Maybe you already know about the Brave and the Bald Boston Brand. But if you don't, let's check out the greatest dead hero: Deadman!
To the uninitiated, Deadman is one of the coolest characters to have graced the pages of comic books. His first appearance includes his death, a pretty unusual first look at a brand new hero. The quick rundown on Deadman is he wears a dashing red costume with a big old "D" on the front of it and was a trained acrobat working in a circus where the stunts were so death-defying he was surely a "deadman," get it? Both of these talents are strikingly similar to a certain Matthew Murdock of the Marvel universe. There is, however, a marked difference between the other red-"D"-donning crusader in that Boston Brand is dead. As in, actually dead.
And that's what makes him so cool! He's a ghost by definition but can inhabit bodies of the living and speak, feel, and do incredible acrobatics through them. Sometimes he'll dive into a body to save someone from getting hit by a truck. Sometimes he'll inhabit the janitor to crack some jokes with his pal Maxwell Loomis. And there's always the times when he's trying to help save the world with Justice League Dark.
In addition to these superpowers, Boston Brand is a humorous addition to the DC universe. As a character that usually can't be seen he's known to take over bodies for a quick joke. As the rumor mill churns, there's a possibility that Deadman could be hitting the big screen at some point. (And yes, that is very old news, but recent rumblings of JLD could push it back to real discussion.)
First and Second Appearances
If you're a fan of Boston Brand, then Strange Adventures #205 is the book for you. Considering the FMV of a 7.5 is currently at $450, I think it's a reasonable price for the first appearance of a solid character.
The second appearance of Deadman comes in Strange Adventures #206 with a young Neal Adams drawing the dead guy. The FMV on a 7.5 comes in at $85 making it a very accessible book for most collectors and highly undervalued if anything was to come of the character. This could easily triple as it not only has the collectibility as a second appearance but also in its artistic merit from a renowned comic artist.
Justice League Dark
I can't mention Deadman without a brief look at Justice League Dark. With recent rumors speculating on a Justice League Dark movie, the sky is the limit for his first appearances and JLD #1. Current FMV on a 9.8 puts this at $220, another reasonable price for a comic that could skyrocket with a hit movie.
Besides his two main appearances and JLD, Deadman doesn't cross the pages of too many top dollar comics. He's usually cast as a supporting character whenever things get mystical and fill in for the comic/horror relief of the narrative. This could play out pretty well if he becomes a fan favorite. With such limited appearances, these little nuggets of Deadman could turn gold.
Death and Glory: Batman and Deadman
The artwork in this book is astounding. Each panel is painted by the gifted John Estes who really pulls out the mystical angle of Deadman through stark contrasts and soft line work. The story starts off with a brutal murder by the hands of Batman and there's only one guy who can help solve the mystery. (Yes, you read that right. Batman killed a whole lot of people in this comic.) I'm amazed that there's only ONE of these graded by CGC and that very one was last sold in 2017. Talk about an unknown comic. Raw copies of this hang around the $20 range making it a very affordable book with a well-written story by James Robinson.
Damned
I'll make a brief mention of Boston Brand's appearance in Damned as one of the many characters to be mashed into the three-book story by Azzarello and Bermejo. Besides the seemingly disconnected writing: how did Batman wake up in a coffin? Harley Quinn did what now? and why is Constantine so punny? Deadman's character has a bit of an update in his ability to inhabit bodies like a virus, making them ill upon his leaving. That and the Bodies-inspired costume revamp makes the inclusion of Brand a good one.
My Favorite Deadman Story: Solo #8
While this is only a very brief story written by the great Neil Gaiman and drawn in the eerie style of Teddy Kristiansen, it is by far my favorite. It captures Deadman's ethos: his perpetual loneliness, his kindness, and his desire to be with another. In eight short pages, Gaiman catches everything that Deadman can be talking to a girl on the steps of a winding staircase. If you only read one Deadman comic in your life, read this one.
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