Reviewing the 1988 Peacemaker mini-series

While the 1983 Vigilante ongoing series kept most of us on the edge of our seats (let's not even mention the ending), it was during writer Paul Kupperberg's tenure that new and not-so-new characters (ex: Harry Stein, Valentina Vostok/Negative Woman, Black Thorn, Harvey Bullock, The Agency, etc) would be introduced to the title in preparation for the upcoming Kupperverse Paul was gradually building. Most surprising -- to old school Charlton Comics fans, anyways -- would've been the very dramatic re-introduction of Peacemaker to the modern DC Universe.

Vigilante #36 (1986). Mike Grell cover. This would've been an instant 'buy' for me if I had seen it on the shelves.

Then

Created by Joe Gill and Pat Boyette, Peacemaker first appeared in 1966's Fightin' 5 v1 #40 published by Charlton Comics. In an 8-page back-up feature, the reader is introduced to Christopher Smith: an American peace diplomat... who moonlights as Peacemaker: a man who loves peace so much that he's willing to fight for it. Fun Fact: a 'Peacemaker' is also another name used for the Colt Single Action Army revolver and was the standard US military service revolver in the late 1800s.

Panels from Fightin' 5 v1 #40 (1966).

Fightin' 5 was cancelled after issue #41. Peacemaker then headlined his own 1967 ongoing series -- which lasted a total of 5 issues. Christopher Smith was depicted as a suave peace envoy (with a direct line to the White House) who used tools of diplomacy to resolve global conflicts before they could escalate. When that failed, he became the Peacemaker. This was a last resort, of course. Smith HATES war and violence.

Peacemaker #4 (1967). Charlton comics.

Typically, the threats came from a communist country wielding an atomic-powered whatever, but this was during the mid-to-late sixties, and the Cold War was all anybody was talking about anyways. Peacemaker's weapons played a bit more on the sci-fi side: jetpacks, a helmet with a laser on it, some sort of gizmo that can scramble enemy missile commands, and more that I'm forgetting -- all of these were Smith's own inventions. Try to image if James Bond secretly slipped into a costume to battle villains and you've got Peacemaker.

Peacemaker #4 (1967). Charlton comics.

A bit more of Peacemaker's history was expounded on in his 4th issue: he operates out of a Chateau (location never specified), his father was an army officer turned statesman, his mother was a laboratory researchist, he's a brilliant inventor who has helped the United States on numerous occasions... and his major motivation for all this?

Peacemaker #4 (1967). Charlton comics. What an altruistic guy!

Surprisingly, for such a fondly-remembered character, Peacemaker only appeared in eight Chartlon Comics issues -- yet was still considered to be among the Charlton Action-Heroes line-up. I could've sworn he was a member of Americomics' Sentinels of Justice in 1983 with the rest of the Action-Heroes, but apparently he didn't make the cut.

I was hoping to discover that Paul Kupperberg was one of the original writers for Peacemaker and this would've all been tied into a neat lil' serendipitous bow -- but alas, that is not the case. For anyone wondering: Kupperberg had indeed written for Charlton Comics... but it was in 1976...and it was only for supernatural anthology titles (i.e., Haunted, Ghostly Haunts, Ghost Manor).

Now (well,... the mid-to-late eighties)

If you had only started reading comics in the early 80s, Peacemaker would've been a totally NEW character to you. Prior to this, you might've spotted him in a few panels of the Crisis on Infinite Earths maxi-series, but the three-issue story arc in Vigilante #36 - 38 allowed Kupperberg a chance to flesh out this relatively obscure character to a brand new audience -- and what we got was a completely different Peacemaker from the version Charlton Comics fans grew up reading. He still has an arsenal of advanced weaponry, but now he's a little... 'unhinged'. He's a 'counter-terrorism freelancer' who loves peace enough to KILL for it. He has no hesitation blowing off a terrorist's head at point-blank range. Collateral damage is not an issue to him, he'll even fire on allies if it means getting the job done -- he's pragmatic like that.

