Midnight 3: Deadman from Strange Adventures #205

When the clock strikes midnight, The Podcasting Hour shines a creepy candle on the dark corners of DC Comics… brought to you by the ghastly PJ Frightful!

This episode Ryan Daly and Doug Zawisza review the first adventure of the high-flying ghost-hero Deadman from Strange Adventures #205.

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Music produced by Neil Daly.

Thanks for listening!

25 responses to “Midnight 3: Deadman from Strange Adventures #205

  1. Really nice episode. I think I need to listen to the end of that opening story about an elephant who might be a tree again. I think the point was that something was there… but what? Was that a text piece from somewhere?

    Always good to hear Doug talk Deadman. I actually prefer Infantino to Adams on Deadman – naturalism is impressive but Infantino’s work is more expressive.

      1. Oh, nice one! I have to say, PJ creeps me out even without the spooky story… people whispering just goes through me? Hee.

        Hey, you should have a ‘write a five-minute spooky story’ contest. PJ reads out the winner.

        And great job to Neil for the music!

  2. Always a pleasure to hear the charming Doug Zawisza on a podcast. I love how he calls everyone sir.

    Ryan, could you spare a minute to talk about the musical contributions of your namesake.

    Also, after listening to the Legends stuff at Views from the Longbox I want you to podcast regularly with Michael Bailey and call it “Daly Bailey”.

  3. Really awesome episode
    The story at the beginning really set the mood for this episode.

    Deadman was a character I got introduced to by the justice league unlimited cartoon which I could not believe there was a character like that I was definitely drawn to him because of the outfit it was a really cool outfit.
    I feel the animated shows have done a good job with him in almost all his appearances and it’s a shame he hasn’t as least shown up in any of the cw shows come on a dead trapize artist that possess people trying to find out who killed him boom potential tv series right there.

    This issue was really neat it I dug it was done like a murder mystery it shows you potential Suspects abd the set up with the motives make a really neat issue.

    One thing I really liked Rama communicating to Boston through the animals it also opens the possibilitys of other religions and beliefs that might have had a hand in bostons being alive
    Could also lead to some explorations of that.

    I’ve kind of wanted to see a series or mini of Boston having to go up against other supernatural creatures from the beliefs especially of the Indian type how cool it would be to see how he deals with asura or other monsters that can possess people.

    Can’t wait for the next trip to the circus but it looks like the big tops closing tonight the midnight hour is ending.

  4. Great installment, loved the “Tell Tale Heart”-ish music drop in the background during the Deadman segment.

    As mentioned, Deadman is SCREAMING out for a live-action adaptation, it’s amazing with all the IP being plundered nowadays no director/writer/producer has ever thought to give it a try. Why, you could even cross it over with Supergirl and adapt that really awesome Alan Brennert story!

    1. I just hope when Deadman gets the live action nod, it’s on TV. Seems like DC’s figured that out and we stand a chance of getting a little more true-to-source interpretation.

  5. I first met Deadman with this very story, reprinted in that fabled DC Blue Ribbon Digest that also had the origins of Zatanna/Zatara AND the Demon. So a ton of DC’s magical folk, and the Justice League to boot!

    Infantiono’s clowns scared me. This was definitely Carmine cutting loose a bit. More like his Elongated Man back-ups of the time than his Batman and Flash work. He’d get looser later, and we can see that at work here.

    Anyone think Deadman had a big inspiration in The Fugitive TV series? The mission to find a one-armed killer is kind of hard to ignore, and the show was big at the time. I’ve always though this, but never heard Drake or Infantino mention it.

    Great first segment! Doug always brings the goods, and I really enjoyed that opening story Ryan. I hope PJ’s Tales of Terror are a regular on this show!

    Chris

  6. I picked up STRANGE ADVENTURES #205 off the stands and was definitely hooked beyond belief. Deadman remains my favorite comic character, at least from the SA run thru the second BRAVE AND BOLD appearance.

  7. I’m ready to face the slings and arrows from your audience but I have simply never liked Deadman as a character. Maybe it is because he curses Rama in every story. Maybe because I think his power is creepy because it robs his ‘victims’ of time in their lives. Maybe it is because he has the people he inhabits due circus-like flips because since he knows how to do it their bodies should be able to achieve it.

