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Stuart Immonen

Plunge

Joe Hill saved the best for last in his five-volume Hill House Comics label!

The story takes inspiration from The Thing and Alien movies, and also a touch of the spiral-obsessed Uzumaki manga series. Set in modern-day, a distress signal from a drilling ship lost 40 years ago in the Arctic Circle is heard, so a salvage ship hired by an oil corporation heads out to find it. Onboard are Captain Carpenter, two of his brothers, a marine biologist couple, various crew members and a representative from Rococo International. They are quickly in over their heads when they stopover at an Aleutian Island near the Russian border, and discover the crew members from the Derleth (this is an Easter Egg reference, look up who August Derleth is), who are gaunt and eyeless but haven’t aged. 

In a somewhat convoluted storyline, the crew finds out that extraterrestrial worms have taken over the old crew, and they are purely vessels for the alien creatures. The greedy Rococo rep has had a secret agenda (of course) and wants to profit from the aliens with their math knowledge and an other-worldly component that could give them unlimited nuclear power. There are betrayals, deaths and action-packed scenes that will keep readers riveted. I also appreciated the poignancy of the brotherly love the Carpenter men showed one another.  

The art by Stuart Immonen was excellent, and his work elevated the story, so I am glad Hill convinced him to come out of retirement for this graphic novel. Often art in horror-themed graphic novels tends towards the sketchy and the dark, but Immonen’s work is precise and detailed, which brings the terror to the forefront more effectively. He really captured the personalities of different characters and made my heart go pitter-patter for the bearded captain, and that the alien creatures are Lovecraftian is an added bonus. The color palette by Dave Stewart was appropriately ocean-inspired with grey, blue and dull greens and the letterer Deron Bennett had fun with the opening chapter pages as he converted words into a new mathematical language. 

This new Hill House label has been uneven, yet very promising. The two titles penned by Hill, including Basketful of Heads were the best of the bunch, yet I appreciated that the horror-inspired graphic novels included a variety of authors to reach different audiences. Here’s to hoping there will be future Hill House stories!

-Nancy

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Superman: Secret Identity (The Deluxe Edition)

Clark Kent is just like any ordinary boy. He got his famous name from his parents and their highly original sense of humor. He grew up in Picketsville, Kansas, just a regular ordinary kid. He’s the frequent butt of jokes at school: asking if he flew to class, why his super-speed didn’t kick in when his books are knocked out of his hand, and the like. Clark Kent is ordinary – until he’s not. Overnight, he gains all the powers of Superman. Now he has a secret to keep from everyone he knows. His parents. His friends. The bullies. Snoopy reporters. As he grows and finds his own way in the big city, his secret threatens his work, his private life, and his blossoming romance (with a woman named Lois, of course). How can Clark possibly keep his secret and live a normal life?

Wow. Just wow! I haven’t read much Superman yet, but this is exactly what I expect a Superman comic to be. Part of the allure of Superman is, that Superman believes in you! In your ordinary self! To stand up and be a hero! This is what this comic is about. An ordinary kid from an ordinary town finds himself bestowed with powers and helps people in his own way.

The art is spectacular. It’s quiet, with muted pastel colors and soft shadows. But with the quiet comes the power. It underscores the utter ordinariness of the life Clark Kent lives, and that he tries to maintain as he grows older. The extraordinary powers he obtains can’t take away the contentment he has with his life – they only supplement it. The art, which is not flashy or over-the-top like so many other graphic novel art today, underscores this idea. Brilliantly done. This is already on my “Best of 2018” list ;D

– Kathleen

Busiek, Kurt, and Stuart Immonen. Superman: Secret Identity (The Deluxe Edition). 2015.

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