Written by Scott Snyder
Artist: Sean Murphy
Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth
Letters: Jared K. Fletcher
Published by Vertigo Comics
When I started reading comics I would’ve never dreamed about the types of stories I would be reading today. When I was young, the only things I EVER read were stories about superheroes and damsels in distress. My introduction to Scott Snyder on Batman forever changed the way I look at the world of comics.
With The Wake #4 our super secret group of scientists and mercenaries have found themselves cornered by the deadly mer-creatures that they unearthed deep below the ocean surface. With time running out and nowhere to go, will our group of protagonists find a way out in time? Well, I won’t tell you, you’ll just have to read it!
Scott Snyder is my absolute favorite writer in comics. His unique, fresh take on Batman opened up my eyes to all of the terrific stories and genres that comics have to offer. As AMAZING as his Batman run is, you can tell that writing tales of terror and suspense are his wheelhouse. In this particular issue Snyder uses dialogue between the characters to convey just how bleak their situation is. It’s done so well that this series could’ve very well been a published novel and kept me just as entranced on what was going on even without the beautiful art in it.
That brings me to Sean Murphy’s art. The style of this book is not only terrifying, but it’s beautiful in a really dark way. There’s some pretty gruesome stuff happening in this book and the characters are rightly horrified. This is conveyed perfectly in the character design. These moments are great, but for me, Murphy’s art truly shines when he scales back and shows a big sweeping picture, like the city in issue #1 or the mobs of mer-creatures we see in this issue. Terrifying, brutal, and majestic all at once!
While I could definitely read this as a novel, I’m so glad these two teamed up to make this a comic series. Scott Snyder continues to deliver in every series of his that I read to the point that he has a lifelong reader in me as long as he continues to write comics. The Wake is on par with some of Stephen King’s best work, and it’s only getting better and bigger!
5 out of 5 nerds
Irwin Fletcher
I'm an LA journalist who really lives for his profession. I have also published work as Jane Doe in various mags and newspapers across the globe. I normally write articles that can cause trouble but now I write for FTN because Nerds are never angry, so I feel safe.
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