Sub-Mariner: The Depths 1-5 Complete

is a 5-part limited series published under the Marvel Knights imprint with cover dates November 2008 through May 2009. This MK offering conjures a fresh, dark, searing vision of , courtesy of Peter Milligan (X-FORCE) and Esad Ribic (SILVER SURFER: REQUIEM). Ribic's gorgeous artwork reinforces that feeling of creeping claustrophobia that gets more intense with each chapter of the story, mainly taking place on board a submarine. Submarine... Sub-Mariner... now you get it. was released just last March 4, 2009. Now updated with all Minutemen scans.

Over the past few years we've heard a lot about decompressed storylines. Well, the first issue of "Sub-Mariner: The Depths" takes decompression to a whole new depth. This series is flying under the Marvel Knights banner, and seems largely disconnected from the Marvel Universe proper, which, I suppose, is part of the reason for using the MK banner. Namor has been around nearly as long as any other comic book character, and his story threads though timelines near and far. Here we find a tale to be told somewhere in the early trimester of the twentieth century and Ribic brings the goods. The architecture is beautifully rendered and highly stylized in an art deco style. Zeppelins roll through the skies and science seeks to poke holes in myth. All of these pieces add credence to this issue, which will almost certainly serve as the template for future decompressed tales. -- Namor says more in a single, gruesome smile than he does in many of his long-winded speeches in most other books. And as much as I've enjoyed Milligan's writing throughout the series, much of the credit for this storytelling feat goes to Esad Ribic. His Namor is downright horrific - far more alien than we're used to seeing. Equally impressive is Ribic's use of lighting and shadow. Water is a huge challenge for an artist, but Ribic makes painting vast underwater kingdoms and cramped submarine passageways look equally easy. In some ways, even surpasses as a visual showpiece. As The Depths comes to an end, I'm fully satisfied with the latest Marvel Knights offering. Milligan told a quality tale with a strong emotional finish. Ribic turned in some of the best work of his career. And I now have another book that will rest of the top of the list when it comes to making recommendations. --

Atlantis. Throughout the ages, a few men have wondered if this fabulous place actually exists. Fewer have imagined that the city is protected by a wild and vengeful being, the very embodiment of the untameable depths themselves -- the Sub-Mariner. When a deep sea expedition mysteriously vanishes without a trace near the Marianes trench, legendary adventurer, Randolph Stein embarks on a journey that will rock him--and his crew--to their very core. Travelling deep into the dark belly of the sea, the men of the good ship, Voyager, are about to see things that defy description, that supersede their wildest imagination -- things that men aren?t meant to see. Staring into the abyss, Stein will soon discover that the abyss can indeed stare right back at him. When a legendary adventurer named Randolph Stein travel deep into the dark belly of the Marianes trench in search of a missing deep sea expedition, he is about to encounter things that supersede his wildest imagination. There is something down there in the murky depths--something far closer to God than man--and it has been waiting for Stein for a long, long time. Travelling deep into the dark belly of the Marianas Trench in search of a missing deep sea expedition, legendary adventurer Randolph Stein finds exactly what he was looking for. Or what's left of it. There is something down there in the murky depths that man was not meant to see. Something that drives men mad--or worse. A creature of indescribable power and fury that been waiting for Stein for a long, long time. The legend is true, and it's larger than Stein could have ever imagined. The bottom of the ocean. The bottom of the Earth. The depths. Legendary adventurer Randolph Stein travelled here, into the dark belly of the Marianas Trench, to find a missing deep-sea expedition and refute a legend. What he’s found surpasses his wildest nightmares. A creature of indescribable power and fury has been waiting for him. Its name is Namor, and it has special plans for Stein. Special plans. Satan's greatest trick? Convincing the world he didn't exist. Here, at the bottom of the ocean, at the bottom of the earth, Dr. Randolph Stein is about to plumb the depths of his very soul, as he discovers that some things can't be explained by facts, or science or reason. Some things do defy explanation. Something does live down here in the black water of the Marianes Trench, and it wants to show Stein its secret, whether he wants to see it or not.

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