What is mystery below in the depths of Dept. H?
Creative Staff:
Story: Matt Kindt
Art: Matt Kindt
Colors: Sharlene Kindt
What They Say:
Mia is a special investigator hired to uncover possible sabotage taking place at a deep-sea research station. What she finds is a mind-blowing crime scene filled with suspects with terrible secrets, strange deep-sea creatures, and an impending flood!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Most murder mysteries tend to give off a formulaic feeling. Most tend to show little more than staying within the path of the formulaic mystery path. Yet, there is something more with Matt and Sharlene Kindt’s Dept. H. With its presentation, Dept. H looks to hook most readers by showing why its story will matter to them if they’re willing to open the first page.
Dept. H immediately plays off of the premise with its title being a play on the word depth. Dept H. becomes a major narrative as the main character Mia, must dive down to the deep see to find out who murdered a leading scientist, Dr. H. As the investigator, Mia must dive into the depths of the ocean trapped with the killer of Dr. H and make sure to bring them to justice within a day or risk having the department lose its funding. This issue starts off this story with a background that just presses beyond an itch for a story and more into the feeling of intrigue.
We find out about Mia’s past through a string of meetings before the dive. We also start to find out the circumstances of what caused the death of the doctor. With each page Dept. H draws you in to find out what happened to the underwater base. It also helps that the art direction for Dept. H aids in said interest in the first issue.
The art direction for Dept. H is overall interesting, but will put off some people. The watercolors from Sharlene emotes feeling os the sea. It communicates the challenges that Mia will have to endure as well as expresses the feelings that she endures throughout the issue. It makes for not only a visually impressive read but, more importantly, a unique read that may who appreciate graphic novels will sure to take it. This art style also manifests itself in the layout where the-the artistic design of a writing book.
Where the art direction will diverge for some people is the drawing style. While the pencil sketch aspect looks good, the overall design for the animals, as well as people, will put off some for not looking as visually pleasing as they would want to from their comics. Sure, it is a fairly unique and even gives off a personal style for the character, but it also can come off as a bit unpleasing and in some cases amateurish for what to expect out of a comic of this stature. However, for those willing to look beyond the art depiction of humans and characters it offers an interesting way to invoke the sea aspect of Dept. H.
In Summary:
The Kindt’s Dept. H put themselves in a position that very few comics tend to position themselves: a self-assured narrative that knows what it wants to portray and details the path it will take. With an interesting setup of Mia’s situation, we get a sense of a solid mystery that will grasp the reader’s attention and demand it pays attention to everything, less miss out on something great. Tie this in with a good art direction and you have a strong start for the Kindt’s Dept. H.
Final Order cutoffs are next week – don’t miss out! PREVIEWS ORDER #: FEB160017
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date:April 20th, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
