By Dustin Cabeal

I don’t particularly like it when reviews spout off comic history or such nonsense like, “Vertigo was Image before Image was.” I get it though; we look for ways to simplify and boil things down to their core. Which is why I will say that Deathbed is the most Image feeling Vertigo comic I have ever read.

I wouldn’t profess to being a fan of Joshua Williamson’s, nor would I say I’ve read everything by him. I have read a great deal of his work though and can see the culmination of all that work on this issue. In a way, he’s playing to the old strength of “writing what you know,” by writing about a writer… writing about the crazy adventures of a dying man. Hence the name if you didn’t catch that. It was a bit predictable in that regard because the set up is our writer showing up for an autobiographical ghostwriting gig and finding a what appears to be a feeble man waiting for death. Frankly, I wasn’t buying it, and I doubt you will either. What was nice was the touch Riley Rossmo added with the artwork in which you couldn’t quite tell if the ninja zombies were, in fact, there or some crazy delusion. It remains a mystery until the old dude jumps out of bed, butt fucking naked, armed to the teeth and starts gatting motherfucking ninja zombie mummy people.

I can only guess that Rossmo took a cue from some hentai and decided to have old dude’s dick be a darker and throbbier color than the rest of his pasty white skin. My point is, enjoy being able to say, “all guns blazing” for once while reading a comic. The gist is that this old dude was a hero of some kind… I’m basing that on his classic sci-fi suit that he puts on and now he’s bored and wants to die, but not just from old age. No, he wants his enemies coming for him, and he’ll just keep taking them out until one of them gets lucky and punches his number. He wants the novelist with writer’s block to write down his adventures so that no one “fucks with his story.” If that isn’t every creator's desire, I don’t know what is.

I’m what I would call a lapsed fan of Rossmo’s; when I first discovered his art (I’ll save you the holier than now name drop), it was different, kinetic and drew me in. He could be clean and beautiful with his linework but chose to be scratchy and gruesome with this artwork. The problem was that it seemed like he got bored with whatever he did. Short series were great, but anything that went past six issue and suddenly it was like he wasn’t there anymore. By the time he started working at DC he was no longer a creator I was willing to chase. I know, that’s not flattering or even on topic, but it’s context to what I say next. If he sticks with this series, it’ll end up being the best work of his career thus far. The atmosphere he adds to this story. The way he plays with the lightning to make it feel cinematic, creepy and strangely horrific. And that dick… that was some good comic dick.

Deathbed is very different from what people expect or think of when they pick up a Vertigo book. It might be a new direction and the current editor leaving their mark on the beloved imprint. I’m not opposed to that in the least bit. Much like something else I reviewed recently, this series will be made or broken with the second issue. This is a strong, unique first issue for sure, but the follow up will determine if it’s worth adding to your collection. It might just give you a couple of creators to resume the chase with though, and maybe that’s enough.

Score: 4/5

Deathbed #1
Vertigo Comics