Deathmate 25th Anniversary Approaching 0

[Coolio McCool]

The 25th anniversary of the most successful crossover in comic history (by sales) is approaching, I predict that there will be renewed interest as the event approaches. Overall Deathmate has a bad rap because the comics are still nearly worthless, but the storyline is solid and there are some nice books in the set. I would rank the books as follows:

6) Prologue - Nothing really happens in this book, Solar's babe offs herself, Solar hooks up with Void, Deathmate starts, everything is screwed up, the end.

5) Blue - The fight between Magnus and some Image guy at the beginning is pointless, it was cool seeing Sting show up for a few pages, but not enough action overall.

4) Yellow - Ninjak vs Zealot, Hard CORPS in a suicide mission, good comic overall.

3) Epilogue - The cover is AMAZING, one of the best covers I have ever seen. But the story isn't so good, the ending is a disappointment frankly, Spoiler alert - "Solar become a black hole!" - the end.

2) Red - Good art throughout, good story throughout, I wish there was an entire series about Harada owning the world. If there is one Deathmate book that could be turned into an ongoing series or even a movie this is it. Cover is kind of a hit or miss, in some circles it's a classic, it others it's a punchline.

1) Black - Silvestri / Lee cover, first Gen 13. I confess I haven't read this one, my copy is probably a 9.8 and I don't want to damage it. Hopefully I can find a copy in a dollar bin somewhere soon and finish the review.

So next time you're dumpster diving, be sure to pick up a few copies of Deathmate and enjoy a good read and the crossover to end all time. This blood's for you!

[jp delaney]

cool. this will see how far Rule of 25 goes...

 

[valiantman]

2 minutes ago, jp delaney said:

cool. this will see how far Rule of 25 goes...

Unless I'm mistaken, "Deathmate" is still synonymous with "bowel movement", as in, "hang on, I need to go take a Deathmate".

This should really see how far Rule of 25 goes. 

[valiantman]

9 hours ago, Coolio McCool said:

I wish there was an entire series about Harada owning the world.

He doesn't own the whole world, but he's setting up that plan in Imperium #1-#16 (2015-2016).

[jp delaney]

Just now, valiantman said:

Unless I'm mistaken, "Deathmate" is still synonymous with "bowel movement", as in, "hang on, I need to go take a Deathmate".

This should really see how far Rule of 25 goes. 

yea, that's what I was getting at. hell, who knows...AND I don't have boxes of them

 

[valiantman]

Just now, jp delaney said:

yea, that's what I was getting at. hell, who knows...AND I don't have boxes of them

It was a Valiant and Image crossover, and true to the comics themselves, the Valiant books were released on time and the Image books were months late.  Combine that with the huge cover prices and the "numbering" with colors instead of numbers, and fans of both companies were disappointed.  There is an advantage to reading Deathmate now, though, since the books are cheaper than cover price and there's no delay in getting the whole series.  Those original two problems are solved.

There are too many of every book in Deathmate, but the Gold variants for each book are a little tougher to find... and sometimes they're in the same bargain box with the regular issues.  The catch is that Deathmate Yellow is yellow foil and Deathmate Yellow Gold is gold foil, and people get too excited about Deathmate Yellow being foil that they think they have a gold variant.  Unfortunately, no... Deathmate Yellow seems like it should be a variant, but 99% of the time, it's not.

[jp delaney]

1 hour ago, valiantman said:

It was a Valiant and Image crossover, and true to the comics themselves, the Valiant books were released on time and the Image books were months late.  Combine that with the huge cover prices and the "numbering" with colors instead of numbers, and fans of both companies were disappointed.  There is an advantage to reading Deathmate now, though, since the books are cheaper than cover price and there's no delay in getting the whole series.  Those original two problems are solved.

There are too many of every book in Deathmate, but the Gold variants for each book are a little tougher to find... and sometimes they're in the same bargain box with the regular issues.  The catch is that Deathmate Yellow is yellow foil and Deathmate Yellow Gold is gold foil, and people get too excited about Deathmate Yellow being foil that they think they have a gold variant.  Unfortunately, no... Deathmate Yellow seems like it should be a variant, but 99% of the time, it's not.

thx for tip

[Lazyboy]

14 hours ago, Coolio McCool said:

1) Black - Silvestri / Lee cover, first Gen 13. I confess I haven't read this one, my copy is probably a 9.8 and I don't want to damage it. Hopefully I can find a copy in a dollar bin somewhere soon and finish the review.

Hopefully it won't take you another 25 years to find your first dollar bin.

[sonicdan]

I've been collecting original Valiant art pretty much exclusively for the last 20 years or so. Naturally I have a few Deathmate pieces. One of my faves is this color guide.