The Mercenary Sea #1 Review
“Nice Work if You Can get it”
Image Comics
Written by: Kel Symons
Art and Colors by: Mathew Reynolds
Lettering by: Pat Brosseau
Review by Tom Barnett
The year is 1938. Somewhere in the Pacific… Mercenary Sea opens with a beautiful black and white scene of a crew going onto an island. Mathew Reynolds art makes the reader feel like they’re in a movie theatre in 1938 and watching Mercenary Sea, not reading it in 2014. As a matter of fact it feels much like the Original King Kong movie from 1933, which a character references later in the book.
Mercenary Sea is obviously about a group of mercenaries, but this crew has their own submarine and a dog named Friday. Their leader, Captain Jack Harper is friend of cannibals, is wanted by Admiral Shi Tang and is looking for the lost island of Koji Ra.
Kel Symons gives this first issue everything you need to keep you coming back for more. A good introduction to Harper and his motley crew, the intrigue of finding Koji Ra and a bad guy that is bent on finding them. Oh yeah, did I mention Harper and his crew have a submarine! There is plenty of intrigue in the story and a surprise at the end of the issue. Symons also throws in some good humor to keep the story from getting too heavy.
Lots of fun pulp feel to this book that is emphasized through Reynolds fantastic artwork. Great adventure on the high seas.
Story: 4.5/5
Art: 4.5/5
Overall: 5/5
Tom is a contributing writer for Drunk On Comics. You can follow him on Twitter at @tphoto10.