Deathbed #1
Vertigo Comics
Written By: Joshua Williamson
Art By: Riley Russmo
Colors By: Ivan Plascencia
Release: 2/21/18
I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from Death Bed. I hadn’t really heard anything about it, at all, but it was a Vertigo title, so I decided to take a stab at it. And I have to say I was delightfully surprised by what was presented in these pages. I will be honest, the first 3 pages of art had me hooked, the next two, I was second guessing my first reaction, but the further I got into the story, the more I fell in love with the art. It’s actually quite beautiful. I also particularly enjoyed the colorist in this issue. I know colorist don’t always get a lot of love, which is honestly a crying shame. I really feel like a good colorist can add so much to a good book. And Ivan Plascencia absolutely does that. The moodiness palette really accentuates the mood of the art, lifting it up to something greater.
The story was just a lot of fun. An adventurer named Antonio Luna who may be coming to the end of his life, wants his story told. He hires down-on-her-luck writer Val to write his memoirs for him. She shows up at his gigantic creepy home, full of trophies of his adventuring, only to find him on his deathbed. She soon finds out Luna’s adventuring days aren’t quite behind him. It’s completely and delightfully over the top, and I loved it.
The creative team really knock this one out of the park. I’d recommend giving this a chance, especially if you like beautiful artwork and a well-crafted story.