Review: Dept. H Vol. 2- After the Flood

November 9, 2018 ComicBookWire

Quick Summary

Pros: There are a number of tense moments here and the claustrophobia from the first volume returns. Readers have a chance to learn a lot more about the characters and the world they live in.

Cons: Storytelling tactics are repeated in a way that feels formulaic. The way flashbacks are presented takes away from the modern story and dilute its excitement.

Overall: This is a book where the positives and negatives work against each other to form a somewhat mediocre reading experience. Though the mystery and suspense from the first volume return, the way they are presented here makes them less entertaining. Instead, the collection’s biggest positive comes from its heavy levels of worldbuilding, which help set the series up for the future. Readers who enjoyed the first volume should read this one for its exposition but those on the fence might be even conflicted after reading this volume.

Story

Dept. H Vol. 2: After the Flood continues many of the tantalizing elements of mystery and suspense that made the first volume so fun to read. However, it also introduces a new narrative tactic that significantly takes away from the excitement. Heavy levels of exposition clash with tense moments of suspense, making for a reading experience that does not live up to its own potential. This volume still has plenty of interesting information that makes reading this collection worthwhile but it simply is not as enjoyable to experience. Hopefully, future volumes will rectify these problems and focus back on the many positives present within this series.

(spoilers start here)

In After the Flood, the tension from the first volume returns, though in a slightly more diluted form. The claustrophobia of the base and the imminent danger of the flooding packs every situation with suspense and a general feeling of unease. Plus, the murderer is still running loose so the constant threat of homicide and sabotage also adds to these feelings. Though the book is not quite as tense as the first volume, it still makes for an entertaining thriller for the majority of the read.
<br />
Another positive comes from this volume’s exposition and worldbuilding. Readers learn a lot about the characters present in Dept. H and about what they are doing there. The rumors of a world-threatening disease from the first volume are also confirmed, which adds additional significance to the actions of the protagonist. All of this gives a better picture of what is going on and helps develop a more robust comic universe.

However, After the Flood also makes some strange choices when it comes to storytelling. Instead of presenting flashbacks in a more natural fashion, nearly every chapter uses a conversation between Mia and Roger as a framing device, from which these flashbacks are launched. Narration from the flashback is then overlaid against the efforts made by other characters to save various sections of the base. This storytelling tactic works well once but starts to get old an feel very formulaic very quickly. Eventually, it digs into the reading experience and makes things less enjoyable.

This storytelling tactic also takes the tension from moments that would be great otherwise. The reader is forced to constantly juggle heavy levels of exposition with sharp moments of suspense and occasional betrayal. The combination feels like trying to read a book while on a rollercoaster ride, both experiences are diminished and the end result feels like a diluted version of what it could have been. The contents of this collection are great but the way they are presented does not properly convey this level of quality.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The artwork in After the Flood is average for the most part. Matt Kindt does an alright job in detailing the characters and making sure expressions match emotions. However, this volume does not have the same level of visual diversity that was seen in the previous volume. Instead of lush ocean environments or panoramic shots inside the underwater base, this volume focuses on close quarters shots that show individual characters. This fits the volume’s tone but doesn’t give much to see in the visual department, as close-ups on character actions or reactions form the bulk of the volume’s visuals. Since Kindt’s work on characters is only average, the rest of the collection’s quality falls in line with this. Overall, After the Flood looks alright but certainly isn’t that impressive.