panels from Vigilante #36 (1986)

In his first post-Crisis appearance, Peacemaker has gone AWOL and intercepts a hostage situation facilitated by Arab terrorists. His employer (the Agency) worries that he's a liability and wants him terminated. The machinations of these circumstances leads to an impromptu team-up with Adrian Chase. Absent is the debonair persona of Christopher Smith, and instead we get a disheveled civil servant who's apparently constantly talking to himself. Kupperberg makes a point to demonstrate what a loose-cannon Peacemaker is, and we are treated to gratuitous displays of Christopher Smith dispensing hot lead and pro-Americana slogans. Remember: Vigilante was a direct market title -- meaning that it was not available on newsstands and could only be obtained if you went to a comic book shop or ordered a subscription -- so the creative team could get away with a little more violence and mature content than would usually be found in a DC title.

panels from Vigilante #36 (1986)

This story arc must've been popular, because Peacemaker returned for another three-issue story arc in Vigilante #41 - 43. There's a lot more emphasis on just how mentally unstable the Peacemaker is -- he's having full-on conversations with his helmet, and is convinced there's some sort of conspiracy against him (which is his main driving reason to return to New York City and kill members of the Agency).

panel from Vigilante #41 (1987).

We get a bit more insight into Peacemaker's relationship with his helmet -- he's guided by the voices of the souls he executed and this seems to drive him on his quest for vengeance. After a narrow defeat, the story arc concludes with Peacemaker being detained.

Kupperberg's re-invention of Peacemaker as a 'take-no-prisoners patriotic killing-machine' was kind of an extreme parody of the blockbuster Hollywood action heroes of the time combined with a healthy dose of Reagan Era American flag-waving patriotism mixed in. During the 1980s, the United States' foreign policy was largely centered around winning the Cold War and ending communism, and the courageous muscle-bound American soldier single-handedly mowing down all of America's enemies with a large assault rifle (think: Sylvester Stallone in Rambo, etc) had pretty much become the people's hero. Kupperberg kept Vigilante grounded in reality and based many of his storylines on current events -- plane hijackings were the terrorist operation du jour (there were eight international plane hijacking between 1984 and 1985) -- and the infamous Karachi Pan Am Flight 73 hijacking occurred the same month that Vigilante #36 was printed.

Vigilante #42 (1987). Again with the "commies". sigh.

Which bring us to our feature presentation:

Peacemaker #1 (1988). Cover by Tod Smith.

If you were hoping that this 1988 mini-series would be the continuing adventures of a seriously damaged anti-hero, you'd be sorely disappointed. [And, admittedly, that would've made a great mini-series.]

Writer Paul Kupperberg and illustrator Tod Smith rejoin forces (this time with inks by Pablo Marcos) to bring us a new chapter in the life of Christopher Smith and picks up right after we left off in Vigilante #43.  While his appearances in Vigilante made Peacemaker out to be a morally reprehensible character, this mini-series paints him as a tragic hero who emotionally feels the toll of each life he didn't save from terrorism.

panel from Peacemaker #1 (1988). Pencils by Tod Smith, inks by Pablo Marcos.

What about his deranged extremist behavior in the pages of Vigilante? That's all explained away in two panels:

panels from Peacemaker #1 (1988). Pencils by Tod Smith, inks by Pablo Marcos.

I'm just going to re-iterate that the Christopher Smith/Peacemaker in this mini-series is a VERY different man from the one we saw in Vigilante; he runs something called the Pax Institute [some sort of humanitarian organization?], he feels guilt about not stopping terrorism fast enough, he lives like a billionaire in the Swiss Alps, he doesn't want to take human lives if he can help it, and those deceased souls he collects in his helmet that talk to him? That's done with. Instead, he's got a different type of psychological demon to confront. In a way, this is more like the Charlton Comics version of the character -- but he's still got residual mental issues.

panels from Peacemaker #3 (1988). Pencils by Tod Smith, inks by Pablo Marcos.

