Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love #3
Written by: Sarah Vaughn
Art by: Lan Medina
Cover by: Stephanie Hans
Will Deadman escape the dark magic of the mansion? Will Berenice accept Nathan’s proposal? Will Sam reveal their true feelings for Berenice? Will the shocking nature of Adelia’s murder be revealed? Answers to all these questions and more—in the stunning finale to this epic gothic romance!
Some amazing comics came out in 2016 from both the Big Two and the indie ranks. This was the year that I had a lot of fun reading the books that came out in the “margins” of Marvel and DC that didn’t feature their top characters, but had idiosyncratic, top notch visuals, or just a good sense of humor. Black Mask continues to be my go-to for hard hitting indie work, and the whole BOOM! Box imprint continues to be as fun as ever.
Without further ado, these are my personal favorite comics of 2016, the ones that stimulated and entertained me the most in this difficult year.
10. Kim and Kim #1-4 (Black Mask)
Writer: Mags Visaggio Artist: Eva Cabrera Colorist: Claudia Aguirre
Kim and Kim was a super fun sci-fi miniseries with some wild and wacky worldbuilding, rollicking action scenes, and lots of hilarious interactions between the two leads, Kim Q and Kim D. Writer Mags Visaggio put their friendship front and center giving the comic a strong emotional through-line between bounty hunter shenanigans. Also, Eva Cabrera excels at drawing attractive humans as well as strange aliens, and I enjoyed Claudia Aguirre’s pastel-filled color palette. It was also nice to have a story starring two queer women not end in senseless death.
9. Jonesy #1-8 (BOOM! Studios)
Writer: Sam Humphries Artist: Caitlin Rose Boyle Colorists: Mickey Quinn, Brittany Peer
Every year, the BOOM! Box imprint seems to churn out a new title that captures my heart. Jonesy is a fire cracker of a comic starring a teenage girl, who can make anyone fall in love with anything. Unfortunately, that power doesn’t work on her personally, and it gets her into a lot of trouble. Sam Humphries’ writing has as little chill as his protagonist, and Caitlin Rose-Boyle’s art evokes the zines that Jonesy loves to make about her favorite pop star, Stuff. The hyper-stylized plots and faces that Jonesy pulls kept me laughing while Jonesy’s struggles with finding someone to love her and her strained relationship with her mom in the second arc gave me the feels. Her and her friends’ unabashed passion for life is kind of inspiring too.
8. Ultimates #3-12, Ultimates 2 #1-2 (Marvel)
Writer: Al Ewing Artists: Kenneth Rocafort, Christian Ward, Djibril Morrisette-Phan, Travel Foreman Colorist: Dan Brown
Ultimates and Ultimates 2 were the gold standard for team superhero book at both Marvel and DC, and not even Civil War II could stop this title’s momentum. The Al Ewing-penned comic was more of a science fiction saga that happened to star a diverse cast of superheroes than a straight up team book as they tried to find productive solutions to problems like Galactus and the Anti-Man instead of just punching things. And like all good team books, there’s some great interpersonal tension like when Black Panther puts Wakanda before the team, Ms. America defies Captain Marvel, and Spectrum and Blue Marvel start smooching. Ultimates also has some wonderful tapestry-style double page spreads from artists Kenneth Rocafort, Christian Ward, and Travel Foreman that match its multiversal scope. It’s an entertaining and esoteric comic.
7. Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love #1-2 (DC)
Writer: Sarah Vaughn Artist: Lan Medina Colorist: Jose Villarrubia
In 2016, DC really stretched its wings genre-wise with the Young Animal imprint and comics, like a satirical take on the Flintstones. But, the best of this quirky bunch was a Gothic romance take on Deadman from Fresh Romance‘s Sarah Vaughn, Fables‘ Lan Medina, and atmospheric colorist Jose Villarrubia. The main character, Berenice, can see ghosts, including Deadman, who are trapped in a haunted British mansion. There are secret passageways, mysterious backstories, and an epic, bisexual love triangle, but mostly, Deadman is a meditation on mortality and relationships, both platonic and romantic with some jaw-dropping scenery from Medina and Villarrubia.
