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Deep Beyond #1 by Mirka Andolfo and David Goy, artist Andrea Broccardo, colorist Barbara Nosenzo, and letterer Fabio Amelia is a science-fiction adventure come from Image Comics. In an alternate future where the Y2K bug decimated the Earth, both internal and mysterious external attacks threaten a fragmented civilization desperate to survive.
Deep Trouble Awaits
In the not-so-distant future of 2085, the remnants of a decimated society live on a far in-land colony. Their centralized location allows them freedom from deathly toxins and wilds that have ravished the Earth. But the B-34 colony has established a hierarchy and way of living not everyone finds agreeable, plagued by murderous terrorists called Defeatists. Meanwhile, in the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean, researchers studying the uninhabitable oceans discover a mystifying anomaly that could threaten the underpopulated remainders of humanity.
Murky Mysteries And Confidential Characters
The raucous, unsettling tone of Deep Beyond #1 permeates the façade of contentment its characters attempt to placate. Tim, the son of the B-34 colony president, appears perplexed by the political turbulence exposing itself around him. Eve longs for her missing wife, Pam, who never returned from a submarine expedition. Pam’s former husband, Paul, has descended into a deep pit of self-loathing and depression for his ex-wife. But Eve knows more about Pam’s disappearance than she reveals to Paul, creating immediate intrigue for readers.
In the meantime, Deep Beyond #1 introduces a nearly uninhabitable world that terrorists can use to their destructive advantage. Paul works with a team to remove dead bodies from these Defeatist attacks. Paul’s involvement in this process of disposing corpses bursting with disturbingly grotesque boils from outside toxins provides evident hints that imply greater narrative story arcs. Both Paul and Eve’s storylines intertwine to weave a narrative full of secrets waiting to be unearthed in additional issues.
Tim’s appearance as a long-term character of value remains unclear. Still, as the president’s son, a future Tim-centralized storyline may be alluringly implied. Paul and Eve both emerge as complex characters with flaws and realistic motivations. Supplemental to their existence as wildly significant to the narrative at hand, the duo are also given minority representation, which is always refreshing to observe in the comic medium. Deep Beyond #1 relies on crafting a unique premise and foreshadowing several plot threats that will slowly unveil throughout this twelve-issue maxiseries.
Although writers Goy and Andolfo have just begun to shape this unusual futuristic world, the initial set-up for this series feels somewhat overbearing in this issue. Several plots have been established here, but none of them seem to bear any connection to one another until later on in the narrative. A slight lack of tangible reader association to perplexing plot threats nearly hinders an otherwise distinctively fascinating concept. Despite the greater story remaining clandestine thus far, the propulsive characters prevail in manufacturing further interest in the Deep Beyond series.
Menace Anchored By Dazzling Artistry
The lavish, almost cyber-punk-inspired art and technicolor-pop coloring by Broccardo and Nosenzo truly elevate the undisclosed mysteries of the narrative in Deep Beyond #1. This futuristic world is plagued by gnarled, hideous monsters and poisonous air that kills those who breathe it, leaving their bodies grossly malformed with pimply bubbles. Thus, Andrea Broccardo’s art leaves little to the imagination. Broccardo cinematically illustrates every menacing beast and plague with excruciatingly realistic detail, leaving readers highly unsettled.
Teaming up with colorist Barbara Nosenzo resulted in complete visual success. Nosenzo complements Broccardo’s twisted imagery by utilizing intense shadowing and an eye-grabbing, neon color palate. Broccardo and Nosenzo’s brilliant art conveys Andolfo and Goy’s dark and dramatic science-fiction tone. Their artistry indelibly enhances the nuances behind the camouflaged dialogue.
Additionally, Broccardo’s facial and bodily expressiveness buoys the melodramatic storylines intersecting between the growing cast of characters. Broccardo renders emotion — discomfort, sadness, and horror — with a dazzling artistic flare. Without a doubt, the artists work overtime to visually bolster the writers’ world-building and characterization in Deep Beyond #1. Amelia’s lettering and SFX also uses bold colors and fonts to generate fright and sentimentalism. The prevalent emotion highlighted in this comic wrenches a readers’ heart through thoughtful character work and visually disconcerting imagery.
Fascinating Tales To Uncover In Deep Beyond #1
While the establishing mystery of the narrative in Deep Beyond #1 might confuse but entice readers, the spectacular artwork heightens the intrigue of the drama yet to unfold. Extraordinary, hyper-realistic art tethers the reader to this complex plot. Monsters and mayhem surely await, and the first issue raises high expectations for the subsequent issues in this maxiseries. Deep Beyond #1 lays the groundwork for possible success by introducing several puzzling plot set-ups and a diverse cast of characters.
