I’ve been having a fun spooky season so far this year, and wanted to continue with a sci-fi graphic novel series with some Lovecraftian cosmic horror mixed in. However, I was a bit nervous about this one because it is the brainchild of famous horror scion Joe Hill. I had previously tried out his classic novel Heart-Shaped Box and could not finish it. Yet, how bad could a six-issue comic book be? Plus, I like the art of Stuart Immonen, who worked on this series.

We start out with a kind of eco disaster when a bunch of giant squids beach on a single shore near Alaska, accompanied by a tsunami wave. Then a long lost survey ship reappears nearby, sending out its first signal since the 80s. These events summon our main characters: a salvage crew of brothers, and a few other ragtag folks including a scientist and an oil company executive (the obvious villain in waiting) who are hired to retrieve the ship and salvage its cargo. When they arrive to discover the crew of that 1980s ship is still alive and marooned on an atoll, things start to get weird. Having survived from the 80s they should been much older now, rather than still looking like middle age. But that’s not the weirdest thing — they don’t appear to have their eyes either. But that’s not the weirdest thing … I won’t tell any more, but the revelations keep getting stranger and stranger.

There are clues and teases included in the trappings of the graphic novel itself, including the way that on the title pages, more and more letters are being replaced by numbers each issue. There’s the suggestion that this book is going to be one of those anxiety-filled brain squeezers, but the story is not really very much of a mystery. It’s mostly a series of confrontations between one crew and the other. Unfortunately, the plot is also not the most unique.  Recently there was a similar story idea in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, but I guess to be fair that episode came out five years after Plunge. However, both those stories came out decades after another similar storyline on Star Trek: The Next Generation, so my point is still valid — it’s not super original. This series is slightly more complex and better thought out, so maybe Joe Hill’s horror writing talent has added a level of creative depth that the writers of Star Trek couldn’t quite match. 

As I mentioned, I like the art of Stuart Immonen, however, it is very middle-ground style. Compared to the covers of the issues (illustrated by Jeremy Wilson), the interior panel art is not as expressive. Though there are some scenes straight out of horror, I was at no point truly creeped out or scared. The art just didn’t hit me on that visceral, emotional level, which was very disappointing. In fact, this whole story was lacking in serious dread (and it’s not all the artist’s fault). Many of the elements of the story are classic and therefore somewhat predictable. I liked how some interesting plot elements are introduced that give the story a bit of a fresh spin, but if you’ve watched John Carpenter’s The Thing, or The X-Files tv series, this may feel pretty familiar. 

In the end, it’s still a fun story and has enough creepy crawlies to keep your spooky season going, but if this is your reading to kick things off with some dark feelings of dread and terror, I don’t think it’s enough to get you there.

3 stars

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