Seeing as how Peacemaker's modus operandi is stopping terrorism, this mini-series revolves around him trying to foil a large-scale international terrorist plot being spearheaded by none other than Doctor Tzin-Tzin -- all while battling his own personal demons, of course. [In case you were wondering, Doctor Tzin-Tzin appeared in the mid-sixties as a Batman villain, and was more or less played up as a Fu Manchu knock-off. Last seen in a 1977 Batman story.]  This is reminiscent of Peacemaker's earlier Charlton adventures in which he dealt with international threats.

panel from Peacemaker #1 (1988). Doctor Tzin-Tzin!

Kupperberg goes to great care to add details about Peacemaker's elaborately revised origin by including correspondences between various high-ranking officials at the end of each issue. These are actually pretty long and tedious reads, but they reveal how Christopher Smith became an anti-terrorist commando, we learn of something called PROJECT: PEACEMAKER and we get the full details on his support staff.

It was obvious that this mini was a pilot to see how an ongoing series would fare, and since an ongoing didn't happen we can only assume it didn't generate enough interest. [As far as I know, it was never reprinted, either.] To be honest, I had a bit of trouble maintaining interest in this mini -- it's heavy with international politics and seems extremely topical for the time it was written. Kupperberg is no stranger to writing about international political intrigue (see: Checkmate!), and -- from an 80s historical revisionist perspective -- rehashing the Cold War is kinda cool, but I just couldn't get into it and the plot kinda confused me.

The art was okay -- lots of action sequences and the pacing was steady. The biggest surprise in this mini (for me, anyways) was the inclusion of Doctor Tzin-Tzin as the main antagonist -- mainly because he was a villain in one of the first Batman comics I owned. By 1988, I'm not sure if Tzin-Tzin was considered to be an offensive racial stereotype or just one of those Z-list DCU villains everyone had forgotten about, but it was entertaining to see this long-forgotten Batman villain appear in a modern story.

Batman v1 #285 (1977). Jim Aparo/Tatjana Wood cover

It kind of boggles my mind that the SAME WRITER could revamp a character so dramatically. I'd understand if it was a new writer who decided to undo everything Kupperberg had previously done, but frankly I thought the 'psycho' Peacemaker as seen in Vigilante would've made for a much more interesting character to read about. Don't get me wrong -- I still love the idea of Peacemaker, but this mini left thirty-something year old me a little underwhelmed. I'm sure 10 year-old me would've purchased it, regardless.

I've dwelled on it a bit more and decided that the reason I wasn't so keen on this mini was because Peacemaker seemed isolated from the rest of the DCU. Other than an obscure Batman villain (last seen in the late seventies) and an appearance from Harry Stein, there was no real connection to the DC universe -- no mention of Superman, the Teen Titans or anything, really. I realize that Kupperberg was trying to build a foundation for his own universe of characters, but there was no need for Peacemaker to exist in a vacuum. Maybe he could have had other Kupperverse chararcters appear? I don't think Peacemaker was interesting enough on his own to keep an ongoing series going. As we saw, Peacemaker works MUCH better when he's accompanied with other established heroes (see: Janus Directive and Eclipso series)

The Vigilante was not MY first introduction to Peacemaker -- it was from an old, tattered copy of Who's Who that my parents let me buy at a flea market one Sunday afternoon. I would've been around nine or ten years old at the time and probably didn't read his bio unless it was to check if he was a 'good guy' or 'bad guy'. To be quite frank with you, it was adoration at first sight. How could a 10 year old who played with G.I. Joes not be drawn in by a gun-wielding super-soldier with a radar dish for a helmet? And his radar dish helmet emits a sonic wave attack? And he flies around with a jetpack? Damn. Needless to say, I have a fondness for this character.

This wasn't the end of Peacemaker, however. He would re-appear in Checkmate! and appear sporadically across the DCU shortly thereafter.

