After a bit of a break, Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy have returned with The Wake #6. Leaving off with the first wave of attacks from the humanoid fish creatures and the sinking of Dr. Lee Archer’s sub-craft, the last scenes were the good doctor’s craft sinking deep into the dark fathoms as those creatures began their attack on the world. The Wake #6 is the result of those attacks. It’s a bit of jump. Snyder takes us 200 years into the future to expand on the punk girl with the dolphin we met back in issue #1.
Her name? Leeward. Her mission? To try and figure out what is calling her from the darkest parts of the sea. The world is now covered in water, with land masses shrinking and humanity corralled into small communities living on the sea’s edges. Leeward, an orphan raised by the local shopkeeper/drug dealer, has been hooked on a feeling for her whole life – an idea that something is calling to her, and that something might be able to save humanity from extinction.
The humanoid creatures are not friendly. They attack. So does humanity. In issue #6, Leeward takes them on with the help of her trusty dolphin, Dash. Beheading one of the creatures, Leeward trades the skull, which is apparently rich in some kind of hallucinogen, for something called an “ear.” It’s a sonar device, something that allows Leeward to listen far and deep into the ocean. It’s a dangerous game our heroine is playing, one that could lead to her incarceration if she’s caught.
As with most apocalyptic dystopian futures, the ruling government sucks. In this watery existence, humanity is run by something called The Arm. Lead by a demure and mean spirited old woman, The Arm is looking to put the kibosh on folks listening to the ocean. Snyder doesn’t fill us in on why, that would be too easy. Instead, The Arm figures out, quite brutally, who sold the ear and to whom they sold it. In an attempt to arrest Leeward, the first voices from the center of the ocean can be heard. It’s Lee Archer, the doctor that sank to the bottom of the ocean two hundred years earlier.
The Wake #6 is a lot to drink in. The gap since the last issue and the sudden shift in time and characters could be jarring, but Snyder handles the change with his usual iron grip on story details. Everything connects in The Wake, it’s all motivated by the humanoid creatures and something in the oceans. Staying focused on the spine of the story, Snyder is able to create this new story arc without feeling disconnected from all we’ve read thus far. If I had one small complaint, it would be the very end. After years of listening, Leeward finally gets an answer from the depths of the ocean right as The Arm is arresting her. I realize it adds drama to the scene, but it felt a little too easy against the complexity of the story.
Sean Murphy’s art is glorious as always. Entering my fourth decade of reading comics, my interest in art is only piqued when originality is present. Murphy’s style is one of the most original I’ve come across. With detailed work that never lacks movement and a great knack with faces and backgrounds, Murphy ties everything together with his signature pencils. Each panel is made up of a thousand smaller details. It’s always wonderful to see Murphy’s work.
The Wake #6 is another solid issue in a storyline that’s been hard to figure out and impossible to put down. This thing has epic, summer blockbuster action film written all over it.
(4 Story, 5 Art)
