Mark Waid is one of the most esteemed creators in comics nowadays, especially for DC, but he’s yet to work on the publisher’s Absolute Universe. However, should the opportunity come along, he knows exactly what project he’d tackle.
Mark Waid’s contribution to comics is outstanding, with one of the most impressive lines of work out there, spanning The Flash, to Kingdom Come, to Superman: Birthright, to The New History of the DC Universe. The list of acclaimed projects goes on and on. Surprisingly, Waid has not worked on a title within the DC’s Absolute Universe yet, despite the line launching back in October 2024. Of course, plenty of time to change that.
John Siuntres’ Word Balloon Comics Podcast, Waid weighed in on the Absolutes. “I’m not sure that I would have an Absolute take on some of these characters because I’m just so invested in how I’ve been thinking about them for 60 years, you know,” he said.
It’s a fair take; the Absolutes re-evaluate characters and alter our perception of them. Waid does, however, have one character that he’d like to explore in the Absolute line. “So that said, I do have an Absolute DeadMan thing that I would love to do,” he revealed. “I don’t know if anybody’s doing anything with that, but I love that character. There’s so much to be done with that character and, you know there’s some Deadman in my future somewhere, whether it’s Absolute or whether it is somewhere in the DC universe. But what a great character.”
”Boston’ Brand, aka Deadman, was most prominent in DC comics from his inception the 1960s, to comics in the 1980s. In 2025, DC published a big Omnibus edition, chronicling the character’s most legendary stories. More recent appearances have been few and far between. Bringing back Deadman in the Absolutes line would make a lot of sense. The Absolute Universe allows characters to be broken down and rebuilt — Absolute Batman writer Scott Snyder has said as much himself. “I hope it reminds people that these characters are meant to be renewed,” he said in a 2025 AMA. “They’re meant to be burned down and put together.”
I think we speak for everyone when we say, give Mark Waid the freedom to develop Deadman into an Absolute Universe title. This is exactly what DC’s Absolute line needs.
Would you like to see an Absolute Deadman series from Waid? Give us all your thoughts and opinions in the comments down below!
I’m only collecting the Absolute Superman now, but Deadman would be right up my street, even though I like the character as he is, after all I name my little YT channel after him! The Deadman Comic Cover Show (Blatant Plug) I enjoy Mark Waid’s revamping of the DC Universe in All-In, I’m sure he would do a good job, either in the Absolute Universe or the All-In one! I look forward to either!!
Totally! All the Absolutes are great. Absolute Batman & Absolute Martian Manhunter are my favourites. Gotta be honest, not caught up with Absolute Superman yet!