Pitting people against each other seems to be in vogue when it comes to entertainment. Deathmatch #1, BOOM!‘s latest series does just that, but attempts to answer those debates we’ve all had as to who would win in a fight between two comic book characters. Kidnapped and taken to an unknown world by an unknown assailant, heroes and villains must fight to the death. Interspersed between the fights, we get to know the combatants, and unravel the mystery.

THE SUPERHERO BATTLE ROYALE YOU CAN’T GET FROM MARVEL OR DC! A powerful and mysterious supervillain has imprisoned the world’s greatest superheroes, forcing them to fight to the death until there is but one victor. It’s kill or be killed as we settle the score on all those hypothetical superhero match-ups in the ultimate DEATHMATCH. Written by industry legend Paul Jenkins (SENTRY, INHUMANS) and drawn by comics superstar Carlos Magno (PLANET OF THE APES, TRANSFORMERS), DEATHMATCH is a dark, psychological deconstruction of the superhero genre that can’t be missed.

Written by Paul Jenkins, there’s the rather complicated task of not only keeping the battles entertaining and unique, but also balancing between that and the backstory. We get to learn about this new world with characters who are familiar, but also unique. That’s not easy at all, especially when you need to keep up a decent pace when it comes to plot. Jenkins pulls it off smoothly in this first issue, transitioning between it all as well as setting up the overall plot. There’s a lot to cram in, in this first issue and it’s pulled off masterfully.

The art by Carlos Magno is top notch with some great nods to different styles and awesome use of panels when laying out the origin of the first character we’re introduced to. Together Magno and Jenkins come off as a formidable team.

The first issue is straight forward. We’re introduced to a character, Dragonfly in the middle of battle, then taken through his origin and how he fits into the hierarchical structure of heroes and villains and then we dive into the mystery of the abduction. It’s entertaining, engaging and the pacing is great. What’s also impressive is Jenkin’s ability to instill the anxiety and unease from the characters. They really have no idea as to what’s going on, they’re clearly disorientated, and by dropping the reader into a story in progress, the reader is instilled with these same feelings in a good way.

This should be a fun series and it’ll be great to see what Jenkins comes up with in each issue. BOOM! has been pumping out a lot of original work this year and this release is a great way to cap off a fantastic year for them.

Story: Paul Jenkins Art: Carlos Magno

Story: 8.25 Art: 8.25 Overall: 8.25 Recommendation: Buy

BOOM! Studios provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review