REVIEW: “The Wake #8″ In Too Deep

It’s possible that at this point Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy have spoiled us with The Wake. The Vertigo title has performed miraculous surprise after surprise, to the point that any time I now form an expectation, I am fully expecting that expectation to come back and slap me in the face in a final panel reveal, revealing me for the fool I’ve always been.

On the surface, The Wake is endlessly predictable and formulaic horror/monster story. Then again, The Wake is always well below the surface. Every time you feel a sense of security that you’ve read this underocean monster story before, Snyder & Murphy find a way to not only tell you this is new, but to pull a Shyamalan right in your face. It’s a constant declaration to the reader: “We’re good at storytelling. Stop doubting us you blasted cynic!”

All of this is what makes “The Wake #8″ so disappointing. The story is confusing, mundane, and ultimately just barely moves the plot needle to bring us closer to our penultimate issue. “The Wake #7″ ended with our future protagonist, Leeward, and her dolphin (we’ve been in the future since issue #5 in case you took a nap), thrown into a Mer-infested ocean, only to be saved by pirates. Issue #8 gives a look at those selfsame pirates, and also shows General Marlow’s fight out of the ocean back to the reigning government of this world.

The conversation between General Marlow and Governess Vivienne might be some of the most confusing pages of comics I’ve read all year. I read the issue three times just to try and make sense of what’s going on here, and the only part I really got was the ad for a Grant Morrison Doom Patrol omnibus. There’s a lot of water and General Marlow punches the head off a horse? The Governess is pretty into nursery rhymes? Huh? Perhaps all will be revealed as we proceed, but for now, this bit of mystery and magic just feels like a poorly executed foray into the world of East of West.

Leeward’s own adventures with the Pirates are more comprehensible, with Captain Mary revealing the secret message Leeward heard is one of many uncovered throughout the years. Nonetheless, a message specifically from Lee Archer raises some eyebrows, and the Pirates find themselves suddenly aligned to Leeward’s mission to save the world.

When The Wake comes to an end, I fully expect the ten issue series to be a highly recommended trade collection, with universally great reviews. I can’t let issue 8 slide, though. This is a frustratingly secretive issue that creates more problems for The Wake’s conclusion than it does build anticipation. Snyder, Murphy and colorist Matt Hollingsworth are far too good a comics team to create anything near a bad issue, but by The Wake’s high standards this is disappointing. Here’s to hoping it’s only the calm before the storm.

Verdict: 5.7 out of 10

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Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Dave Buesing

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