Fate is a quirky thing, even when you think it’s going to be predictable.
What They Say:
The curtain’s about to drop, but before then, the remaining circus members must keep the Helmet of Fate from falling into Amazon hands. But how much is the Deadman really willing to sacrifice?
The Review:
With the first two issues of Deadman and the Flying Graysons, I rather loved the approach of it as it showed us the circus troupe caught in the middle of a war and doing what they can to survive and yet to still entertain others. The mix of characters has worked well and the second issue did a nice job of introducing familiar pasts coming around again. It’s sort of sad to think that Dick can’t escape the fate of his parents even in a timeline like this, though he does get a bit more time with them. Having his mother fall to her death and then to see his father die not long after gives him the core motivations that have defined him all these years as we saw in the main timeline. While he’s been enjoying his circus life here, that stronger side to him has been there all along and manifests itself well here.
The last straw for him being the death of his father in his arms no less. With the cause of it being the Amazons coming after Kent for the helm, it gives Dick a reason to carry through on that promise to protect it and to keep it out of their hands. It’s a great little story plot point in the greater war and one that makes sense in that a group like the Amazons would want to cement their power with whatever artifacts they could get, either by controlling them and using them or just sealing them away to eliminate a potential future threat. And the helm of Dr. Fate is definitely one they want to get a hold of for obvious reasons. Seeing Dick understand the seriousness of it but to take on the job more because his father believed in it more than anything else is what makes the most sense.
Everything goes into a big action sequence for the majority of the episode as it has him and Boston Brand trying to get it away before the Amazons and the Furies get them. It’s not as good as it could be, lacking a bit of tension and layout to really drive it home, but it has some good character moments as Brand does what he can to protect Dick, to make good on the promise he made, but it twists nicely when the truth of Brand’s situation is revealed and we get him becoming Deadman. He doesn’t get to really emote it much since it’s in the midst of the big action moment, but he defines himself well with it quickly and becomes something more like a guardian angel more than anything else. If anything, it all left me curious to see how Dick would serve as Dr. Fate.
Digital Notes:
This digital edition of Deadman and the Flying Graysons from Comixology features just the first printing cover of the issue with no additional extras included in the book.
In Summary:
The overall concept for this book is one that I really liked as a whole but it didn’t have the time to really flesh things out as it could. It’s the kind of series that could tell a really fun story over the course of a years worth of issues by deepening all of thei relationships and surviving the war itself. What we have here is fun though even if the third act comes across a bit weak in the end. It offers up a lot of potential and used the cast it had well, even if it did kill off several of them in relatively quick order. It does tie into the main storyline in the end though which is good, but it’s the kind of thing that feels a little shoehorned in to make the connection stronger. I’d have preferred the book to end more on its own note, but it’s a serviceable enough ending.
Grade: B-
