Namor rules Atlantis. In the real world, Atlantis is one of the most mysterious and fabled places of all time. What happens when man goes and tries to find it? Sub-Mariner: The Depths explores that question.
This first issue centers around Doctor Stein: a man of science who has no time for fantasy. A Golden Age mythbuster if you will. His initial scene is of his expedition to the Himalayan mountains where he is hard at work disproving the existence of the Abominable Snowman. He unveils the true culprit at a flashy, press laden presentation- the yeti is really a Red Himalayan Bear. Score one for science.
Afterwards, Stein is approached by two men who ask if he is interested in trying to find the lost city of Atlantis. Turns out, a previous explorer by the name of Marlowe (whom we get an enticing peek of at the beginning) may have already made the discovery. If Atlantis may have already been discovered, what do they need Stein for? Well, rumors abound that ol' Marlowe might be a Red and the U.S. doesn't want the underwater city to fall into the hands of the Communists (*snicker*).
Stein takes them up on this challenge, hoping to debunk yet another fairy tale, and begins the deep descent with a submarine and her crew. Things get tense as men of the ocean tend to err on the superstitious side and this obviously clashes with the good doctor's matter of fact attitude. The issue ends with some spooky rattling of the ship and the spotting of a shadowy figure swimming around in the dark waters surrounding them.
Gotta say- I really enjoyed this first issue. I wasn't planning on buying this (in fact I wasn't even aware of it), but I tend to pick up anything new in the shop that looks slightly interesting and flip through it to see if it hooks me. I'm a sucker for some good underwater storytelling, especially when submarines are involved (Das Boot!). Never been a big fan of Namor, but then again I've never outright disliked him either. This seems like a refreshing point of view on a legacy character.
Peter Milligan, fresh off his "sure, why not?" mini The Programme has script duties, with beautiful painting supplied by Esad Ribic.
I won't hold it against you guys if this ends up sucking hard, but if it's this excellent for all five issues...I'll take you both out to dinner.
- TFM
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment