Plunge #1
DC Comics/Hill House Comics
Words by: Joe Hill
Art by: Stuart Immonen
Color by: David Stewart
Letters by: Deron Bennett
From the home of Hill House comics, we get another entry into the world of macabre and mystery. Plunge revolves on a vessel that goes missing in the Arctic and its transponder masterly starts broadcasting. With that, a team of experts is formed and they go on a search to solve a 37-year old mystery.
Since it’s a story evolving water and mystery it might be compared to The Wake. Especially in the first few pages but that’s the only comparison so far. This issue so far has given little hints to the true direction of the mystery. One knock against the other Hill House imprints is how easy they are to read where the story is going. Basketful of heads is pretty straight forward along with Dollhouse, Daphne and Low Low Woods. They are still great stories, but you are almost in a linear story with them.
Joe Hill set the bar high with Basketful of Heads and he keeps it there with Plunge. Writing a lot of different characters and also making sure all the voices are unique is not an easy task. Juggling a few titles and overseeing an imprint hasn’t taken away from the quality, that we expect from Hill. He also is able to keep the stories diverse enough by not relying on the same style for each time.
The art is great. Immonen being a well-rounded artist is able to showcase his skill outside of the superhero groups he is known for. The design for the characters is unique along with the surroundings. The task of drawing boats and the ocean is no easy task and executing it the way that he did is commendable. Rereading the book, you do notice a lot of that characters tend to have developed a bit of superhero physics. This isn’t bad as it wasn’t noticeable on the first read. Plunge is full of potential and so far, everything is looking great. This was teased at the NYCC retailer summit and I was highly excited about it. It did live up to my expectations and hopefully, Hill and Immonen continue delivering a well-developed mystery that explores the dangers of the deep and how truly scary it really is.