DCeased Reading Order: The Complete Guide
Join us on Reddit for the latest Marvel & DC news!
DC comic books are something to be reckoned with – its lore is absolutely amazing and besides the ocean of different aspects and concepts, there is one more that separates from the main comic book stories and puts our beloved DC superheroes somewhere else – Elseworlds. This is where superheroes can be put in any story or situation possible, and the DCeased comic book series brought up so many cool aspects of the DC superheroes that we have never seen before.
The creator of this cool storyline is Tom Taylor, who also worked on Nightwing, Superman, and other notable DC superhero stories. The concept of this storyline reminds us of Marvel Zombies which was released in 2006, of course, with DC signature style.
In this article, we will list all available DCeased comic books, storylines, and extra content you can read, enjoy and immerse yourself fully while reading it. Without further ado, let’s start!
DCeased Reading Order (At Glance)
DCeased storyline was heavily praised by critics – the art, story, and tone of the comic were massively praised by most fans and critics alike. Some of the fans accused DC of blatantly “stealing” the story and concept from the Marvel Zombies, however, the writers and illustrators of this story decided to put a stop to it and created their own unique storyline, that does not have anything to do with Marvel at all.
This is the reading order at glance:
- DCeased #1-4 (2019)
- DCeased: A Good Day to Die (2019)
- DCeased #5-6
- DCeased: The Ukillables #1-3 (2020)
- DCeased: Hope at World’s End #1-15 (2020)
- DCeased: Dead Planet #1-7
- DCeased: War of the Undead Gods (2022-)
We will mention all the issues that are available in this universe and chronologically list all of the available current DCeased stories. If you are interested in our chronological guide to reading DCeased comic books, definitely stay with us until the end.
DCeased Reading Order (Fully Explained)
1. DCeased #1-4 (2019)
The first issue starts with the Justice League trying to repel the invasion from the Apokalips a week prior to the timeline of the DCeased. Darkseid once again wants to rule the world, but Earth Mightiest Heroes do not give up. After the Justice League told the New God to leave, Darkseid just left a cryptic message to the heroes – he came for what he needed. Meanwhile, Cyborg is kidnapped and tortured by DeSaad, who wants to extract the Anti-Life Equation from Cyborg’s body – a transcendental mathematical formula that allows the individual to dominate the will of every living being in the universe.
Darkseid wants to have it but corrupts it and causes the planet Apokalips to explode. Cyborg is sent back to Earth and over the Internet spreads a techno-organic viral version of the Anti-Life Equation, that corrupts everyone around him who eventually become enslaved zombie-like creatures. The story starts here.
2. DCeased: A Good Day to Die (2019)
This is essentially a filler of the DCeased comic book series released as a one-shot between the first four issues and the fifth and sixth issues of DCeased. The story revolves around Mister Miracle and Big Barda who make their way over the Apokalips – there is nothing left after the explosion.
While musing about his father’s demise, Mister Miracle with Big Barda comes back to Earth and the pair see what has been bestowed on the Earth. Meanwhile, somewhere in the universe, Mister Terrific is experimenting on corrupted Captain Boomerang and researching the way to cancel the effects of the corrupted Anti-Life Equation.
3. DCeased #5-6 (2019)
A scattered superhero group is trying to deal with everything that has been going on on Earth – they shut down all the Internet connections and are trying to salvage anything left of the world’s cities. Gotham is turned into a jungle, and Metropolis, with other big cities in the U.S. are destroyed to a pulp. Superman and Wonder Woman miraculously survives a huge blast, and new once trusted superheroes are getting infected – of course, the one they’ve been trying to avoid.
Another Justice League member is infected, which essentially means doom for the Earth and its inhabitants. Still, the superheroes that are left are trying their best to prevent the massive infection to spread more, and are the only hope of the universe.
However, the role of leader is bestowed on younger superheroes, and Cyborg realizes the absurdity of the infected Anti-Life Equation. The story shows how life is absurd and how brittle can it be. Another wise message can be pulled out from the story as well – sometimes what we are looking for, can be right in front of our noses.
DCeased story ended here for now, but an open ending promised fans a lot more to come, and it did not disappoint at all.
