REVIEW: DCeased: Hope At World’s End #2

DCeased: Hope At World’s End #2 is here and like I said before, I am happy to consume anything to do with this story-arc, whether it’s a direct follow on or prequel, you name it, I’ll read it. I’ve said this many times, but Tom Taylor really has created an incredible action packed yet violent series and I cannot get enough of it!

But before we get into the story, let’s take a look at the cover. I’ve been a big fan on Ben Oliver for a while now, and this piece perfectly shows why. The realism portrayed on this cover is second to none, and the use of colours and sharp jagged edges for the lightning is phenomenal. It just looks so real. I would love to see Ben’s take on each and every character involved in this series, and I hope that is what we get, I cannot get enough of his artwork.

Picking up exactly where the first issue ended, we see Black Adam and what lengths he is going to in order to “save” his country and his people. I put that in brackets because unlike what we have seen in the previous DCeased issues and spin-offs, we have not seen anything as brutal as his method. This just goes to show how differently these villains and heroes think. Although he is trying to save many lives in the process and has their best interest at heart, the effects are catastrophic and unthinkable.

In his mind it is the only way, and it’s really quite interesting to see how differently the other parts of the world have handled and dealt with this pandemic. I would love to see more of this and how it took affect in different aspects of the DC universe and it’s characters. Tom Taylor is essentially spoon feeding us this information, and the way and speed he has done it allows us to truly understand and take focus on these moments rather than it all being rushed.

Word has spread that Black Adam has eliminated the anti-life equation in his area, although that isn’t entirely correct. Superman is among the first to ask how he did it, and reaches out in order to save his own people. The fact that Superman comes to Black Adam to make peace and to ask for his aid in the matter just goes to show how desperate he is. This would have been a last resort for him and just relays how serious this situation is for the entire world. Not only that but it shows the dedicated Superman and his team have to eliminate this common enemy.

Later in the issue Black Adam really sees the ramifications of his actions, and as we already know, he is faced with a very large dose of Karma. I hope this series delves into how the heroes and villains of this series are turned and infected. There are quite a few that we didn’t really get to see, and I loved this story. Despite Black Adam being a notorious villain of both Superman and Shazam, this issue really showed his mental journey through his despicable actions. Not only that but it also shows that even the worst villains have some sort of heart and some sort of remorse.

The artwork in DCeased Hope At World’s End #2 by Renato Guedes is absolutely magnificent. Guedes’ art perfectly portrays the emotion and sorrow of the characters and you can instantly see how they are feeling. The action sequences are fantastic too, so much detail has gone into each and every page and you can really imagine these pages in real life, this is also brought to life with the colours by Rex Lokus. Lokus has a unique colour style and I love it, it’s realistic yet animated at the same time. That colour style combined with Guedes’ artwork really have brought this issue to life.

Tom Taylor has written the characters involved perfectly. It can be hard to write so many different characters and to give them justice, but Taylor really has mastered this skill. Like I said before I cannot wait to consume any future DCeased releases, I really have enjoyed this entire series.

Haven’t read this issue of DCeased: Hope At World’s End #2 yet? You can download it digitally via the Read DC website, or direct from Comixology here (UK), or here (US).