Publisher: KaBOOM!
Release Date: November 22, 2017
Price: $14.99
Creator(s): Tom Taylor (writer), James Brouwer (artist)
Format: 160 pgs., Full-Color, Trade Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-6841-5200-1
Age Rating: 8-12
ICv2 Rating: 5 Stars out of 5
In their cutting-edge submarine, The Aronnax, the Nektons travel to uncharted waters to investigate the many mysteries of the deep. And when they look into sightings of an undersea monster off the coast of Greenland, it puts them one step closer to something generations of their family have searched for; the lost continent of Atlantis.
Scientific adventurer families have been a popular culture staple since the 1880s, Jonny Quest being the best and most well-known example of the genre, but it’s been awhile since anyone has tried to do a contemporary entry version. Tom Taylor and James Brouwer have done just that with The Deep. Among their updates, William and Kaiko and their kids Fontaine and Ant are a multiethnic family, but it’s just as notable how they interact with each other in recognizable ways, like the way the Nekton siblings squabble, which manages to be more amusing than annoying.
But otherwise it has everything you’d expect to find in this sort of all-ages high-adventure about exploring the unknown and unexplained, meaning there’s plenty of high adventure, danger, and fun. Plus it’s based on just enough real-world science that hopefully reading The Deep will encourage kids to learn more about archaeology and, oceanography, as well as science in general. Kids will find The Deep a pleasure to read.
--Steve Bennett: Writer and retail services consultant.
