Review: Transdimensional #1
By Justin McCarty
I picked up Transdimensional having no prior knowledge of the subject. Not even the Kickstarter description. If I had, I probably would have skipped it. I am probably one of five comics fans that don't get into sci-fi horror. The Kickstarter describes the comic as being a sci-fi horror in the same family as Alien and The Abyss. I’ve seen Alien maybe (just the one - sad face from you probably), not The Abyss. I wasn’t the proper audience for this comic. However, if I was into this type of story, I could see its appeal.
Transdimensional tells the story of Deacon Price an underwater explorer working for a marine research group that discovers a sunken Russian submarine. He is dealing with the loss of a marriage and even more damaging, the loss of his daughter. Deacon’s ambitious quest to explore the mysterious Soviet era sub will test him and endanger everyone.
The plot was solid. The story is mostly set up, and hopefully, the next issue will pay off with a little more horror. The psychological drama Deacon goes through as he processes his loss is creative. The lack of distinction between past and present adds to the feeling that Deacon may be losing his mind. Deacon may be headed to a mental breakdown and I do want to find out if he can get it together before the shit really hits the fan. I was not impressed with the dialogue. It never seemed natural, especially during the scenes with Grace and his daughter. Those scenes lack any subtlety or subtext, which is unfortunate because they are some of the most important.
I enjoyed the art quite a lot. The layout is mostly a grid, dropping the structure at key moments to add emphasis. The opening and closing pages were probably the best artwork in the book. The colors and the line work were a good match. I felt this could have been a cartoon. The panels almost could have been stills from anime.
There is some cliched storytelling in this book, but if you are a fan of James Cameron horror it will probably feel like an homage. I do want to know more about this Soviet sub and how Deacon is going to handle all this while working out his emotions. Still, the dialogue is a big minus for me.
Four issues are planned for collection into a graphic novel. This story made it out to backers in June and issue #2 has its campaign on Kickstarter now.
Score: 4/5
Transdimensional #1
Writer: Michael Gordon
Pencil/Inks: Henrique Pereira
Colors: Jan Wijngaard
Letters: Jim Campbell
Editor: Neil Gibson
Publisher: TPub Comics