuned for competition, Wildgate is messy in the best way: smart, surprising, and bursting with room to grow.

Glass Heart
7.0
TV

REVIEW: ‘Glass Heart’ Offers Messy, Musical Catharsis

By Allyson Johnson07/22/2025

The musical drama series ‘Glass Heart’ soars when it focuses on the epic performances of it’s fictional band, TENBLANK.

Simon in An Honest Life But Why Tho
3.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘An Honest Life’ Is Terribly Dishonest About Its Own Politics

By Jason Flatt08/02/2025

An Honest Life is an overly severe misfire about a law student who falls in with anarchist burglars that can’t decide who it resents more.

Better Late Than Single
7.0
TV

REVIEW: ‘Better Late Than Single’ Is More Than the Name Suggests

By Allyson Johnson08/03/2025

The Netflix reality dating series Better Late Than Single offers more than meets the eye as it allows the contestants to get to know one another.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here