6. Patsy Walker AKA Hellcat #2-13 (Marvel)
Writer: Kate Leth Artists: Brittney Williams, Natasha Allegri Colorists: Megan Wilson, Rachelle Rosenberg
Patsy Walker AKA Hellcat is a comic that acknowledges how annoying getting your life together can be for twenty-somethings, who live in the city. Kate Leth, Brittney Williams, Megan Wilson, and Rachelle Rosenberg also throw injourneys to Hell, guest appearances from Jessica Jones and Jubilee, telekinetic bisexuals quoting Hamilton, and nods to the old Patsy Walker romance comics to a quite relatable comic. Brittney Williams’ Magical Girl and Chibi-inspired art is great for comedy purposes, but she and Leth also had some emotional payoffs throughout Hellcat thanks to the relationships developed between Patsy, Ian Soo, and She-Hulk, especially when she reacts to She-Hulk’s injury in Civil War II. Hellcat is fierce, high energy comic that is the best of both romance and superhero comics with the occasional trippy scene shift from Williams, Wilson, and Rosenberg.
5. Mockingbird #1-8 (Marvel)
Writer: Chelsea Cain Artist: Kate Niemczyk, Sean Parsons, Ibrahim Moustafa Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg
Mockingbird was experimental, unabashedly feminist, pretty sexy, and just happened to star a former West Coast Avenger and be published by Marvel Comics. Thriller novelist Chelsea Cain plotted a pair of mysteries, involving cosplay cruises, doctor waiting rooms, corgis, and Marvel Universe deep cuts that were engaging thanks to detail filled art from Kate Niemczyk and inker Sean Parsons. Loaded with background gags and subtle foreshadowing for future issues, Mockingbird certainly has “replay” value as a comic and is triumphant, messy, and funny just like its lead character, Bobbi Morse and was a coming out party for Marvel’s next great colorist, Rachelle Rosenberg.
4. Love is Love (IDW)
Writers: Various Artists: Various
I just reviewed this comics anthology a few days ago, but Love is Love is the 2016 comic that affected me personally the most as it showed the effects of The Pulse shooting on the LGBTQ community in a variety of ways. I latched onto stories about the vibrancy of the queer community in Orlando, the sanctuary effect of gay clubs that provided some of the anthology’s best visuals from Jesus Merino, Alejandra Gutierrez, and Michael Oeming, and the use of superheroes like Batman, Midnighter, and Supergirl as simple analogues of hope in the middle of heartbreak. Love is Love saddened me, but it also inspired me to continue to uplift my LGBTQ siblings as the racist, sexist, homophobes Trump and Pence take the office of president and vice president. It was also cool to see so many talented creators using their gifts to help raise money for Equality Florida.
3. The Wicked + the Divine #18-24, #1831 (Image)
Writer: Kieron Gillen Artists: Jamie McKelvie, Stephanie Hans, Kevin Wada Colorist: Matthew Wilson
In WicDiv‘s third year, Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, and Matthew Wilson went a little blockbuster with big battles, splash pages, and an unexpected character death. But, the comic is still about the journey of Laura (Now Persephone.) from fan to artist, and how it has changed her life and relationships. And, in time honored tradition, WicDiv wasn’t afraid to get experimental with an issue featuring a Pantheon of Romantic poets and writers, like Mary Shelley and Lord Byron with lavish guest art from Journey into Mystery‘s Stephanie Hans, or the magazine issue with professional journalists interviewing Kieron Gillen roleplaying as Fantheon members with beautiful spot illustrations from Kevin Wada. As WicDiv enters its “Imperial Phase”, McKelvie and Wilson’s art is both opulent and disarming while Kieron Gillen has started to expose the personalities behind the explosions and drama of “Rising Action”.
2. Giant Days #10-21, Holiday Special #1 (BOOM!)
Writer: John Allison Artists: Max Sarin, Liz Fleming Colorist: Whitney Cogar
Giant Days is funny, true, shows the value of a good inker in Liz Fleming to nail a face or gesture, and reminds me of a weekend I spent in its setting of Sheffield over two years ago. John Allison and Max Sarin have developed the personalities and mannerisms of the three leads: Susan, Esther, and Daisy that any situation that they’re plugged into from music festivals to housing selections and even cheating rings is pure entertainment. Allison, Sarin, and the bright colors of Whitney Cogar nail the ups and downs of college life with a touch of the surreal, and the series continues to be more compelling as we get to know Susan, Esther, and Daisy better as people.
1. Midnighter #8-12, Midnighter and Apollo #1-3 (DC)
Writer: Steve Orlando Artists: David Messina, Gaetano Carlucci, ACO, Hugo Petrus, Fernando Blanco Colorist: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Steve Orlando’s run on Midnighter and Midnighter and Apollo has the most bone breaking action, the coolest panel layouts from David Messina, ACO, and Fernando Blanco and yes, the hottest kisses and other sexy stuff as Midnighter and Apollo are back in a relationship. Orlando shows his passion for the DC and Wildstorm universes by bringing in obscure or neglected characters, like Extrano, and making them instantly compelling or frightening in the case of Henry Bendix. Watching Midnighter skillfully take down opponents from the Suicide Squad to subway pirates or demons is an adrenaline rush, and Orlando tempers these action scenes with plenty of romance and personal moments. Midnighter and Midnighter and Apollo aren’t just the best superhero comics of 2016, but the best ones period. Come for the one-liners and shattered limbs and stay for the self-sacrificing love.
Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love #2
(W) Sarah Vaughn (A) Lan Medina (CA) Stephanie Hans
In Shops: Dec 07, 2016
SRP: $5.99
The bimonthly miniseries continues! After Deadman and Adelia’s sudden disappearance, Berenice begins to unlock the mysteries of Glencourt Manor. With evil lurking around every corner, Berenice longs to confide in her boyfriend Nathan about what she has discovered, but she fears what he may think of her…instead, Berenice finds a sympathetic ear in Sam, who shows Berenice what it means to be a true friend.
Deadman: Dark Mansion of Love #2 begins nice and slow with Deadman and Adelia, a ghost who haunts Glencourt Mansion, getting to know each other and even musing on the philosophical nature of death and the fact that they are trapped in the house. But Sarah Vaughn’s plot ends in utter chaos and darkness as she turns the haunted house genre on its head. In Deadman #2, the ghosts are trapped, and the humans are free… for now. But Vaughn, artist Lan Medina, and colorist Jose Villarubia don’t lose sight of the character relationships that make this more than just a Gothic romance as protagonist Berenice struggles with her relationship to her boyfriend Nathan and her possible romance with Sam while Deadman and Adelia bond beautifully in the story’s first half.
Medina’s art in Deadman #2 is both lush and haunting depending on the color that Villarubia decides to use, but his design for Adelia is always freaky. She is a woman, who was probably murdered by her new husband and forced to live in the place where she died, and something gives me the chills about her. Adelia is like a ghost from Crimson Peak while Deadman is more friendly and charming despite the fact that he possesses other people’s bodies and has huge existential crises about what comes after death. They are both Berenice’s secret as she and Nathan grow apart while he spends all his time writing his book instead of with her. On the surface, he gives off a workaholic vibe, but Medina adds some Gothic touches to him by having his workspace be a locked study. And in the Gothic tradition when something is locked, you don’t want to open it.
