For those of you who have already listened to this week’s Harbinger,
you know my thoughts on how other people are treating this book. For
those who haven’t? Well, for one, you’re missing out and should listen
to my show as much as possible. Two: I went on a bit of a rant after
finding out that The Depths – at least at my local comic book store –
has been grossly underselling. I am shocked and appalled, as Bart
Simpson would say. This is a defining story of Namor, and the only
reason I can think of as to why no-one wants to read it is due to the
lack of explosions and flashy costumes and Nazis being punched by
Namor. Well, sometimes you just gotta buckle down and read a comic book
with writing and story that rivals honest-to-goodness,
Lovecraftian-horror literature.

With that said…

What can I say about this book that I haven’t already. I’ve already
insinuated about the quality of writing Milligan has produced over the
past five issues, and Ribic’s art is nothing short of bold and
beautiful, even when faces are pale with fear. So what can I possibly
talk about?

The ending.

After the cliffhanger that chapter/issue four left us, whoever is/was
reading this book surely imagined that some catastrophic, steel-tearing
chaos was going to occur. Blood everywhere, bullets fired, explosions
that would lead to the death and destruction of brave, heroic seamen.
Things didn’t necessarily wrap up as such. 

Remember, children: this is not a story of flying hybrid humanoids and
cool action sequences. This is a tale of horror and suspense that
displays the (as yet) Invader as the embodiment of the protagonists’
collective anxieties and confusion. This is not about Namor the cranky
green-speedo King of Atlantis. This is about Professor Stein, and how
he ultimately copes with the discovery of a territorial monster of the
deep. That is the ending that happened, and it is the ending that
should have happened.

I can understand why someone would not want to “waste” money on a dry,
slow (yet gripping) story like The Depths. That’s fine. You can be one
of the many who can periodically shut off their brains and look at Rulk
(or, if you’re truly that hopeless, read it). For those who have a bit
more patience, and can grasp legitimate, cinematic-level suspense and
writing from comic books, and I strongly advise that you go into the
water, and dive into this masterpiece.