    I first met him in the Adventure Comics dollar comic run and followed him to DCCP, Crisis, etc. But he just never works.

    I don’t know …

    I am hoping that maybe hearing your coverage of the early stuff will show me what I have missed.

  8. Deadman for life!

    Cough. Cough.

    Yeah, love Deadman, can’t wait to discover every story in sequence. He’s such a classic and at the same time, such a weird mish-mash of ideas. Even his “street” accent, which sounds like Ben Grimm’s to me, seems to come out of left field.

  9. Great ep. That intro story was fantastic. Well written and delivered expertly. I hope there’s more to come, mainly so Lindsey can shallow a giant spoon full of humility and “I told you so”!! Enjoying the series so far. I never knew of “Demon Within” until you covered it. Man what a great story and like you said so representative of so many struggles people go through in their everyday lives, feeling forced to hide who they really are and conform to what society says they should be. Totally disgusting. Can’t wait to hear more ep’s. You have a great list of guests and co-hosts, except that Paul Hix guy. You do know he advocates punching koalas right?

  10. Great episode! I loved all three episodes of the podcast.

    I discovered Deadman via Challengers of the Unknown #85 which had both Deadman and Swamp Thing as guest stars. I picked this up at a school swap meet as a kid and it was decades until I found the next two issues to see how the story ended.

    Deadman popped up all over the place in the Bronze Age but it wasn’t until the 80’s when I picked up the Baxter reprints that I was able to read the Strange Adventures run. I remember loving his Adventure comic feature!

    BTW: The Deadman TPBs (1-5) are a great and cheap way to get all of the Deadman appearances through the 80’s. They reprint all of the misc appearances in Adventure Comics, Aquaman, B&B, DCCP, DC Special Series etc

    I’m re-reading a number of the tales via the TPB this weekend after listening to the podcast today!

    Thanks!

    1. Great call, Phil! And to plug the frequent Fire & Water sponsor, InStockTrades, you can get all five for a total of under $50 US.

      I’ve got a lot of the original appearances, but I bought the set just to have a quick, compact reference handy, because nothing’s worse than loose comics sliding all over the place.

      It’s a smart deal and I personally endorse it.

      Granted the five volumes don’t collect DEAD AGAIN, the Kelley Jones/Baron serieses, the ongoing that followed DEAD AGAIN or any appearances beyond the Helfer/JLGL (PBHN) series, but it’s realizing that that you become aware of just how prolific Boston Brand really was.

  11. I’m only commenting now, as I’ve just listened to the episode. Ryan, we didn’t mention it in our analysis of the cover, and no one – NO ONE !! – called us on it. How did we not mention the hook holding the rifle?! Admittedly, it looks more like a robot claw or a wrench than a prosthetic hook, but still.

  12. And let me just echo that sentiment that PJ’s Tales of Terror are worth the price of admission alone.

    I cannot wait until someone latches onto one of these tales and puts it to panels.

  13. Great episode, Ryan! I got into Deadman a couple years ago when my cousin challenged me to write a song for the character. At the time, I didn’t know anything about him so I bought his trades in order to “research.” I’ve come to love Boston Brand as a character. His woe-is-me attitude is unique in the DC landscape and he brings real texture the the stories where he appears. I would love to see DC do more with him and am really excited for the upcoming Justice League Dark animated movie. As for my song (in case you’re wondering) it’s got a great start but it’s completely stalled. Maybe one day I’ll bring it to a conclusion.

  14. Excellent show Ryan. My only experience with Deadman is his modern appearances, so going back over his early stories will be a great experience. Look forward to the next one.

  15. Really enjoyed this episode! I don’t know much about Deadman, so I don’t have a lot of specific feedback about the character. I do love his fun appearances in cartoons (Batman Brave and the Bold – if I recall – used him well).

    I’m enjoying each and every episode of the show; falling in love more and more each time! So happy to hear Doug on a regular basis. His knowledge and observations really bring a lot to the coverage!

    And that intro story Ryan read about the man driving his family… nightmare fuel!!! So effective as an opener! Hope we get more of those!

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