A few 80s moments:

It wouldn't be a Paul Kupperberg mini-series without a Ronald Reagan appearance:

panel from Peacemaker #4 (1988)

Or how about that Berlin Wall? (cue up Scorpions' "Winds of Change")

panels from Peacemaker #4 (1988).

Mark Belkin interviews Joe Staton

Joe Staton is not only a legend in the comics industry, he is also one of the nicest human beings you will ever meet. It is always a pleasure to speak with him about his past, what he is doing presently, and what he is going to be working on in the future. And if you’re lucky enough to meet his wonderful wife, Hilarie, then you are twice as lucky to meet two of the nicest people on the comics circuit today.

His list of work for DC is massive. Batman, Green Lantern, All-Star Comics, Justice Society, Huntress, World’s Finest, Millennium, Power Girl, and so much more. Originally from North Carolina, Joe has made New York his home state for more than 30 years, and can be found at conventions all around the country. We were lucky enough to speak to Joe at a convention recently.

----

Mark: Thank you, Joe, for joining us today.  First question -- how did you meet up with Steve Englehart and end up working together on Green Lantern? 

Joe: Basically, he was assigned as the writer for Green Lantern. I had come back to DC from First comics. The plan when I came back was that Len Wein would be writing and editing Green Lantern. Somehow -- by the time I got back -- Len was gone and Andy Helfer was editing, and I guess Andy had assigned Steve writing duties. 

Mark: When I spoke with J.M. DeMatteis, he said that Andy was very influential on his Justice League run. Was Andy very influential on your run with Green Lantern? Was he a 'hands on' editor? 

Joe: Um... yes, and sometimes a bit more 'hands on' than Steve would've preferred. Steve had lots of good ideas, and Andy had some ideas of his own.

Mark: Steve was a very rebellious soul from my understanding...

Joe: Well, an independent soul, yes.

Panel from The Green Lantern Corps #201 (1986)

Mark: So you got to work on Green Lantern -- and I know one of the big things to come out of your run was Guy Gardner. Defining the 'bowl cut' for generations. How did that come about? What was your mindset in drawing Guy Gardner?

Joe: Steve was setting up a whole new approach to the [Green Lantern] Corps, and Guy had been almost entirely written out [of the mythos] -- he really didn't exist anymore. So basically, Steve developed a whole new Guy Gardner character based on that name and just that position in the corps. His idea was -- certainly in contrast to Hal [Jordan] who was such a good guy and such a stable character -- Guy would be a real contrast.

I picked up on what Steve was doing with it, and the way we'd brought Guy back is that he was in this intensive care facility -- he was pretty much brain-dead. When he came back, he had been in custodial care -- and my idea was that the crew (the people who worked at this facility) would basically come around a give him a bowl cut, like, once a month. And when he came out of his coma it's his haircut and he just stuck with it. It's an institutional look.  

Mark: It is. I heard they're making a Green Lantern Corps movie, and I know for a fact, that they will probably use the bowl cut. So a whole new generation of people will get exposed to that idea.

Joe: <laughs> ...the idea of ugly haircuts...

Can you make out the bowl cut in this silhouette?

Mark: So you got to illustrate the death of Earth-Two Batman in 1979's Adventure Comics v1 #462. How was it getting that? Because that was a pretty consequential story to be given. Did anyone talk to you about that at the time? Was there a huge "Oh my god, I can't believe this!" type-of-thing?

Joe: As I understand it, Joe Orlando was the editor, and this was to be Joe's last issue. Paul Levitz wanted Joe to go out with something consequential, so that how he got to the 'death of Batman' story. The weird thing there was that Mike Barr was the assistant editor, and when the script came to him he was horrified and Mike was, y'know, really trying to stop the whole thing. People realized this was something consequential, and then there were *other* people who thought that Batman should ONLY be killed by the Joker.... so, y'know, there were different ideas there.

From the brilliant Brave and the Bold #197. Also, about

 death and Earth-Two Batman.

