Any other fans of the current Christopher Priest written Deathstroke comic? I usually prefer Deathstroke as an antagonist rather than a lead, and I really only tried this because of Priest's name. I'm glad I did.
It should appeal to any fans of the original bronze age version of the character. It's got a streamlined history, taking the various reveals that came out over time and mixing them into a logical whole. A supporting cast that includes Wintergreen, Addie, Joseph and Rose. Unlike too many Rebirth books that wallow in their shattered continuity, this book just presents it's take and moves forward. Joseph/Jericho is probably furthest from the original portrayal, but it's a take that works very well here. Still a hero, but with the grayness and ambiguity you'd expect from the son of Deathstroke and Addie.
Highly recommended. I would love for this book to succeed and lead to more work for the endlessly talented Priest.
I've read good things about this book from posters here like Cobalt Kid and trusted professional reviewers alike. I'm looking forward to when the first trade comes out, so I can see for myself! Priest's run on Black Panther is in my mind a high point of the late '90s/early 2000's, so it's great to hear that he is back and in top form!
Here's what I said about Priest and Deathstroke in the DC Rebirth thread this past August:
Originally Posted by Me
I've had a copy of "Deathstroke: Rebirth" laying around unread since the week it was released. And that was, what, a month ago? Now, I think Priest is an awesome person -- a fine writer, an underappreciated editor (Little Known Fact: Priest gave Peter David his first comic-book writing break because Priest always remembered that before his promotion from Marvel staffer to Marvel editor, the only two people at Marvel who had given Priest the time of day were his mentor, Larry Hama, and his fellow lowly Marvel staffer, Peter David) and a vivid character worthy of being himself the subject of a book.
But...I kinda wish Priest was working on a less difficult, less morally ambiguous character than Deathstroke. To me, the idea of reading a Deathstroke solo book is like eating a meal that's too heavily spiced (and I should add that I never read any of the previous Deathstroke solo books.)
Who knows? Maybe this Deathstroke book will open doors for Priest to do something more to my liking in the not-too-distant-future. And I am open to the possibility of borrowing the first Priest Deathstroke trade from the library when it comes out.
It sounds like we have similar views on Deathstroke. Like I said, I only tried it because of Priest.
I should also add that I am choosing to assume that the horrifying sexual relationship between Slade and the underage Terra are now out of continuity. I don't think any amount of quality could get me to try a book with him as a lead otherwise.
I agree we seem to be in agreement on Deathstroke.
The last time I re-read "The Judas Contract" was only a few months ago, and while Marv Wolfman's Titans run is loaded with uncomfortable sexual undertones relating to several characters (the Donna/Terry relationship in particular has always been a favorite target for squirmy ridicule in the Titans forum), I came away feeling that all the ugliest stuff was only hinted that rather than overtly declared.
Will be re-reading TJC later this year when the current NTT trades catch up to it (prob by Volume 7), so then I'll see if I still feel that way.
I have to read The Judas Contract for my articles at Endangered Bodies. I want to write about the relationship between Terra and Deathstroke... among other things.
I’m a little late to the party, but I’ve said again and again in the DC Rebirth thread that I am absolutely LOVING Priest’s Deathstroke series! It’s been stellar so far, and it blends Priest at his best with an incredible story about family and a man who is dealing with being a terrible father and perhaps (though its not clear yet) is trying to figure out a way to make amends.
While I’ve always like Deathstroke, he’s never been one of my top favorites. On the other hand, I’m a diehard Priest fan from the 90’s, and like Lardy, his Black Panther run was a personal favorite—something the two of us bonded over back in 2002 or so in the early LMB days.
While I was unsure of how Priest would fit Deathstroke, I can see its been kind of brilliant so far. You add in Wintergreen, and Slade’s family (three kids, wife, etc.) and numerous others, and Priest can jangle a slew of characters and subplots with his own unique narrative style. The real stars thus far are Wintergreen, Rose and Jericho.
I really like it. It may take the entire first arc for some people to warm up to the narrative beats, but I think most people would be hooked after that.
Regarding the Judas Contract, I have to say that I think one of the things that makes Deathstroke so "himself" is that at the end of the day, he's pretty irredeemable. He is not a hero by any means, and he's a murderer. A tragic, compelling lead character, but still irredeemable.
And so with that in mind, I very much assume that in continuity an older man Slade slept with a 17 or so year old Terra. And I think he did it to seduce her, hold power over her, and all the other awful things that statutory rape entails. I am not a fan at all of rape in superhero comics, so I would have no problem with this not being mentioned in comics again. But it isn't out of character to assume he would do something like that.
Deathstroke has been a pleasant surprise in the DC Rebirth. While I am not a fan of him as a protagonist, this series grapples that disfunction head on - giving us great moments with Wintergreen and Rose.
I'm not sold on the Jericho changes. And the Red Lion makes me cringe.
I'm a little unsure of whether Jericho even was a Titan in this continuity, unless there was a direct reference that slipped past me. But he was never a fav of mine, and what love I had for the character was pretty thoroughly dismantled by Geoff Johns and the various Evil Jericho writers, so I'm willing to let a lot slide on that front.
I'm also a big Priest fan from the 90s: Black Panther, Quantum and Woody, Steel, Xer0, Ray and Justice League Task Force... a man who could make that lineup sort of work is a miracle man.
In fact, one of my personal guilty fan stories has to do with that run of Black Panther. I didn't like the idea of replacing T'Challa, so I bailed after issue 49. I still don't like the idea, but I feel like Priest had built enough trust that I should have at least given it a chance, and I feel a little guilty that I didn't give him that opportunity. It's not like one more reader would have saved the book, but still.
This place was around in 2002? Dang, I think about some of the rough going DC has given me over the intervening years since then, and it would have been nice to have somewhere to shelter through a lot of it. Not that it was all bad; I'm trying very hard not to turn into the Grumpy Old Man. But there's definitely been a lot of times that I was hunting for the good stuff instead of enjoying the universe as a whole.
I've been playing catch up on this series and read #11-15 last night, with the most recent few issues to come tonight. And holy shit, is this a great series or what? Priest started strong but he's truly in his groove now, with each issue delivering a plethora of great plotting / pacing, incredible non-liner interludes and utterly fantastic characterization.
I was blown away by the awesome gun control / Creeper issue. Candidate for best issue of 2017 so far.
I was thrilled to see Nightwing's Raptor appear, and just like everyone else, he was written great.
Jericho is complex and layered, and more interesting to me here than ever before.
Rose is fantastic.
I'm late in reading these because my father had all the issues and recently read them all. Having missed most comics from 1994 or so to 2016, this was his first chance to discover Priest and I'm thrilled that he's instantly fallen in love with his writing. Never a Deathstroke fan, it says a lot that he's on board in such a big way for this series.
I saw this in this month's preorders and it piqued my interest a bit... Deathstroke running an X-Force-type monochrome team with several ex-Teen Titans...? Still written by Priest.
I know the new Power Girl had appeared prior to Rebirth but I was in full IDGAF mode at the time, so this is essentially my first intro to her. Really, really likable character and her interactions with Deathstroke have been gold so far.
Previous Thread
