Deadly Class, Vol.2: Kids of the Black Hole

Author: Rick Remender, Illustrator: Wesley Craig, Colourist: Lee Loughridge

Publisher: Image Comics

Genre: Graphic Novel, Sequential Art, Thriller, Dark

Release Date: March 3rd 2015

Page Count: 128

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 9781632152220

Volume One Review

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Author Website | Illustrator Website | Colourist Website
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Book Depository | Amazon | Chapters/Indigo | Goodreads

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“Depression is a big fucked-up monster. Everyone gets a turn, whether or not they want to own up to it. It’s a hard fight that fucks you top to bottom. Drains you hollow. And when you’re finally rid of it, there’s something about having overcome it that robs you of compassion.”

I have recently been on a major graphic novel binge. I keep putting down whatever novel I’m currently reading so I can pick up yet another graphic novel. I had recently read Deadly Class, Vol.1: Reagan Youth and I fell in love with it. I knew I needed the second novel as soon as possible, so when I placed a pre-order in for another book I just had to throw in Deadly Class, Vol.2.

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Goodreads Synopsis: Marcus Lopez is settling into life at Kings Dominion for the Deadly Arts, a secret elite school, to train the next generation of assassins. He has a girl, a circle of friends, and he’s learning a trade: the craft of killing. But his murderous past is about to catch up with him, and there are a few things about Marcus that even his friends don’t know. Secrets that threaten the lives of everyone around him. Because there’s a reason Marcus was sought out by the school’s shadowy principal Master Lin, a man who’s long had an eye for Marcus’s unique talents. Continuing the story of a group of damaged, deranged, and struggling teenagers living through one of the country’s most vibrant and chilling eras.

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The synopses for both Reagan Youth and Kids of the Black Hole do not do this story justice. Yes, the descriptions are both intriguing and are part of what pulled me in to this series but, I feel like they both make this series seem a little more fun and playful than it actually is. It definitely feels as though it is marketed toward the teenaged demographic, but as you can clearly tell just by the quote I posted at the beginning of this review, this story contains some heavy, dark material. These stories can definitely be read by teenagers, in fact I think I would have related to this story and it’s characters even more so if I had read it when I was a teenager. I just wish the synopsis didn’t make it seem like an everyday cookie cutter young adult novel because it is so much more than that.

This series continues to be perfect and the writing was on par if not better this time around. Within the first couple of opening pages we get to be a part of Marcus’ internal monologue once again. The things Marcus thinks and feels are so unbelievably relatable it hurts. He continues to be my favourite character within this series and I think it’s safe to say it will continue to be that way for the remainder of this series. Of course, all of the characters we met in the first volume are back, although some have changed emotionally after events that took place in the first installment. We also get to learn a lot more about the protagonist that was introduced earlier in the series and how he is connected to Marcus. We learn more about Marcus’ past as well as the back stories of some other minor characters. We also get inside the minds of Saya and Maria this time around rather than just hearing Marcus’ thoughts which I thought was a pretty neat change.

Both volumes were very fast paced and extremely well written. The artwork is fantastic and mesmerizing. I cannot wait to continue on with this series as it continues to be one of my favourite graphic novel series of all time.

You can find my review of Volume One here.