Mark: Moving a little bit forward, you and Steve Englehart worked on Millennium -- which was the big cross-over series from the tail-end of 1987. How did that get handed to you guys? What was the thinking/reasoning?

Joe: Yeah, well, I know that Steve had a lot of new age ideas he wanted to work out. So, he was brought in, and he had a lot worked out. Andy [Helfer] was editing again, and Andy was always good at bringing in people from England, or Japan, or whatever... and his original plan was for Ian Gibson -- the English artist -- to do the art on Millennium. BEFORE scanning or e-mailing, before all THAT, it was FedEx ... international FedEx. But it quickly became apparent that really wasn't going to work on the very tight schedule that the book had. So, I think the book was 3 weeks late at the point I was brought into it. I wasn't scheduled to do it, I had no idea that I would be doing it. So, I was just kind of thrown into it. And Ian was told that okay well he's not doing the WHOLE job anymore, but he's still inking it. So he did stick around for the inking. I certainly would've understood if he decided not to, but he stuck with it.

Since the book was so late -- and it was at a time that there were a lot of changes going into the DC books (a lot of costumes were changing and different things) -- basically I penciled with what information I had, Ian inked with what he had, and then the whole thing came back to the production department who kind of re-drew things on the fly trying to make everybody's costume look right before it went out. 

And then there was a lot of political intrigue going on at DC at the time -- both internal politics and actual political politics. Steve [Englehart] was very left-wing in his politics and he wanted to make a lot of anti-fascist statements. I kind of share Steve's politics, so it didn't bother me. But Jenette [Kahn] leaned on Andy [Helfer] to lean on Steve, so Steve wasn't allowed to come up with the ending he had planned for Millennium. It's amazing we got it done at all.

A comic called Focus that focused on the comic crossover Millennium. Say that 5 times quick.

Mark:...and that moved onto 1988's The New Guardians series -- which you pencilled -- and that series sort of hung around for a little while. Was that series also affected by politics as well at the time?

Joe: Oh yeah. Since the whole ending [to Millennium] would've been different, and the spin-offs would've been different -- the New Guardians was kind of coming up with a spin-off book on the fly.  [laughs] That was another weird one because there were so many ethnic and political characters... and I'm fond of caricature -- like, I can't help it -- and I was REALLY worried that some of my characters were going to be offensive whether or not I wanted them to be. So, I worked with that as best as I could. It's amazing any books ever got put out.

Mark: I'd love to expand on that at some point. Before we finish up... retaining the rights to E-Man... was that always an issue? Was that an issue with First Comics (because you had to gone First Comics)? Was it an easy early-80s creator owned? Or was it difficult? What kind of difficulties did you have with that over the years?

Joe: Well, First [Comics] got the rights from Charlton [Comics], and the idea was that I'd pay First back from my royalties/income to cover their expenses, and eventually E-Man would come to me. Over the years various papers were slipped my way to sign, so the deal I wound up didn't exactly add up to what I was counting on from First. So, I ALMOST own E-Man but some of the earlier material is controlled by the remains of First.

Mark: And what happens with those remains? Who's in charge of those? Do you think those will ever be re- printed?

Joe: It's a possibility. We'll keep on trying to figure that out.

Mark: Thank you for sitting with us today, Mr Staton.

E-Man: the shape-changing superhero!

Joe Staton has been working on the national Dick Tracy comic strip since 2011, and has won Harvey Awards for Best Syndicated Strip in 2013, 2014 and 2015! He is a frequent guest at conventions, and if you see him, stop by and say hello!

-Mark Belkin

The 1986 Deadman mini-series (written by Andy Helfer and illustrated by José Luis Garcia-Lopéz)

We're inching our way to Halloween, and what better time to review one of DC's most macabre super heroes? If you haven't read our review of the 1985 Deadman Deluxe Reprint series, I'd recommend you start with that (go ahead... we'll wait), because this mini-series picks up where that reprint series left off.

