Review: The Deep Sea

The Deep Sea is quite a tale: Rip Van Winkle meets Fantastic Four #1 meets 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  A combined work by the likes of Washington Irving, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Jules Verne might seem like an untouchable combination,  but if there was ever a team that could pull it off, it would be the writing duo of Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray (co-writers for so many things like The Hills Have Eyes: The Beginning, Powergirl, and, most recently, Jonah Hex) backed up by dynamo artist Tony Akins (best known for his work on Fables, Hellblazer, and the current run of Wonder Woman).  Supposedly a one shot, it ends with a cliffhanger and “End. (For now)”, leaving plenty of room for a return.  I certainly hope so!

First off, take a second to look at those suits they’re wearing on the cover and tell me that you aren’t reminded of the Fantastic Four.  Go on; I’ll wait.  Since I can’t hear you, I’ll assume you agree.  I’m still waiting for them to turn out to have superpowers.

The man in the middle is Paul Barry.  On the morning that he and his crew were supposed to delve into the Challenger Deep in 1958, he was injured and unable to join them.  That was fifty five years ago, and Paul has never forgotten.  It is the day that haunts his dreams, the day that plagues his mind, the day his friends and his lover were lost to the sea.  Melodrama.  But today, their craft has been recovered, and he will finally get some answers as to what happened on that fateful day.  But the deeps have a few more surprises in stock for him than he expected!

I don’t know what it is about this comic, but I want more.  The plot is unpredictable.  Well, some of it is pretty predictable.  But there is a massive surprise about halfway through.  And it is certainly not a “one shot”.  There is so much about the events of that day that are left a mystery while test results on the contents of the vessel are tantalizingly dangled in front of the reader’s face.  We know they’re important; we just don’t know what they say.  And like I said, it ends on a bit of a cliff hanger.  Most one shots are structured so that if there is no sequel, the audience will still feel like all is resolved.  If there is no sequel to this, everyone who reads it will become a ghost after death due to “unfinished business” on this world.

I love the art in this comic.  You get a glimpse of a volcanic vent at the bottom of the ocean that;s just beautiful.  There is plenty of detail in the faces, which I always love to see in comics, as well as a good use of shadowing.  I also love that the last couple pages have sketches from Akins, with notes explaining his process, which is normally reserved for “making of” specials, personal websites and books specifically about art, like some of the ones we review here.

I give a major recommendation for this comic.  Unlike many of Dark Horse’s comic issues, this is $2.99, so it’s an amazing deal.  I’d recommend it even if it cost way more.  And don’t believe the people at Dark Horse: it’s not going to end up being a one shot.  This is issue #0.  They aren’t fooling anyone.

Matthew Bryant, aka Baker Street Holmes, hopes that he doesn’t have to eat those words, especially because he’d really like to see this team come together again.  Also, more   [no spoilers allowed]  !  You can follow him on Twitter at @BStreetHolmes or e-mail him at HMCrazySS@gmail.com.