Writer: Jude Ellison S Doyle
Illustrator: Lisandro Estherren
Colorists: Francesco Segala & Gloria Martinelli
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Cover Artists: Reiko Murakami, Tyler Boss & Jenna Cha
Designer: Madison Goyette
Editors: Caroline Butler, Allyson Gronowitz, Elizabeth Brei & Andy Schmidt
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Price: $4.99
Release Date: July 16, 2025
On his 17th birthday, Jordy Rehms makes a man claw out his eyes. Then he watches as the man chews his hand off. Jordy knows he's not Human. Still, he enjoys terrorizing the people in Enoch.
His mother once imagined a glorious future. Now, she cannot bear to face tomorrow. When Cora prays for deliverance, a man appears in her kitchen. Is Mr Phim the answer to her prayers? Or will he bring Cora more suffering? Let's grab a Bible, leap into Be Not Afraid #2, and find out!
Story
Seventeen years ago, Cora mourned her father. Her friend Cindy grieved for her mother. While Cora's mother grew bitter, Cindy introduced Cora to church. Cora found meaning in religion. But then she went too far. Cora dared to believe that she could speak with God, and he replied.
In Be Not Afraid #2, Cora envisions the world as it ought to be. Cora wants to share her vision of divine harmony with others. Instead, her mother locks her inside the house. Anyone who claims God speaks to them is crazy and a menace to society.
Jude Ellison S. Doyle intersperses Cora's discussion with her mysterious visitor with glimpses from her past. We discover why Cora found her unnatural pregnancy difficult instead of a blessing. Be Not Afraid #2 tackles the divide between the laity and the clergy. It also reminds us that the Christian Church closed the canon of the Word of God, then zealously rooted out “heretics” who disagreed with the establishment’s decisions. While addressing the way tragedy can tear families apart, the story reminds us of our daily struggles to spread kindness, even if love demands that we punish those who do wrong.
Art
Lisandro Estherren provides a window into Cora’s past, revealing the pain that divides mother and daughter. Mr Phim may reason with her. Yet his features seem harsh, and his movements suggest impatience. A vision from Biblical prophecy merges with a glimpse of Cora's home in the valley. Yet, as Cora mentions to Mr Phim, her town seems removed from time in Be Not Afraid #2.
Francesco Segala and Gloria Martinelli adorn scenes of rural life in toned pages. Red adorns the opening scenes with her mother, and Cora's search for a new worldview. Green fills the valley, Cora's initial scene with Mr Phim, and her interview with a priest. While enhancing the mood of these pivotal moments, radiant yellow and white hail warmth, affection, belonging, and divine providence. Yet the visions seem slanted or skewed in Be Not Afraid #2 as if glimpsed not through a window but a funhouse mirror.
Simon Bowland places uppercase black letters in white boxes and balloons. The uppercase letters in boxes are more stylized than their cousins, but both are easy to read. Words grow bold for emphasis, while lowered voices receive smaller, lowercase letters. But white words appear in black boxes when everything right in Cora's world suddenly goes wrong. Thanks to Boom! Studios for providing a review copy.
Final Thoughts
Cora Rehms faces a difficult decision. The mysterious Mr Phim promises her deliverance from her suffering. But he appeared as miraculously as her son. And he advises actions that clash with Cora’s ethics and belief in Be Not Afraid #2.
Rating 9/10
For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
To refresh your mind of previous events, see my review of Be Not Afraid #1.
