Trevor Hogg dives into a new Image Comics series by reading the third instalment titled Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea…
Jack Harper and the crew of the Venture slip into enemy waters to rescue a British spy, code-named “Top Hat.” Only their old adversary, Captain Tono of the Imperial Japanese Navy, spoils the party.
Travelling below the South China Sea is the mercenary submarine known as the Venture which is transporting a British Intelligence agent attempting to rescue a fellow spy trapped behind enemy lines. Commanding the vessel is a fugitive bootlegger from Boston named Jack Harper who has gathered a multinational crew including a German sailor from WWI, A French cook, American ex-prize fighter, American mechanic who is the daughter of an outlawed moonshiner, American sonar man and electrician, a Chinese machinist mate, a native islander, and a fiercely loyal dog.
Looming over the mission is an obsession of Jack Harper to find the location of the legendary jungle city of Koji Ra which is rumoured to contain unimaginable amounts of gold and mystical creatures. However, his own past comes back to haunt Harper when an adversary in the form of a Japanese naval commander appears on the surface and proceeds to drop depth charges in an effort to destroy him. A cat and mouse pursuit occurs with the damaged Venture narrowly escaping. With the British spy code named Top Hat not appearing at the appointed time a landing party is sent in for the retrieval. Secretly weaving their way through the Japanese occupied territory, the group makes a discovery that has fatal consequences for them.
There is no doubt that at the forefront of the storytelling of Kel Symons is the desire to craft a tale filled with high adventure. The overall story arc involving Koji Ra is a nod to the archaeological pursuits of Indiana Jones and the motley cast of characters contained within a ship-for-hire echoes the crew aboard Serenity featured in the TV series Firefly. The 1938 South Pacific allows for exotic locations which are enhanced by the atmospheric artwork created by Mathew Reynolds who has craft a world filled with dramatic silhouettes, out of focus backgrounds, and vibrant colours which really come to life during the underwater sequences. Looks like Symons and Reynolds have a rollicking good time in store for readers.
Trevor Hogg is a freelance video editor and writer who currently resides in Canada.
Originally published April 16, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