One thing that I have really enjoyed about Deadman as a series so far is how, dare I say it, normal Berenice acts in response to the spectres and horrors surrounding her. She acts like an intelligent human being with a head on her shoulders instead of like some kind of pearls clutching Gothic heroine or a Final Girl. Instead of exploring Glencourt willy-nilly, she goes into town to research the house, Adelia, and Adelia’s husband, who she deduces murdered her. But even in the library stacks, she still has a poet’s side and talks about old history books and records are basically a series of tragedies. Also, out in town, she reconciles with 
Sam and almost thinks about kissing them as Medina and Villarrubia’s art goes from the idyllic small English town to the shadow filled beauty of the opening pages. Somehow, Sam and Berenice are caught up in this tragic romance, and this is true physically as well once the shadows return at the end of the issue. Vaughn and Medina even foreshadow this on the first page she appears as the stack of old letters she is going through kind of resembles a magical circle like she’s having a seance.
It’s kind of depressing that she is spending more time with words written by dead people (Plus ghosts.) than her real, flesh and blood partner. She can’t even confide in him about the fact she can see Deadman and Adelia. Berenice and Nathan’s relationship lacks the rush of romance of hers with Sam and Deadman’s with Adelia so his marriage proposal falls hollow at the end. However, the effect of putting a ring on her hand triggers some insane dark magic and ensures that the closing issue of this miniseries will be its most Gothic yet with the interplay of helpful spirits (Deadman), vengeful and sympathetic spirits (Adelia), mortals, and scary spirits.
Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden #2 is a suitably haunting follow-up to its flawless first issue, and Lan Medina and Jose Villarrubia give Deadman and Adelia some real chemistry in the first half with their play of red, black, and ghostly white in the dark environs of Glencourt Mansion. Splitting the book between Deadman and Berenice’s narration continues to be a clever device from Sarah Vaughn as both characters do some soul searching. Deadman #2 is filled with thoughtfulness and reflection on love, death, and tragedy that erupts into a full-out horror comic by the time you turn the final page.
Story: Sarah Vaughn Art: Lan Medina with Phil Hester Colors: Jose Villarrubia
Story: 8 Art: 8 Overall: 8 Recommendation: Buy
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
As the world, has enjoyed science fiction, the very existence of robots has had a powerful foothold in our imaginations. The fact that robots can do what we can do and think at a greater rate, is part of what fascinates us about them. Artificial intelligence is what makes our fascination with the robot and overall, technology so engaging. The fact that a robot can learn and then adapt to what it has learned, is what has kept business from pushing those limits, as science fiction has more than showed what would happen if we did.
Fiction’s earliest meanderings with this notion, was Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, as the scientist endeavored to create a machine who could think like man. This concept became more sophisticated throughout time, as authors such as Karel Capek, Isaac Asimov and Philip K Dick, sought to explore the parallels between human robot. Which brings as to how film and TV has explored the very idea, as Will Smith’s adaptation of I, Robot, showed the world, the dangers. Then there is Bicentennial Man, which starred the late great Robin Williams as well as Westworld and Humans, which asked these questions in several different scenarios.
So when I started reading Alex + Ada, two years ago, I was instantly enthralled as the description reads:
Alex is a young man who is depressed after his fiancée breaks up with him. Tired of seeing him unhappy, Alex’s grandmother sends him Ada, a Tanaka X-5 android which is capable of intelligent human interaction. The robot is initially incapable of self-awareness, as each android has a program that blocks any potential free thought or consciousness.
That is only the beginning, as it starts much like Her, but becomes something more though provoking and political than I believe any initial reader would have thought. As we see Alex struggle with these questions of what makes one human and what makes one robot, and eventually sees that these labels are meaningless. We follow Alex, as a jilted ex-lover reports him to the FBI because he makes Ada, sentient, and gets set free, as he and Ada face a world where though they welcome new technology, they do not want them to have power. By series end, it proves to be powerful sentiment for why discrimination in any form should not exist.
Overall, a resilient view of the future, as this undiscovered country shows the reader how good technology can be, and how human we still would be. The story by Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn more than invades the senses, it lives with the reader. The art by Jonathan Luna elevates the limits of sequential art. Altogether, as xenophobia and racism is more transparent than ever, and though this series ended last year, it still feels as if it was written yesterday.