4. DCeased: The Ukillables #1-3 (2020)
After you read DCeased and its one-shot, you can transition onto DCeased: The Ukillables and its three comic issues. Unkillables is a very interesting story that provides readers with the point of view of other characters, like Commissioner Gordon, Batgirl (Cassandra Cain), and Jason Todd.
Others include Slade Wilson, Bane, and other DC supervillains who realize that maybe there is hope for Earth. Batgirl, Jason Todd, and Gordon even go to Bludhaven and discover many orphaned survivors – they decide to protect them in the post-apocalyptic world. It is also important to mention, that the timeline of this story is overlapping with the first DCeased comic book story, where Lois Lane and other survivors decide to leave the Earth.
Personalities clash and precious lives are at stake once more – are villains or heroes at the right, or that does not matter in the destroyed world?
The villains and heroes eventually bond and some even develop romantic feelings for each other, but months of peace goes are shattered, after the Anti-Life Equation strikes again.
Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Doctor Fate, Zatanna, and John Constantine also make an appearance in this comic book, and the end of the story suggests there will be more to come.
5. DCeased: Hope at World’s End #1-15 (2020)
Another series provides the expansion of the DCeased story, and this time includes superheroes and DC notable characters like Black Adam, Martian Manhunter, Jimmy Olsen, and others – the readers are provided with their point of view. Suggestions of running to alternate universes seem really appealing to the survivors and some are still trying to salvage and save what is left.
A time jump foreshadows a possibility of an Anti-Life Army, and Black Adam is trying to save Kahndaq from the initial infection. Another group that is located in Keystone City includes Wally West, Max Mercury, Impulse, and Jesse Quick, who are trying to evacuate survivors to the alternate Earths – Wally West manages to save his friend in the last second.
The stories of each hero are really interesting and really puts into perspective each character’s personality in the times when everything and anything could be helpful. Once again, younger and not expected heroes step up, and old ones one by one fall under the dreaded influence.
6. DCeased: Dead Planet #1-7
Dead Planet is a direct continuation of the original DCeased run, and boy is it intense. Superheroes come back to Earth after five years because Cyborg’s beacon started transmitting the signal. New Batman and Superman (Damian Wayne and Jonatan Kent) and the rest of the group go to the Earth to see what is going on.
Cyborg finally tells what can cure the population and start constructing a plan on how to do it. The heroes and villains reunited in the Harley Quinns and Poison Ivy’s green sanctuary, and with the help of Swamp Thing are trying to keep out the zombies but villains Penguin, Maxwell Lord, Professor Ivo, and Jason Blood wants to use the apocalyptic situation to rule the world.
After resolving the issues with the power-hungry villains, the surviving heroes led by Batman, Superman, John Constantine, and others, are constructing a plan on how to use Cyborg’s cure to heal everyone.
They even go to the meeting with New Gods, where they are trying to ask Metron for his famous Mobius Chair, to use to create the cure. Trigon threatens to come to Earth because no one is dying, and the team use ancient weapons, and new-found knowledge, to stop the disease that destroyed the universe.
Some would
7. DCeased: War of the Undead Gods (2022-)
Last and the most recent comic book story was released earlier this month and Tom Taylor, together with his illustrator Trevor Hairsine came back with another mini-series.
What we found out in the first issue is that some superheroes never come back after the cure is discovered but the reunions that occur are absolutely heartwarming and beautiful.
Supergirl joins the fray, and new additions with the surviving heroes and villains are now trying to protect the world from the Anti-Living New Gods. The first issue provided us with a great start to the new series in the DCeased universe, and knowing that the new issue is coming out in September, only makes us more excited.
Do You Need To Read DCeased Series In Order?
To fully immerse yourself, and experience the DCeased story from all available points of view, we warmly recommend that you read the comic books in order. There are not that many issues, and it is easy to follow – experienced DC fans will love the story for the emotional aspects of the superheroes and cool teaming up, and the new ones will love the concept of how the superheroes would deal in the post-apocalyptic world.
The new DCeased mini-series has already shown us what is waiting for us in future issues, and honestly, we cannot wait for October to come.
Liked this article? Join us on Reddit for the latest Marvel & DC news!