"Sea of Sorrows #2" Comic Review

At first glance, this looks like an easy job. There's an old U-Boat down in the water and this crew should be able to pull it up. The first problem is where it's at. One wrong move and that ship goes down into the murky depths, far deeper than anyone can dive. The other problem is whatever the hell is lurking down there. It's already taken one of the crew and it's definitely not finished.

What really stands out with Sea of Sorrows is how the danger is a constant. The ocean itself could take any of these folks at a moment's notice, especially if something goes wrong when they're diving. Add in the monsters we know are swimming nearby and you've got a deadly combination. Writer Rich Douek creates a kind of omnipresent horror without the need for jump scares.

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Aiding in this tone is unforgiving nature of the water. It's not blue, but black, as if this ship and its crew are floating out in the far reaches of space, completely alone in this quest. With color assistance by Mark Mullaney, Cormack paints a dreary and unforgiving landscape for this tale. The one exception to this is when blood enters the water. The red bursts on the page like an explosion, swirling everywhere in a frantic few panels.

Letterer Justin Birch adds a nice little detail to the small dialogue shown while the crew are diving into the water. The word balloons have little bubbles on them, providing a different sound in our minds as we read through.

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Along the way, we learn a bit more about the characters and their personalities. To be honest though, this isn't as needed here, as it was in this team's previous book, Road of Bones. We got the basics about these characters already and now it's more about if and how they survive what's coming for them. The overall tone is what's driving Sea of Sorrows instead of the characters.

Sea of Sorrows is a pitch perfect slow burn and it's paying off in spades. This is a tense read from beginning to end and the creators are dialing that feeling up with each turn of the page. We know that there's nothing but pain and bloodshed awaiting this crew, but they don't and that makes for a riveting experience.