In my first review for Spring I felt that I had to knock it down a few points because it was the least revealing issue of the ten first issues from Double Take. That didn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy it. I will actually tell you that it was my second favorite issue I read and that’s true again. This is one of those series that has stories running throughout the issue rather than narrative captions or dialogue about what’s going on. Instead it’s two stories told by two characters that have absolutely nothing to do with what we’re seeing on the page.
And I love it.
I love how creative and bold this is. Any other publisher would give this three issues and then pull that device, but I have a feeling that Double Take is going to let it breath. As I said in my Rise #2 review, Double Take is grooming the reader to read their comics the way they want you to rather than the way you’ve always read comics.
These stories seem random, but they flow like real conversations. When you’re listening to someone’s story it’s pretty rare that you interrupt with an entire dialogue about what’s happening before you. Instead the art tells you what’s going on and the dialogue reminds you that the events are happening to a person. A person with a life, job and family. It’s interesting to say the least.
On the art side of the story we find all of the people that disappeared in the water on some kind of island. It’s curious because there are animals there and giant fruit and everyone just digs in. They begin to eat and be marry. I’m going to throw out my guess and say that we might be seeing everything from the zombie’s perspective in this series. I don’t know for sure and I’m probably wrong, but there’s definitely a reason we’re seeing everything the way we are. The mystery is really good in this series and I can’t wait to read more.
That’s my only complaint about this book. It doesn’t feel like it’s full of “filler”, but it is a quick read. I want more the minute I’m done with it. It tends to end on an awkward note, this time it’s a literal cliffhanger which was meta and hilarious to me. I mean if you’re going to do it… do it that way.
The story is following a bunch of beautiful people in swimsuits and birthday suits. With that said you can imagine that you’re seeing a lot of skin in this series. It’s actually not gratuitous and adds to the strangeness of the story. Also the artist illustrates some gorgeous women in bikinis. I know that that’s nothing new to comics per se, but to do it realistically is rare. I really got the impression that these people were tip-toeing around in their swimwear bare foot. The coloring continued to make the art look gorgeous. I loved the bright colors and when the story switched from bright colors to a grey storm, it really helped with the realism the story/art were going for.
I really like this book. I think it’s creative as hell and can’t wait to read the next issue. I’m curious if anyone else likes it for the same reason or if others are put off by how intentionally vague it is. I can see that being annoying, but for me personally its very interesting. We’ll see what the third issue has in store, maybe it’ll have answers, maybe it’ll just continue to be vague and leave you guessing.
Score: 4/5
Spring #2 – Undertow Story: Bill Jemas Script: Jenn Sodini, John Flynn, Bill Jemas Layouts: Young Heller Pencils: Derlis Santacruz Publisher: Double Take Comics Price: $2.50 Release Date: 11/11/15 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital