Black Tide #1-3
Written by Debbie Bishop
Art by Mike S. Miller, Armando Durruthy, and Rick
Ketcham
Published by Image Comics
Black Tide is a science-fantasy series that may be the first in a wave of titles inspired by the CrossGen formula of fantastic settings, flashy art and a script heavy on reinventing ancient myths for 21st Century readers.
I read these three issues in one setting, and was a bit disoriented by the manner in which the tale begins right in the middle of the action. Justin Braddock is on a secret mission that goes wrong, and soon we learn that Justin is much more than he appears.
He is, in fact, a legendary resident of Atlantis who has lost his powers and his memory, but fate throws him into contact with some old acquaintances, and very soon he is back in the thick of political intrigue in Atlantis, which has been recreated and exists in the modern day.
The strongest things this book has going for it are the characters and the art. I liked Justin/Villonius, and I am a sucker for amnesia stories, so his dilemma of trying to deal with the people and power structure of an Atlantis he does not remember is intriging to me. His relationship with Kaila and Theros is interesting, and the conflict that is likely to come between the three of them is easily the most compelling aspect of the tale.
The art is, in places, reminiscent of George Perez, if a little slick in the generic way of many CrossGen titles. It's not overwhelmed by the colouring, as is often the case in such titles.
It's no surprise to longtime Galaxy readers that I am not a fan of science-fantasy in general, and I always feel obligated to point that out when reviewing such titles. Black Tide mostly manages to overcome my lack of interest in the genre by featuring a story set in the present day, with as scientific an explanation as can be expected for the goings-on.
My main complaint, then, is simply that the actual story and how the characters fit into it is not terribly easy to understand in the first issue. By #3 I think I had wrapped my brain around the characters and how they related to each other, and the hows and whys of an Atlantis in modern times. The characters themselves remain, for me, the strongest draw of the title, as I am curious to see what will become of Justin as he continues to interact with the people of Atlantis, some of whom very much want him dead.
I can most strongly recommend Black Tide to fans of CrossGen's science-fantasy titles like Scion. It's not something I would normally seek out myself, but I know many people enjoy such tales, and this one compares favourably with other titles in the same genre. Grade: 3/5