6 years ago Deathstroke Rebirth started

 The best Deathstroke solo series?

"I’ve never been more nervous about a new title launch. This is a book most readers will either love or hate because it both reinforces classic history and re­in­ter­prets it. The characters are exactly the same and completely different. Will Deathstroke fans like what we’re doing, or will the Rebirth enrage them?

The answer is yes." - Christopher Priest

Let's go back to 2016, DC's Rebirth initiative looked like heaven with everything fans could ask for. And Deathstroke was there too.

 Announced with Christopher Priest as it's writer and Carlo Pagulayan as the main artist, Deathstroke Rebirth looked... unexpected? Priest had not work in comic books for years by that point, according to himself, editors were always trying to tie him only to black characters and that made him feel like he wasn't taken seriously by big companies. When DC group editor Marie Javins called him and offered Deathstroke, he stopped to try remember who the character was, the idea of making a solo series about a villain intrigued him. 

"If I can write it this way -- in a character-driven, introspective way, and get inside the character and examine him kind of the way we did 'Black Panther' -- that would be a really interesting challenge. If it's just going to be him running around killing people, that's a little less appealing."- Priest 

With editor Alex Antone and Geoff Johns supervision, Deathstroke Rebirth was born. One thing to note, Marv Wolfman was one of Priest's first mentors in comics, Priest has expressed nothing but respect for him. 

 "Deathstroke, is not about violence. It is about a man; an exploration of a lost humanity."

The unique style 

The story was told like a Tarantino movie. Some sections being out of chronological order and with Priest signature mark, the black panels. However, what makes it special to Deathstroke fans is the attention to Slade's mythos. We got the return of Wintergreen, Slade's best friend. Adeline is also back, and the children of Deathstroke of course. 

Slade is actually the main villain of his own series(how genius) with his kids being the true heroes. Both Joseph and Rose were never this well treated. Not to say that Slade doesn't get proper attention, the comic has his name after all, If you want badass Deathstroke who can even make Superman feel challenged, you will find that here. 

But again, the book isn't really about that, what we have at our hands is a character study. We're promised to get inside the mind of a killer and were given just that in a silver platter. But in a very subtle way. Instead of Slade explaining how he feels, the comic asks us to notice that by his facial expressions, his actions and how the rest of the main cast reacts to him. He is, in a way, a silent protagonist. Making him even more menacing since no one really knows what he is about to do next, not even the reader. 

On top of that, we got new characters that became classics when it comes to Deathstroke. The Red Lion, a nod to way back when Priest was writing Black Panther, Dr. Ikon and others.

Sales and Critical reception

Deathstroke was the twelfth best-selling title of August 2016.the sales were pretty good when that run began, however, it cleary was in the decline as the months went on. Now, when it comes to critics it's hard to talk about. Depending where you go the reception will be completely different. Some love it, some hate it, some just don't care. It was nominated for best new series at the Eisner Awards in 2017 and even tho it didn't won that's still a milestone, I never saw a Deathstroke book nominated for any kind of award. 

The best starting point for new Deathstroke fans 

Comic books are complicated, as we all know, so starting to take interest in a new character can be intimidating and even confusing. But when it comes to Deathstroke, Rebirth is the best starting point. Of course, you should go after the classic stuff too however since some of it is not even canon or just hard to get into to, don't worry, you don't have to read every single comic with Slade to be a fan. Rebirth offers everything you need to know to not get lost in a conversation about Slade and his family. You can find it in trade paperback form or even in omnibus format today. 

Besides that, is the most cohesive and complete run about the character. Wolfman's run is great, it's a classic, no debate there. But, after the World Tour storyline, there is a decline in quality and Wolfman is absent from some issues. With Rebirth on the other hand, Priest wrote pretty much everything. Even during the crossovers with Titans and Teen Titans, every single word spoken by Slade was Priest. 

Well, I guess that's it. There is a lot to talk about every single arc, tons and tons of easter eggs, but let's leave that to another day, today, I just wanted to thank everyone involved in Deathstroke Rebirth, every single artist, editor, letterer, inker and so on. This is my favorite comic book series of all time and following it every month was an awesome journey, I'll be forever grateful for this experience. Also, I wanted to invite anyone who hasn't read it to give it a shot. 

"Baudelaire said only three beings are worthy of respect--the priest, the poet and the warrior. To know, to create...to kill. You, my genetically-enhanced friend, are all three: Slade the Deathstroke." - Matthew Bland, the Red Lion 

Thanks for keeping up with me rambling, take care and have a good one!