Publisher: Dark Horse
Writer: Matt Kindt
Artist: Matt Kindt
Colourist: Sharlene Kindt
Release Date: 22 June 2016
Price: $3.99

 

Matt Kindt has a degree in art from Webster University in St. Louis, but, speaking as someone who can barely draw breath, I wish he’d concentrate on the writing chores and let someone else take a crack at the visuals.

On the writing side, Matt Kindt has one heck of a resume: Top Shelf, Dark Horse, DC to name but a few, and an obvious devotion to the art and craft of comic book creation. Dept. H is set on a deep sea research base where Mia, a young investigator, is tasked with solving a gruesome murder. As a location, underwater is a real problem, just ask anyone who has ever had to draw Aquaman or Namor. Something about the need to create the feel of the all-pervading wetness of it all makes the line work diffuse and, well, watery. All of which means that the artwork needs to be dynamic to the nth degree.

Talented fellow though he is, Matt Kindt’s loose style of drawing in Dept.H #3 just doesn’t cut it and gives the work an unfinished look as though these are just rough sketches waiting for the inker to give it the finishing touches it needs to power through the briny deep.

That aside, Dept. H #3 sees Mia trying to mount a rescue mission to save her brother even as madness grips the crew of the undersea base and Mia starts to doubt her own sanity into the bargain. To pull off this type of storyline, this needs to be as flashy and dynamic as a raging tempest, instead, we have a millpond in Dept.H #3.

Dept.H #3 is a noble effort but an unlikely one to be remembered after it sails off into the sunset.

 

Reviewer: Gary Orchard
Reviews Editor: Steve Hooker