Spoiler Alert: I will be going over the basic plot of this issue.
Here I am, back with issue #2 of The Wake by Scott Snyder and illustrated by Sean Murphy which was released on June 26, 2013. I know I’m getting to this a little late but, better late than never because this issue was full of plot that helped answer some questions while opening up a whole slew of others.
The comic opens up with an odd image set 5.1 million years ago. A mammoth lay bloody, peppered with spears on the shoreline, when out of the ocean’s waves comes a large shark lunging at the mammoth, attempting to feed of the carcass. Before it gets the chance, the shark is assaulted by creatures that look very similar to the one seen at the end of issue 1.
Readers are then thrown into the protagonist, Lee Archer’s dream, where she is approached by her son, Parker. Confused as to how her son made it to the deep sea oil rig, she questions him. He responds by saying he swam and that he swallowed a lot of water. This panel has one of my personal favorite illustrations in the issue, showing Parker spewing water from his mouth and eyes, flooding the room.
The next few pages bring information about how the fish-human hybrid creature came into captivity. During a normal day of repelling monstrous jellyfish, workers of the oil rig were attacked by the strange humanoid. They were able to knock it out with the weapons they carried and lugged it aboard the rig. There they put it into its current water filled cell and restrained it.
Dr. Marin proceeds to tell the crew of the folklore behind such beasts and says that this creature could very well be the source of the stories. After this, a flashback, seen in issue 1, is brought back but expanded upon. Here reader’s see that Archer had already encountered a creature identical to this, it appears to have attacked her and her crew aboard a small boat but, she refuses to tell anyone about it.
Continuing with what the captured creature is, Archer explains a theory that says distant primates that would eventually evolve into humans, split off into two groups, one which stayed on land, the other ventured into the sea. These sea apes would eventually evolve into amphibious humans then to fully aquatic fish-people.
Next comes another dream. This one, much more strange than Archer’s. A man, Matthew, is awoken from some sort of comatose situation by the sound of a woman calling his name. He stumbles through an overgrown hospital/laboratory and eventually finds the woman, nude, who was calling him. They appear to know each other for after helping her turn on a waterfall, they begin to kiss but, as they do so, her face begins to change into that of a sea-human.
The final page is by far the most confusing part of this issue. The first few panels show images from Earth’s moon, a foot print in the lunar dust and the lunar lander accompanied by the American flag. Next we are shown the blue haired girl from the beginning of issue 1 in the ocean with her dolphin friend. In the sky, the moon is shown exploding in ways that rival the destruction of the Death Star. This catastrophic scene concludes issue 2.
Snyder and Murphy definitely come in strong with this issue of The Wake. The story keeps getting more interesting while the mysteries of the sea are unraveled before reader’s eyes by combining a great blend of informative plot and head scratching new information that ties in smoothly with issue 1. Conversations with crew members seem realistic and paired with the high emotional detail of the art style, make for a very believable and absorbing experience. My favorite parts of issue 2 were the dream sequences throughout the story for they are masterfully drawn and give a rich, colorful contrast to the dark and dreary scenery of the oil rig while making sure to make those reading think and try to tie these dreams to the character’s realities.
Issue number 3 hits shelves on July 31, 2013 so be sure to check out issues 1 and 2 before hand if you haven’t already.
Here’s a link to my overview/review thing of issue 1:
http://2shotsofgeek.com/the-wake-issue-1-review/
Thanks for reading, catch ya’ later!