The previous issue left us with dread as we witnessed the destruction and threat to come. DCeased: Dead Planet #5 is blissfully unaware of that though, instead, focusing on another threat set up early on in the series. Trigon is threatening to attack and John Constantine is on a mission to stop him. To do so, he needs to gather weapons and needs a team to help him achieve that. Since it’s Constantine in charge, we know things aren’t going to smoothly.

Writer Tom Taylor reminds us of the second threat laid out in the series, the first being the Anti-Life. Trigon is ready to make his move and honestly, I kind of forgot about that little bit so focused on the previous issue’s reveal. DCeased: Dead Planet #5 snaps us back to that reality with a mission for those left behind on Earth. Trigon is coming, it’s only a question as to when. Constantine knows the threat and does what he does best, use so many to achieve whatever plan he has in his head. Of course, it goes sideways remind us that even in the apocalypse, John Constantine is a shit.

Taylor delivers an issue full of holy crap moments as Constantine’s dirty half dozen makes their way to retrieve weapons they’ll need for the battle ahead. Batman, Rose, Jason Todd, Swamp Thing, and Cassandra Cain, it’s a hell of a team of badasses. They’re also no math for… John Constantine. Of course things don’t go right and by the end of it all Constantine’s on the ground having been decked by his allies.

What’s great about the issue is that though the mission is what’s important, Taylor really focuses on Constantine himself. The man is a manipulative asshole who will destroy whomever to achieve his mission. That even though humanity is on the brink, Constantine is still willing to sacrifice allies to get what he needs. It’s not the action that’s really what’s at the center of the story, it’s Constantine and the still messed up dynamics of the team and survivors. But, it’s been so built up to this point that these are folks working together we forget about that wild card and with that makes his actions even more shocking.

The art by Trevor Hairsine continues to be solid. With ink by Gigi Baldassini and color by Rain Beredo and lettering by Saida Temofonte we get a lot of action without over the top display. It’d be easy to just depict thousands of zombies with lots of gore. Instead we get a lot of enemies at times but it’s not an amount that makes the mission seem impossible and the success a bit silly. It also also allows the team to focus on some really solid moments for each character as they do battle. There’s detail instead of detail-less masses.

There’s also something about the two “pop” moments of the issue. Each is presented clearly without being muddled by too much on the page. It allows us to visually focus in on what has happened and emphasizes each action, which is a bit shocking.

DCeased: Dead Planet #5 is another winner of an issue. It reminds us that there are numerous threats on the horizon and battles to come beyond just finding a cure. There’s not one but two massive threats that are ready to attack and just cause absolute destruction and chaos. It’s interesting that the previous issue got us to think ahead while this issue dials it back to remind us there’s even more to come.

Story: Tom Taylor Art: Trevor Hairsine
Ink: Gigi Baldassini Color: Rain Beredo Letterer: Saida Temofonte
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology – Amazon – Kindle – Zeus Comics

With the way the world is, the summer movie blockbuster has been missing and the experience of an over the top story full of crazy action and ideas has been lacking. DCeased: Dead Planet #4 fills that gap a bit as the heroes go on a mission to figure out how to unlock the cure for the Anti-Life Equation within Cyborg.

The plan is simple, to get the knowledge as to how unlock the secret within Cyborg, the team needs to steal from a God. To do that, they head to New Genesis where we find out the fate of the New Gods and where they stand in the current world.

Written by Tom Taylor, the issue is fantastic acting as a nice transition to the next act of his story. DCeased: Dead Planet #4 does a solid job of focusing on the impact of what’s happening on quite a few characters. There’s Dinah who is reeling from the loss of her love. There’s some foreshadowing about the possible loss of another hero. But, the real impact is what Mister Miracle, Scott Free has done.

Through all of the zombies and death, there’s an interesting look at fatherhood and parenting and the cycle that Scott has perpetuated with his own family. DCeased: Dead Planet #4 has time for the little moments that makes us care about these characters and more importantly relate to them.

But with that, the issue also has more than enough time for the over the top action and moments. From the “heist” to what’s revealed at the end, this is an issue that gets you hyped for what’s to come… a titanic battle for the future.

The art by Trevor Hairsine, ink by Gigi Baldassini, color by Rain Beredo, and lettering by Saida Temofonte definitely help deliver the emotion and action. What’s interesting about the art of DCeased: Dead Planet #4 are the small details of it. There’s a clash between the fresh heroes returned to save the day and those who have been trying to survive on Earth. There’s subtle things like how Damian’s Batman costume fits him, almost too big and a child dressing up in their father’s clothes. There’s the body language of Scott and Dinah that shows the weight and guilt they’re feeling. And then there’s that ending that you can feel the reverberations. It’s a great rollercoaster of a comic with some fantastic visuals.

DCeased: Dead Planet #4 helps fill the the giant space missing when it comes to summer popcorn films. The comic is a solid mix of focusing on the characters and emotion and delivering those moments that pop. The issue is clearly a transition and set up for the end game to come and it looks like it’s going to be a hell of a fight. While I’ve really enjoyed the series before, I’m beyond excited to see where it goes from here.

Story: Tom Taylor Art: Trevor Hairsine
Ink: Gigi Baldassini Color: Rain Beredo Letterer: Saida Temofonte
Story: 8.4 Art: 8.6 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology – Amazon – Kindle – Zeus Comics