Story: Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn Art: Jonathan Luna
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy
Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Deadman: Dark Mansion and Forbidden Love #2
Written by: Sarah Vaughn
Art by: Lan Medina
Cover by: Stephanie Hans
Trapped inside an old gothic mansion, Deadman must battle the forces of darkness alongside Berenice, a young woman with a complicated love life who is gifted—or cursed—with the ability to communicate with the dead. Romance, mystery, and evil await in the new, bimonthly miniseries DEADMAN: DARK MANSION OF FORBIDDEN LOVE, by Sarah Vaughn (Alex + Ada) and Lan Medina (FABLES)!
Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love #1
Written by: Sarah Vaughn
Art by: Lan Medina
Cover by: Stephanie Hans
Trapped inside an old gothic mansion, Deadman must battle the forces of darkness alongside Berenice, a young woman with a complicated love life who is gifted—or cursed—with the ability to communicate with the dead. Romance, mystery, and evil await in the new, bimonthly miniseries DEADMAN: DARK MANSION OF FORBIDDEN LOVE, by Sarah Vaughn (Alex + Ada) and Lan Medina (FABLES)!
The first of three issue prestige format miniseries, Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love #1 skillfully combines atmosphere and spooky stylings of classic Gothic stories with a nuanced romance subplot that happens to star the DC Universe’s most famous acrobat turned ghost/people possessor Boston Brand aka Deadman. Writer Sarah Vaughn (Rosy Press’ Ruined), artist Lan Medina (Fables), and colorist Jose Villarrubia (King Conan) uses the fifty-page length of Deadman #1 to construct a perfect haunted house setting that would make Guillermo del Toro or the old Hammer horror directors swoon. But there is substance behind the varied line lengths and almost painting style art of Medina and the ghostly whites and crimsons of Villarrubia as Vaughn gives her protagonist, Berenice, a complex personality. She loves the past and buying antiques, but she is also creeped out by the old mansion that her boyfriend Nathan inherited from his uncle and is currently writing a novel in.
Berenice also has genuine romantic feelings for and wants to keep Nathan and her friend Sam, a non-binary antiques dealer safe. She is also getting over an ex-girlfriend, and Deadman feels the intense pangs of their breakup when he possesses Berenice. Vaughn alternates narration between Deadman and Berenice offering different reactions to their surroundings as Deadman makes with the punching while Berenice plays the sleuth and investigates. She happens to be one of the few mortals that can see him. And along the way, they begin to bond as friends, and Berenice challenges him to rethink his usual practice of possessing people without permission. Their relationships is completely platonic, but this conversation is a great metaphor for the importance of enthusiastic consent in touching someone sexually or otherwise. But eventually, she comes to trust him and allows him to possess her if it means stopping the super creepy shadows that prevent him from leaving the mansion. Vaughn and Medina go old school horror and don’t show the comic’s monster yet, but shows its powerful effects, including giving Nathan migraines, keeping ghosts hostage in a corporeal space, and giving almost everyone bad vibes.
Lan Medina’s art and Jose Villarrubia’s colors are both melodramatic and subtle depending on the situation. The 
opening pages are reminiscent of a frontispiece of a Victorian penny dreadful with its combination of architecture (especially window) porn, fine art, and a shrieking woman in a nightgown. Like Wuthering Heights or Northanger Abbey (albeit in a more parodic way), they and Vaughn make the Glencourt mansion a character of its own while keeping the setting’s time period ambiguous for quite some time thanks to Sam and Berenice’s love for all things vintage, including automobiles. Medina also neatly integrates the superhero genre into Deadman #1 through powerful poses when Deadman fights the equally powerful red and black shadows in a study in contrasts from Villarrubia. But a right hook or a nifty ghost power can’t heal a broken heart, homesickness, or an “It’s complicated” relationship status as Deadman’s attempt to fight physically all come up short.
