By Michael Town, David Elliott, Ronald Shusett (story) Steve Pugh (script & art)
It seems that a couple of weeks have passed. Commissioner Raymond asks Gaskill for help regarding the sea monster that’s been terrorizing local waters. She’s thinking that Gaskill’s father has a stealth sub in the shape of a giant shark. But who’s driving it? Is it in auto pilot? Is the giant shark even a vehicle? Gaskill’s girlfriend died (or was killed, it’s not clarified), sometime between issues and the great monstrosity, Gynplaine, is back in prison again. What a let down. I wanted answers!
We get to know a couple of new, weird characters in the meantime.While on the first trip of a casino-sub, pirates lead by the Sea Witch begin their attack. She’s merciless and power-hungry. The finger deal she does with Capone is a nice touch. I have a feeling that the Sea Witch is Gaskill’s “dead” girlfriend! One oddity I ran across was on page 12. On this page I either got censored text or a print error. The Sea Witch says: “If It’s in our ocean, then it’s ours to steal, kill, or ___ !”, What was that? I wonder if it’s only on a few copies or it was intended that way. Why censor a book like this when it’s already too bloody for kids? I don’t get it?!
The sum of this story is that it feels short (probably because it has seven less pages than the first), and contains a lot less tension. The biggest crime is I only got to see Shark-Man in two pages. For a three issue mini-series, this middle chapter feels weak. The art is still great – I just hope the story picks up for the final issue. (Grade: C+)
– Daniel Yanez
A Second Opinion
My issue was censored, too, Daniel. And yes, it makes no sense. This is not a book for kids, so why hold back? This issue didn’t hit me as hard as the first issue, but it’s still a solid read. Some of the dialogue was a bit wonky – especially the Sea Witch’s monologues, but the story advances very quickly as she makes her move against Capone. What disappoints me is we don’t get much of Gaskill or Shark-Man, which I presume are the main characters of the book. The pirates are a menacing bunch, but they’re no where near as terrifying as Gynplaine or the creature who can some out of people’s monitors. It’s still a good issue, but I wanted more.
Thankfully, the art remains jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Making a book of this quality has got to take a lot of time. The increased paper stock is most likely the culprit for the higher price of the book ($3.50), but believe me, it’s worth every penny. (Grade: C+)
– J. Montes