By the mid-to-late eighties, the 'mini-series' seemed to be DC's launch vehicle of choice for testing reader reaction to any new ongoing series they were thinking of piloting (see: Aquaman, Phantom Stranger, Peacemaker, Hawk & Dove, Shadow War of Hawkman, Red Tornado, etc). That was exactly what this was -- DC trying to determine if there was enough reader interest to merit a Deadman ongoing series. Short answer: no. 


If you're reading this article because you're curious about the life & times of Deadman, I'll give you the run-down of what happens in this mini:

Accompanied by his identical twin brother Cleveland and Batman, Boston Brand/Deadman is still recovering in Nanda Parbat after being poisoned by the Sensei. [Thankfully, later in the first issue, the reader is treated to a quick recap of everything that happened during those 1967/1969 Strange Adventures and Brave and the Bold stories leading up to this.] Rama Kushna wants Deadman to stay and become the defender of Nanda Parbat, but Deadman wants to leave and go back to the real world for a few weeks and tie up some loose ends in his former life.

Panels from Deadman v2 #1 (1986). Art by José Luis Garcia-Lopéz.

He possesses Cleveland's body and heads back to the circus to says his good-byes. Of course, he wants to rehash his glory days as a high-flying trapeze artist... and this is when an unknown assailant assassinates him AGAIN (while he's possessing his twin brother's body). The first issue ends with Deadman bargaining with Rama Kushna for the life of his brother, Cleveland.

Panels from Deadman v2 #1 (1986). Art by José Luis Garcia-Lopéz.

Well, here's your first spoiler: Cleveland doesn't make it. Deadman resolves to hunt down his brother's killer, and manages to do so before the end of the second issue. A new supporting character is introduced: Maxwell Loomis (aka Major Mite) -- an acrobat/clown who is also an agent of Rama Kushna's. The second issue is overflowing with exposition: we discover the origin of Rama Kushna and Nanda Parbat (and how they're connected), we learn about Rama Kushna's relationship to Deadman, and we discover that Boston Brand isn't the first person to be an agent of Rama Kushna's.

It's probably worth noting that the antagonist in this mini-series is, once again, The Sensei of the League of Assassin (but not really, though). Deadman confronts The Sensei, but it goes poorly because the League was expecting him and set a trap. Second spoiler: it is revealed that the Sensei is actually possessed by the spirit who formerly held Deadman's position as Rama Kushna's herald -- a man named Jonah -- who wants to see Rama Kushna and Nana Parbat destroyed. There's a siege and a major battle is fought.

In the fourth issue, everything gets wrapped up: Rama Kushna sacrifices herself to put an end to Jonah, the city of Nanda Parbat destroys itself, the residents of Nanda Parabat are relocated around the world, the Sensei (no longer possessed by Jonah) goes back to being a ruthless gang leader, and Deadman commits to carrying on Rama Kushna's legacy by doing good. The end.

 

Staring all the way back in 1982, Andy Helfer was best known as an editor at DC comics (Atari Force, Green Lantern, Super Powers, Justice League of America), and the Deadman mini-series was some of his first writing/plotting/scripting for DC.

I can appreciate what Helfer was trying to do here -- part of being a writer and wanting to tell a story sometimes means wiping out everything the previous guy built so you can have a clean slate to work from. To this effect, Helfer effectively wiped out EVERYTHING Neil Adams had engineered (i.e., Rama Kushna, Nana Parbat, twin brother Cleveland, etc) from his run on Deadman back in the late sixties.

In the first issue's letter column, Helfer confirmed that he was a bonafide Deadman fan, and has vivid memories of picking up those Neal Adams' illustrated Strange Adventures stories right off of the spinner rack. He was heartbroken when the Deadman run came to an end, and added "seemed to me at the time, though, that it never actually did end -- that we left poor Boston right in the MIDDLE of his biggest adventure yet -- an adventure that saw print, oddly enough, as a Batman team-up in BRAVE AND THE BOLD." Sure enough, it was revealed to Helfer by Dick Giordano that the ending was rushed and condensed to fit into a twenty-page format because "it would be Dick's LAST opportunity to do a full-length Deadman story." Helfer even mentions that while he was Special Projects Editor under Joe Orlando, he'd longed to ask Neal Adams about that ending, but never got the chance. According to Helfer, it was Dick Giordano's idea to finish the original Deadman story after seeing the sales for the Deluxe Reprint Format series. Giordano's only request was that the new mini-series picks up where the original reprints left off.

