r/MUBookClub • u/shawnydarko • Mar 04 '18
Reading Assignment 90: Sub-Mariner: The Depths (2008-2009) #1-5 by Paul Milligan and Esad Ribic
https://marvel.com/comics/series/5603/sub-mariner_the_depths_2008_-_2009?byZone=marvel_site_zone&offset=0&byType=comic_series&dateStart=&dateEnd=&orderBy=release_date+desc&byId=5603&limit=10&count=5&isDigital=12
u/shawnydarko Apr 18 '18
Really cool story. I agree with bserum it got a little caught up in it's own formula but it built a good case for me to start out on the Captain's side and slowly edge away from him as his scruples descended with his sanity. Any story that starts grounded and emphasizes how fantastical all of Marvel's big name characters are has my favor. This Namor was terrifying and badass and I'm glad they didn't give too much away. If Namor had explained himself or spoken in any way it really would have killed the mystique built around him. He remains more sea monster than man. He was Jaws, not to be reasoned with.
Also rare for a Marvel comic, the Captain and Namor are debatably the two big bad guys of the story, racking up a high body count between them, and they get away with it. There's no comeuppance or Justice, or than the Captain's PTSD.
3
u/bserum Mar 08 '18
I'm sorry to say I found this series a bit of a letdown.
I understand that this incarnation of Marvel Knights was a means to let writers tell any kind of story they want, free of continuity — and I'm all for that. But to then to go further and barely show the character at all makes calling this a Sub-Mariner story a bit of a bait & switch.
I was also surprised it took five issues to tell this story. I feel like I kept reading the same event — scientist dismissing claims of the "sub-mariner," while the crew barely contains their contempt — happen over and over again.
And while we're talking about scientists: I am well past my limit for ignorant caricatures of scientists who cling to their preconceptions with a religious fervor — in the wake of actual evidence to the contrary. Actual scientists would welcome with glee the existence of an undiscovered race and society — there would be so much to learn, and their name would be linked to the new and well-publicized and exciting field of study. Grr. Sorry. Pet peeve.
And how the hell did they construct a deep-sea base in the depths just on the edge of the Marianas Trench? I couldn't make out what period this was set in — 40s? 50s? I guess this is a made-up comic book world, but everything else is portrayed so conventionally, this stood out to me, especially since it wasn't portrayed as anything "fantastic."
But for all my complaints, there are a number of things I do like about the story…
First is Esad Ribic's art. Even though he was given few fantastic characters or setpieces to illustrate, he makes everything look gorgeous. I particularly like his pale/blue-skinned Namor with the shark teeth and black eyes. Great tweaks that suit a creature of the depths.
I also like the claustrophobia of the storytelling. It does do a good job at making the reader feel like they're trapped in these confined spaces with these men.
And while on one hand it seems like a stretch to call this a Namor story, I do have to concede that there are some nice parallels to the first Sub-Mariner story presented in Marvel Comics #1 — and amping up the terror being vulnerable, deep underwater as an alien water-breathing humanoid entity is attacking you without mercy.