YOU’VE BEEN CANCELLED #2, from Mad Cave Studios on 7/19/23, takes the hunt for Roland Endo up several notches when word of the hack gets around. A mistake isn’t a mistake if it’s profitable.
The Details
- Written by: Curt Pires
- Art by: Kevin Castaniero
- Colors by: Jason Wordie
- Letters by: Micah Myers
- Cover art by: Kevin Castaniero
- Comic Rating: Mature
- Cover price: $3.99
- Release date: July 19, 2023
Is It Good?
In YOU’VE BEEN CANCELLED #2, Roland Endo runs, fights, kills, and runs some more to evade bounty hunters who are redirected through a sudden, unexplained change in Cancelled’s bounty program. Curt Pires appears to be having a ball putting his protagonist through the wringer as he seeks out allies and answers in a highly entertaining second issue.
When last we left Roland Endo, he was well on his way to retaining his ranking as the #1 hunter in the Cancelled game. During an inexplicable blip, all bounties changed to point directly at Roland. Now, Roland scrambles to survive until he can find an ally to trace the nature and source of the blip before his fellow hunters find him first.
Pires is having a ball writing the script for this issue, and it shows. Roland brings all his fighting prowess to bear while defending himself against every lower-ranked hunter looking to make a name for himself or herself. When Roland finds out how he became a target, the answer is unsurprising and the perfect foil for a curmudgeonly old hunter.
What’s great about this issue? First and foremost, it’s fun. You could rightly argue that this story borrows a little too heavily from The Running Man, right down to a greedy executive bringing a retired hunter out of retirement to get Roland, but Pires injects enough personality, urgency, and slickness into the chase to keep you on the edge of your seat. Parallels be damned.
What’s not so great about this issue? The only down point for some readers WILL be the overt parallels to The Running Man, which runs the risk of making the story predictable. Pires has plenty of time to deviate and create an original outcome, but you can almost recite what’s going to happen next.
How’s the art? Expressive and amusing, especially when the rival hunters see the punch, knife, or bullet coming an instant before it connects. Castaniero’s style has a lot in common with Kit Wallis because they both make the cartoonishly-stylized visuals work by capturing big expressions.
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What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Check out our YOU’VE BEEN CANCELLED #1 review to find out how everyone reacted when the target changed.
We begin with Sterling Croft, the executive in charge of Cancelled, receiving word that the game has changed. Not only has the game changed, but it was hacked by an outside party. Croft is incensed by the intrusion, but he quickly changes his tune when he learns about the new target and the positively astronomical effect on ratings.
Roland fights his way through alleys and corners against every pursuing hunter just long enough to make contact with an ally with tech skills. Roland meets his contact, who helps him strip all trackers and find the location of the hacker.
Roland makes his way to a low-income area of the city with guns drawn to confront the person who put a target on his back. We conclude the issue with coming out of retirement, breakfast, and a fatherly talk.
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Final Thoughts
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YOU’VE BEEN CANCELLED #2 is a loud, raucous, sharp-edged hoot of a comic. The action is brutal yet entertaining, and the predictable plot twists are energetic and urgent enough to keep you on the edge of your seat.
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