Helfer did a few things in this mini that answered a few unsolved mysteries the original Strange Adventures issues had set up but never resolved -- namely, why Deadman couldn't possess the Sensei (because he was already being possessed by Jonah), who occupies the hidden city of Nana Pandut (the world's most evil beings), and what Rama Kushna's whole deal was (a misguided deity who was doing more harm than good). The mini-series concludes with all of the former Nana Pandut residents being scattered across the globe, and Deadman needing to re-collect them -- hence creating a plot device for an ongoing series.

Panel from Deadman v2 #3 (1986). Art by José Luis Garcia-Lopéz.

I suppose the biggest concern here -- for continuity cops, anyways -- was that resolving a 1968 Deadman story nearly 20 years later kind of messes up the continuity of everything that's happened between now and then. Helfer acknowledges this in the letter column of the first issue, and promises to provide readers with a list of all the Deadman stories that get retconned out of existence in the last issue, and then -- probably due to deadlines -- decides that readers should do their homework and submit which stories they think should be retconned instead (and hey... Crisis on Infinite Earths was still fresh in everyone's minds, so Helfer could probably get away with it). This was all preceded by Helfer gently reminding fans to write to DC if they'd like to see an ongoing Deadman series.


I was delightfully surprised to discover that Garcia-Lopez had illustrated this mini-series. Either I already knew this and forgot, or just never knew.

Page from Deadman v2 #1 (1986). Art by José Luis Garcia-Lopéz.

I mainly know of Garcia-Lopez' work from the 1982 DC Style Guide and from any promotional art associated with the Super Powers Collection action figures. I had no clue he could draw this fiercely. I'm understanding why he's considered to be a living legend.

splash page from Deadman v2 #3 (1986).  Art by José Luis Garcia-Lopéz.

panels from Deadman v2 #1 (1986). Art by José Luis Garcia-Lopéz.

Page from Deadman v2 #1 (1986). Art by José Luis Garcia-Lopéz.

Xeroxed copies of the first issue were sent out in advanced to selected readers so they'd have something to print in the third issue's letter column. A few readers who wrote in said they were kinda lost as to what was going on in the mini-series since they were a little unfamiliar with the intricate details of Deadman, and some pointed out things that didn't make logical sense. Even Mike Baron chimed in:

In 1986, Mike Baron would've been working on Nexus for First Comics.
Baron would end up writing a Deadman one-shot in 1989 for DC comics.

I was really expecting Deadman to be searching for his brother's killer throughout the entire mini-series, but that quickly got resolved by the second issue. I'm glad that Helfer introduced an even BIGGER threat to Deadman -- a villain who is also incorporeal and can play in the same league as Deadman. Deadman's a ghost, so it's a little difficult to have an opponent who can physically harm him. In later Deadman stories, his biggest opponents will be falling in love and loneliness.

One of the reasons I don't think this mini-series 'picked up' with fans is because Deadman doesn't play well as a solo character. (Batman appearing for the first seven pages for the first issue was kind of a tease, because he doesn't appear again in this mini.) Deadman NEEDS other 'established' DC characters to star alongside him. He's not interesting enough to support a book by his lonesome. I would, however, love to see this reprinted -- with nice crisp colors -- just so we can enjoy that Garcia-Lopez artwork again. As you can probably imagine, my copy is pretty worn.

To me, the 1986 Deadman mini-series will always be infamous for having a house ad that terrified me as a child. I literally could not even look at this page too long (I was a pretty squeamish kid). The look of anguish on Boston Brand's face(s) was just so horrific that it frightened me very much.

Justin