During the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic, many companies came up with numerous virtual initiatives so that people in quarantine could not get bored. Among these there was also the A.D who has decided to bring some free comics or in an “unpublished” digital format all over the world with the initiative DC Digital First already started, actually, in the pre-Covid period. Among the various editorial lines present in the huge catalog of the publisher stands out DCeased created by the writer Tom Taylor in collaboration with various artists including Marco Failla and Renato Guedes and with the colorist Rex Lokus. One of the first titles to enter the digital offering was therefore DCeased: Hope At The End Of The World which, finally, arrives in Italy in hardback version thanks to Panini DC Italy.
DCeased: Hope At The End Of The Worldwhat happens when the heroes fail?
In DCeased: Hope At The End Of The World L’Anti-Life Equation has infected over a billion people on Earth. Heroes and villains fell and soon after the destruction of Metropolis, Superman and Wonder Woman began to devise a plan to try and stem the wave of infection. The two, therefore, decided to preserve and protect the survivors and develop a plan for the future and attempt to restore hope. The story is told from the point of view of Jimmy Olsena young photographer of the Daily Planet, great computer enthusiast and aspiring journalist, friend of Clark Kent and the only one able to photograph Superman during his exploits.
In this way Taylor creates a parallel between an “ordinary” person in the comics and a reader who sees their heroes turned into zombies. In fact, we are all Jimmy and, like him, it is difficult to see such a marked change in the physique and mind of our heroes. This is precisely what makes reading this work complex because fear and emotion are added together with curiosity. What happens when our heroes fail? How can we keep hope? This is what it focuses on DCeased: Hope At The End Of The World, all seasoned with a beautiful storytelling made up of internal fears and external worries as we watch the world plunge deeper into chaos. Jimmy, therefore, goes from being a character hardly observed in the most famous works and mainstream, to be the true soul of the story because it describes the breaking of hope and the hard work to keep memories strong. A story of great humanity that serves to effectively introduce the reader to one very wide and potentially infinite narrative window.
Innovative artistic style between introductions and reversals
Another gem is given by the cover you see Black Adam infected with the Anti-Life Equation. Its presence is anything but coincidental since it inserts it into the elseworld’s new universe DCeased not only allows you to get to know the character better, but also to introduce him in the best possible way for his film debut expected for the summer of 2022. Inside the work, in reality, he is not always present and, after having turned into a zombie in the second chapter, his behavior is somewhat predictable and tending towards brutality. However, it is evident that the story revolves entirely around the different philosophies of life adopted by Black Adam and Superman: the first considers it appropriate to massacre the zombified people of the Kahndaq to slow down the infection, Superman, on the other hand, remains firm in not killing the zombies even for keep alive the slightest chance of saving them and eventually succeeds even in some cases. The result is a book that explains how to fight the impossible and makes it clear that every life saved is a victory. The value of doing well shines because, although the crisis is enormous, the value of heroism is always rooted.
As for the artistic style, this is truly incredible and in stark contrast to what is generally used in this genre of works. The illustrations are warm and engaging, making the horror even deeper. The way it is drawn, for example, Jimmy’s blank face as the world plunges into chaos around him, simply using the camera to distance himself from reality, strikes hard on the mind and heart of the reader. The work, however, is not gloomy but also has some humorous notes and signs of hope such as the introduction of the new one Justice League of the elseworld universe of DCeased with Superboy or Jon Kent, Wonder Girl or Cassie Sandsmark and Batman or Damian Wayne. The use of bright colors and warm color palettes confirm the concept of hope that the soul of the story wants to instill in Jimmy and the reader.
Conclusions
DCeased: Hope At The End Of The World is a pleasant entry into the narrative universe of DCeased by Tom Taylor. The term “pleasant”, in reality, might seem an oxymoron given that the story is about mass destruction and zombie apocalypse, but the way the story is told and above all the artistic style gives a perfect mix of terror and sadness, but also of hope and humor. It is an introductory story of the alternate universe of DCeased and perhaps for this reason it does not play strongly on the emotional factorhowever, one has the feeling that it is destined to last a long time by carefully selecting some very specific pieces of the DC universe and Taylor is certainly very skilled in this.
