While the dead came back to life during Brightest Day, the superheroes of DC Comics didn’t face a full-blown Zombie Apocalypse that destroyed the world yet. On the main continuity, at least. Earth-55 has been ravaged by a Zombie Apocalypse in 2019 and became one of the most popular DC comics stories from this year, spanning several spin-offs and sequels.
Coming from Tom Taylor (also behind the Injustice Comics), artist Trevor Hairsine, and inker Stefano Guadiano, DCeased tells the story of the biggest infection that the heroes of the DCU have to face. When a mysterious techno-virus is released on Earth, 600 million people are infected and turned instantly into violent, monstrous engines of destruction. No one and no place on this alternate Earth are spared. From whole cities to the undersea kingdom, the paradise islands, the virus is affecting every place, every soul. Can Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the Justice League save the World from complete annihilation, or is it already too late?
This is a Zombie Apocalypse, after all, and anyone can die! Superheroes, supervillains, cops, and citizens are now fighting to stay alive in a devastated world filled with ravenous zombie-like creatures that will stop at nothing before everyone has fallen.
Presented as DC Comics’ equivalent to Marvel Zombies, DCeased is the “DC universe meets the Zombie Apocalypse”, and you can now discover this tale in single issue, hardcover, paperbacks and omnibus!
DCeased Comics Publication
As DCeased is not part of the main continuity, you can read the story with no prior knowledge. Since the release of the first issue, the world of DCeased has expanded with a one-shot, several spin-off series, and two sequels. Here’s a list of the titles part of this Elseworld series:
- DCeased #1-6 (2019) – The Main Series.
- DCeased: A Good Day to Die #1 (2019) – One-Shot focused on another group of heroes fighting the Anti-Life infection.
- DCeased: Unkillables #1–3 (2019) – Spin-off depicting the apocalypse from the point of view of anti-heroes and villains, including Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain, and Deathstroke among others.
- DCeased: Hope at World’s End #1–15 (2020) – A digital-first comic set during the events of DCeased featuring Jimmy Olsen and other heroes as they deal with the Anti-Living.
- DCeased: Dead Planet #1–7 (2020–2021) – First sequel taking place five years after the main series.
- DCeased: War of the Undead Gods #1–8 (2022–2023) – Our surviving heroes are facing a most devastating conflict in the second sequel that bring the story to a close.
The two spin-off stories, Unkillables and Hope at World’s End, are not essential reading as they don’t add vital information but the two comic series flesh out this zombie world, especially Unkillables, which delivers a quite solid story.
DCeased Collected Editions
You can find this complete Zombie Apocalypse in Omnibus format, which reprints the main series and its two sequels, as well as the other companion pieces, making the Omni over 1,000 pages!
- DCeased Omnibus [2025]
Collects DCeased #1-6; DCeased: A Good Day to Die #1; DCeased: Dead Planet #1-7; DCeased: Unkillables #1-3; DCeased: Hope At World’s End #1-15; DCeased: War of the Undead Gods #1-8.
DCeased is joining the DC Compact Comics line, which reprints best-selling and new-reader-friendly stories in a smaller format.
- DCeased: DC Compact Comics Edition [2025]
Collects DCeased #1-6
You can also find DCeased in hardcover and trade paperback collections:
- DCeased
Collects DCeased #1-6 and DCeased: A Good Day to Die #1. - DCeased: The Unkillables
Collects DCeased: The Unkillables #1-3 - DCeased: Hope at Worlds End
Collects DCeased: Hope At World’s End chapters 1-15. - DCeased: Dead Planet
Collects DCeased: Dead Planet #1-7 - DCeased: War of the Undead Gods
Collects DCeased: Dead Planet #1-8
DC has also released DCeased Box Set, containing the first four paperbacks.
DCeased, a Single-Issue Chronological Reading Order
DCeased is a pretty straightforward story with the collected editions delivering a good reading experience. But if you want to stick closer to the timeline, the following is a little single-issue reading guide that just does that:
- DCeased #1-4
- DCeased: The Unkillables #1
- DCeased: A Good Day to Die #1
- DCeased #5
- DCeased: Hope at World’s End #1-15
- DCeased #6
- DCeased: Unkillables #2-3
- DCeased: Dead Planet #1-7
- DCeased: War of the Undead Gods #1-8
What to read after DCeased?
You just finished reading DCeased and you loved it, but don’t know what to read afterwards, several options are waiting for you!
- If you are interested in more zombie stories, you can check out Marvel Zombies, the classic Walking Dead, or even discover the adventures of Vampirella.
- Zombies are not the only creatures ravaging the world, and another DC Earth has been recently destroyed by vampires in the popular DC Vs. Vampires.
- If you like alternate realities and Tom Taylor, we recommend Injustice, a world where Superman is bad, but also Dark Knights of Steel, a high fantasy reimagining of the DC Universe.
Also, you can face off against zombie heroes and hordes with the DCeased: Gotham City Outbreak, a strategy game where players control the last uninfected superheroes of DC Comics.