Deadman Reading Order (DC Comics)

Created by Arnold Drake and Carmine Infantino back in 1967, Deadman has one of the longest and most compelling histories in DC’s supernatural landscape.

In a lot of ways, Boston Brand’s need to “ghost” into a body to function in the corporeal world makes him the ultimate team-up hero. Deadman has frequently partnered with Batman in issues of Brave and the Bold as well as the Justice League Dark in DC’s New 52.

Below you’ll find a complete guide to Deadman’s comic book history, from Neal Adam’s work popularizing the character through present day.

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Deadman Creation & Neal Adams Run

Deadman Book One

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Collects: Strange Adventures #205 To #213

Deadman Book Two

Collects: Brave And The Bold #79, Strange Adventures #214-216, Brave And The Bold #86, Backup Stories From Aquaman #50-52 And Challengers Of The Unknown #74

Deadman Book Three

Collects: Phantom Stranger #33, 39-41, The Brave And The Bold #133, Superman Family #183, World’s Finest #223, 227 And DC Super-Stars #18

Deadman Book Four

Collects: DC Special Series #8, Adventure Comics #459-466 And Dc Comics Presents #24

The Adventure Comics DC anthology series from the 1970s features Deadman stories from the era’s top talent, including Len Wein, Jim Aparo and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez.

Deadman Book Five

Collects: Deadman #1-4, Secret Origins #15, Challengers Of The Unknown #85-87

Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book Four

Saga of the Swamp Thing: Book Five

Issues: Swamp Thing #49 to #51

It’s a good idea for comic book fans to check out Alan Moore, John Totleben, and Stephen Bissette’s full run on Swamp Thing simply for excellence. These three issues will give you the most Deadman centric issues, as Crisis on Infinite Earths spirals into the pages of everyone’s favorite green horror monster with a heart of golden oak.

Deadman In The 90’s and Early 2000’s

Action Comics #601 to #626

Following Action Comics #600, DC’s perennial Superman showcase transitioned to a weekly DC Universe anthology, frequently starring Deadman stories. Digital versions and collected editions of these are a bit sparse at the moment (as of 2.18), but this would make a pretty cool back issue collection for Deadheads out there.

Deadman by Kelley Jones: The Complete Collection

Collects: Deadman: Love After Death And Deadman: Exorcism.

Lobo/Deadman: The Brave and the Bald

Collects: One-shot

Batman/Deadman: Death & Glory

Collects: Miniseries

Written by James Robinson with art by John Estes.

Deadman: Dead Again

Collects: Deadman Dead Again #1 to #5

The 2001 miniseries by Steve Vance and Leonard Kirk

Deadman In The 2000’s Until New 52

Deadman (Vertigo Relaunch)

Collects: Deadman #1 to #13

Starting in 2006 and running through 2007, Deadman moved to his own thirteen issue Vertigo comics series. The relaunch by creators Bruce Jones and John Watkiss featured a new Deadman host named Brandon Cayce.

Solo

The eighth entry in DC’s short story artist’s showcase, featuring a Deadman short story by Neil Gaiman and Teddy Kristiansen. The story plays very much like a conversation between Sandman’s Death, giving a brief look into the life of Boston Brand.

Wednesday Comics

Collects: Wednesday Comics #1 to #12

The 2009 to 2010 initiative from DC features 16 over-sized stories, including a Deadman narrative by Dave Bullock and Vinton Heuck.

Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 1

Collects: Blackest Night Batman #1 to #3

The DC Universe mega event Blackest Night draws Deadman back into DC Comics fabric in a big way.

For those interested, Comic Book Herald offers detailed full event reading orders for Blackest Night.

Brightest Day

Collects: Brightest Day #0 to #24

Deadman is arguably the main character of this mega DC Universe event in the wake of Blackest Night.

You can find a complete Brightest Day reading order here.

Flashpoint: Deadman – The Flying Graysons