But Medina can also tone down the Gothic, horror, and superhero bits of Deadman #1 and deliver on scenes where human relationships are front and center. A good example of this is a two-page sequence after Deadman attempts to bust out of Glencourt by possessing Berenice. Vaughn’s dialogue seems like that Sam and Berenice are going to talk about the strange phenomenon that just happened, but she and Medina pivot and turn to their relationship. Medina slows down with a couple panels of Berenice about to kiss Sam, but she ends up turning her back to them. Their body language goes from being close and intimate to more standoffish with no eye contact and arms crossed. Then, Medina goes for the romance comic staple that always breaks my (and Roy Lichtenstein’s) heart: the sad eyes. Sam and Berenice part in the rain, and we’re back to the moors, mansions, and inlaid chests of Gothic land after this beautiful human moment.
Deadman #1 is a nearly flawless, Gothic romantic treat with a diverse cast of characters when it comes to both race, body type (Kudos to Medina.), and sexuality that has chills, thrills, and gorgeous scenery to go along with poignant themes of love, death, and the messiness of relationships. The incorporation of the character Deadman adds a touch of humor and the fantastic to these lofty themes while he also gets to learn more about humanity through his bond with Berenice.
Finally, Sarah Vaughn, Lan Medina, and Jose Villarrubia deserve to take a bow while “Wuthering Heights” by Kate Bush plays in the background as the comic ends with a twist that would make serial fiction writer turned English majors’ nightmare Charles Dickens nod with approval.
Story: Sarah Vaughn Art: Lan Medina Colors: Jose Villarrubia
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Trapped inside an old gothic mansion, Deadman must battle the forces of darkness alongside Berenice, a young woman with a complicated love life who is gifted—or cursed—with the ability to communicate with the dead. Romance, mystery, and evil await in the new, bimonthly miniseries.
Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love is written by Sarah Vaughn who is part of the team behind Alex + Ada, a painfully overlooked Image series that you should go out and check out. For folks who have read it, it should be no surprise as to how good this first issue is. Vaughn is extremely talented and this debut issue is a haunting mystery with just enough creep to hook horror fans. I’m not even that big of a horror fan and I immediately want more even with the comic being double the size of a normal comic.
Vaughn does an amazing job teasing out the mystery as the issue progresses giving the reader just enough information as they need to know. In many ways we’re finding things out as the main character Berenice does and that creates excellent pacing in this oversized issue that feels like a solid deal for the price.
The comic is helped by the art of Lan Medina which is helped by colorist José Villarrubia. I said the comic has a nice creep factor about and the art is haunting as well. No idea how to describe the combination but it feels like a color pencil style (not meant as an insult, I really like it). The art too has this weird throwback style about it for the characters and the setting though I’m not quite sure exactly when. That mystery adds to it somehow.
I honestly went into this with no expectations and maybe a bit of a negative one (I don’t care too much for Deadman), but came out loving it. I can’t wait to see the next issue not just for Vaughn’s solid writing, but Medina’s art too. If you’re a fan of horror this is one you’ll absolutely want to check out as it’s a solid comic to be released as we head into the Halloween season.
Story: Sarah Vaughn Art: Lan Medina
Story: 9 Art: 9 Overall: 9 Recommendation: Buy
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
FRESH ROMANCE VOL. 1
(W) Kate Leth, Sarah Vaughn, Sarah Kuhn, Marguerite Bennett, Kieron Gillen
(A/C) Arielle Jovellanos with Amanda Scurti, Sarah Winifred Searle, Sally Jane Thompson with Savanna Ganucheau, Trungles, Christine Norrie
(CA) Marguerite Sauvage (Retail cover), Babs Tarr (Oni Press Exclusive variant)
AGE RANGE: 18 and up
GENRE: Romance
PRICE: $24.99
224 PAGES
The critically-acclaimed anthology Fresh Romance is finally available in print! Have you been wondering what the fuss is all about? Fresh Romance is an exciting collection of romance comics from some of comics’ most talented creators, including Kate Leth, Arielle Jovellanos, Sarah Vaughn, Sarah Winifred Searle, Sarah Kuhn, Marguerite Bennett, and Trungles. From unhappy historical marriages to covert teenage romances, there’s something for everyone in Fresh Romance.
