Sea of Sorrows
Rich Douek, writer; Alex Cormack, artist; Justin Birch, letterer
IDW, 2021
1926, and the aftermath of the Great War left rich salvage available in the North Atlantic Ocean. This five-issue miniseries follows the crew of the SS Vagabond in their quest for a fortune in gold that went down with a U-boat. The treachery among the crew is dangerous enough, but it is nothing compared to the mysteries of the deep. From the first dive the sailors are beset by mysterious (sometimes fatal) events: some of them swear they have seen some sort of mermaid creature. Not only does her siren song call them back into the ocean, but she also reveals a body cavity full of needle-sharp teeth. Most of them have traumatic war memories, and she picks them off one by one. In the end the single survivor is picked up by another ship, bearing a gold ingot that can start the cycle up again. Bloody, dark, and terrifying, Sea of Sorrows tells a powerful horror tale. Cormack's art creates an atmosphere of suspense and dread, although some of the underwater scenes are so literally dark that it can be difficult to make out what is happening on-panel.
Replies
I liked this a lot, but I agree that art would get too dark at times. Reading it as it came out issue by issue, it was hard for me to keep track of the characters at times as well.
Mark (or others), if you liked this, this is the same team who did Road of Bones, and I probably liked that series better.
Thanks, Travis. I have not read Road of Bones, so I'll add it to the list.