DCeased: Hope At World's End #2 Review

Walk Like a Man

Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist: Renato Guedes
Cover Price: $0.99
Release Date: June 3, 2020

DCeased: Hope at Word's End continues this week, and after a recap, issue getting people up to speed on everything going on, through a Jimmy Olsen lens, I expect Tom Taylor to kick things into high gear.  I mean, announcing the Anti-Life War was coming at the end of Chapter One had me pumped!  How was this issue, and does Taylor have me "infected" to his Digital-First story?  Let's find out...


The issue opens in Kandaq, and that means Black Adam, and that means awesome!  Now, when DCeased: Unkillables released as Covid-19 was starting to hit hard and then continued as the world was shutting down, it felt a little odd.  However, the real world and comic book events didn't feel connected to each other.  That is not the case here, as Taylor seems to be using the arguments about how best to deal with Covid-19 to infect his comic book world.  It makes things hit a lot harder, in my opinion, plus, he doesn't force the issue as it feels natural with the characters involved.

That gets me back to Black Adam, who quickly disconnects Kandaq to stop the initial spread of the Anti-Life Virus and uses the wisdom of Zehuti to decide what to do next.  It's a needs of the many outweigh the few plan that also involves closing the borders of the country.  While that's all well and good on the surface, to get there, Black Adam killed a lot of innocent citizens and immediately felt guilt and remorse.  

There is also the bigger picture going on, and while Black Adam seems to be looking for justification and acceptance, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter arrive asking for help.

The rest of the issue revolves around a great line from Superman, begging Black Adam to think with the heart of a man, not the wisdom of a god.  A great line, but also the start of the Anti-Life War it seems.  I don't know if this is a moral lesson to stay in your lane or what because the minute Black Adam thinks with his heart, shit goes wrong!  Big Time!!!  The issue ends with an exciting cliffhanger that certainly kicks this series into the next gear.

Tom Taylor is setting the pace for his book with these first two chapters, and it's slower than I expected, but I am enjoying it.  I've mentioned in the past that it's hard to rate a Digital-First chapter since most get doubled up for a print edition (there are no plans to print this yet), but Taylor is a digital vet and knows how to play the game.  He gives the reader enough to keep them interested and fashions a good cliffhanger.  I still need a little more to call this a must-read, though.  Also, I was not fond of the art as much in this chapter, which lowered my score a tad.  DCeased: Hope At World's End #2 is still a good read for DCeased fans, and I expect it to get better once Taylor finishes setting things up.

Bits and Pieces:

DCeased: Hope At World's End #2 continues to set up the Anti-Life War, and things are about to get ugly!  Tom Taylor's use of Black Adam here is excellent and dips into real-life territory as he tries to decide what is best for his country during the outbreak.  I am still waiting for this Digital-First book to hit "must buy" territory, but this chapter's cliffhanger is a step in that direction.

7.0/10