"DCeased: Hope at World's End #1" Comic Review

What do you do when the world is ending and all the heroes are dying? If you're Jimmy Olsen, you pick up your camera. Someone has to chronicle this. Someone has to remember what came before. These pictures could inspire hope for countless generations or at the very least, they'll serve as a reminder of the mistakes we've made along the way.

The horrifying zombie epic, DCeased, is back with a digital-first series looking at a specific time period. This series, DCeased: Hope at World's End, takes place during the time jump in DCeased #5, showing what happened to a number of characters as everything starting falling apart. This debut issue centers on Jimmy Olsen and it cuts deep.

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Think about Jimmy's spot for a second. Superman is his best friend, although Jimmy lacks any powers himself. He gets inspiration and hope from the Man of Steel and tries to do what he would do, even if that means risking his own life in the process. Writer Tom Taylor delivers an amazing scene between these two where the young photographer explains why he didn't use his signal watch to alert Superman when he was in danger. It speaks volumes as to the relationship between them and what Jimmy is capable of.

As with the main DCeased series, this one packs quite a punch. We're looking at characters we've known and loved for decades turn into rampaging monsters and it hits hard. Artist Dustin Nguyen creates a perfect encapsulation of this idea in a single panel not quite halfway through. Carnage and bloodshed are erupting all around him and Jimmy, eyes wide, snaps a single picture. Letterer Saida Temofonte inserts the smallest little sound effect as the shutter closes. Dark blood splatters all around. It's such a beautiful and tragic image.

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Nguyen's pencils feature some great shadow work that really drive home the ominous nature of these events. It's like there's a dark cloud hanging over everything, smothering out any and all hope. Every so often a glimmer pops up, usually when Superman appears, but that's all too quickly snuffed out by the sheer force of the Anti-Life Equation virus, how quickly it spreads, and how merciless it is.

This isn't to say DCeased: Hope at World's End #1 isn't in black-and-white or anything. Colorist Rex Lokus reminds us that we're still dealing with the DC Universe here and that brings with it a certain burst of color...even if that is surrounded by darkness and all-encompassing dread.

Since DCeased debuted, we've all been clamoring for more from this universe. There's a follow-up mini-series on the way and Unkillables, a short tie-in, just wrapped up. DCeased: Hope at World's End is a nice surprise full of scares, heart, and so much bloodshed. It's a welcome addition to this franchise and I can't wait for more.