Thoughts on Andy Helfer's Deadman?

[Timothy Hunter]

Andy Helfer's Deadman fits very neatly with comics like Truman's Hawkworld, Moore's Swamp Thing, Chaykin's Shadow, Miller's Dark Knight, and Giffen's 5YL Legion. In this four issue miniseries, Helfer chews on Deadman, spits him out, and breaks all of his toys. Half of the original supporting cast is dead by the end. Cleveland Brand, Vashnu, ane Rama Kushna meet horrifying ends and Nanda Parbat is destroyed. Do later Deadman writers later ignore the Helfer series or does Rama Kushna stay dead until the New 52?

The miniseries also retcons every single Deadman story from his backups in Aquaman all the way up to his team up with Superman in DC Comics Presents because this story takes place immediately where Brave and the Bold 86 leaves off.

[BatmanJones]

Thanks for the reminder. I can't wait to re-read this on DCUI. I also really loved his run on The Shadow.

[SJNeal]

I've never actually read this, but seen it in some bargain bins over the years. I never picked it up because I couldn't find all 4 issues; maybe it's time to scour eBay.

[BatmanJones]

I've never actually read this, but seen it in some bargain bins over the years. I never picked it up because I couldn't find all 4 issues; maybe it's time to scour eBay.

I'd advise you to consider getting DC Universe Unlimited. It's about $8/month for virtually the entire catalogue (20-30,000 comics) with new ones arriving 6 months after they hit the stands for full price.

You'd probably spend at least $8 on 1-2 issues of Deadman on eBay. You can read all 4, plus everything else, for $8 on DCUI. It's digital so maybe that's a dealbreaker for you but, if you can live with digital and you read a lot of DC comics, there is no better bargain.

I buy a lot of new DC comics but, with the prices going up, I'm being more selective. I can afford to be so because I know that those $3-10 comics are going to be free with my subscription only 6 months later.

[SJNeal]

Yeah I've been considering it for awhile now, even if it's just for a few months to read some material I'm curious about but hesitant to spend money and shelf space on.

If only I had something suitable to read on. My laptop is just too unwieldy...

[Timothy Hunter]

Thanks for the reminder. I can't wait to re-read this on DCUI. I also really loved his run on The Shadow.

Andy Helfer's Deadman shares a lot of similiarities with his Shadow run. Nanda Parbat bears a great resemblance to the Shadow's Shambala and I wonder if Helfer was conscious of that. Both his Deadman and Shadow are deconstructionist superhero comics, the major different between the two being that his Shadow is a spoof while Deadman is more serious, in the vein of the Dark Knight Returns or The Longbow Hunters.

[BatmanJones]

Yeah I've been considering it for awhile now, even if it's just for a few months to read some material I'm curious about but hesitant to spend money and shelf space on.

If only I had something suitable to read on. My laptop is just too unwieldy...

I enjoyed the service so much better when there was a streaming option. I read comic books on my TV with a Roku remote in my hand and I was in hog heaven. But when they changed over to their current incarnation they took that away. It was honestly my favorite thing about the service.

But being able to skip comics I'm on the fence about and read them for 'free' six months later saves me a hell of a lot of money. And, because of space issues, I've moved almost entirely over to digital anyway.

The library really is incredible though. Threads like these pop up all the time, about series' I'd loved but hadn't read in a while or about series' I never read but meant to. I read these threads and head over to a website and read pretty much any DC comic book that's mentioned here or elsewhere if I want to. To me, that's priceless, even if I had to read them on my phone.

[BatmanJones]

Andy Helfer's Deadman shares a lot of similiarities with his Shadow run. Nanda Parbat bears a great resemblance to the Shadow's Shambala and I wonder if Helfer was conscious of that. Both his Deadman and Shadow are deconstructionist superhero comics, the major different between the two being that his Shadow is a spoof while Deadman is more serious, in the vein of the Dark Knight Returns or The Longbow Hunters.

Now I'm even more eager to re-read it.

[BatmanJones]

Also, Andy Helfer is cool.

When I was 18, I had an idea for a DC character and called the DC offices out of the blue to ask to speak to him since the character was under his domain at the time.

He came straight to the phone to hear the idea of an 18 year old stranger. The full story gets much better than that but I've told it here a few times and I'm not trying to make this thread about that. I just wanted to mention how cool he was as a person and how encouraging he was to me at a formative time.

[SJNeal]

I don't think I've ever caught that story, but that's pretty amazing! I know I've never heard/read a negative thing about Helfer from any of the creators he worked with, especially during the tumultuous times immediately post-COIE.

Wow, how times have changed though...

[BatmanJones]

I don't think I've ever caught that story, but that's pretty amazing! I know I've never heard/read a negative thing about Helfer from any of the creators he worked with, especially during the tumultuous times immediately post-COIE.

Wow, how times have changed though...

PM me and I’ll tell it to you if you want. It’s a pretty colorful story.

[signalman112]

Ad for the 1986 DEADMAN mini-series by Helfer and JLGL.

DeadmanAd.jpg