By T.W. Worn — I’ll get to Deep Beyond #1 — the subject of this review — soon enough, but first I’d like to muse about another piece of pop culture that was on my mind as I read the book, which is due out in early February. See, over the winter break, I decided to binge watch David Lynch's Twin Peaks: The Return. I had rewatched the original series a few weeks before, and the holidays finally afforded me the time to finish up the new episodes. For those unfamiliar with the original, it is about an FBI agent, Dale Cooper, investigating the murder of a teenage girl, Laura Palmer, in the sleepy yet unusual town of Twin Peaks.

During the series, you meet the town's quirky characters, between glimpses of its dark and seedy underbelly. There is also a supernatural battle between good and evil, which is more directly in the foreground of season three. At least, there might be. David Lynch works in a dream logic that focuses more on feeling than story.

You might be wondering why I, a person who prefers coffee orange and room temperature, decided to bring up this show, with its well-known proclivity for damn fine coffee. Well, one reason is because it is a fantastic show everyone should watch. The second is because after mainlining more than 40 hours of David Lynch into your brain, one discovers a love for the uncertain, and the journey of the mystery. The questions that pile up as you travel further into a rabbit hole. Mystery is at the core of Deep Beyond #1 (told you I’d get here!), and I plan to follow that baby all the way to its depths.

In this first issue, writer/artist Mirka Andolfo (Unnatural, Mercy) and David Goy set up a futuristic dystopia after some unspecified event leaves the world uninhabitable. Humans are confined to hermetically-sealed bases. Right off the bat, we are struck by the question, "Why?"

And I don't as of yet have an answer; it hasn't been unveiled, which fair, this is a first issue. But Deep Beyond #1 does impart upon readers a feeling vital to its story: helplessness. Humanity is on its last leg and things don't seem to be getting any better. We are also introduced to a handful of characters whose stories get so immediately intertwined, that feels evocative of early soap operas, marked by a bizarre combination of melodramatic characters and utopian-dystopian sci-fi. And holy moly, do the two fit perfectly together. Simply put, this is the type of comic that left me disappointed when I got to the last page, because now I have to wait a few months for more of the story.

Andrea Broccardo (Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, Empyre: X-Men) brings dynamic art to the comic throughout. Giving us both tight, intimate panels between characters as well as vast openness when we begin to explore the base the story takes place in. In a setting that could easily get convoluted and clustered, Broccardo gives us space that is believably, even lived in. Barbara Nosenzo's (The Ballad of Halo Jones) colors give an even more dynamic quality to the setting, especially towards the end of the issue.

Without spoiling, a set that could have easily been mishandled ends up crisp, giving a full depth to the setting. All of this being tied together with Fabio Amelia's (Un/Sacred, Grimm Tales of Terror) lettering, some of which lands among my favorite in the industry. Each page was perfectly married to the story, encouraging me to engage with it even more.

Deep Beyond leaves me with so many things to think about, and they are the main reason I will be coming back to this series. While I love everything mentioned above, the questions it offers can't help but lure me into the intrigue of this world. While we may be new to the setting of this series, I can safely assume there is something dark and twisted in the depths of its story. I look forward to diving back into the next issue of Deep Beyond.

Overall: Deep Beyond #1 is a fantastic mystery story in a futuristic outfit. This is a series I would recommend to almost anyone. 9/10

ADVANCED REVIEW: Deep Beyond #1

Deep Beyond #1
Writer: Mirka Andolfo & David Goy
Artist: Andrea Broccardo
Colorist: Barbara Nosenzo
Letterer: Fabio Amelia
Publisher: Image Comics
In an underpopulated future Earth, devastated by the dire consequences of the millennium bug, the survival of mankind—and, maybe, of the planet itself—is handled by a small number of people. Talented scientists who, despite the adverse situation and the stupid feuds that continue to divide the small number of people still alive, try to understand and study what is hidden in the depths of the abyss. Something mysterious and dangerous, which could eventually cause an even worse and more destructive catastrophe!
The 100 meets LOW, with a hint of Death Stranding in the brand-new sci-fi thriller series from acclaimed creator MIRKA ANDOLFO (UNNATURAL, MERCY), teaming up with writer DAVID GOY and rising-star artist ANDREA BROCCARDO (Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, Empyre: X-Men) and colorist BARBARA NOSENZO (The Ballad of Halo Jones).
Release Date: February 3, 2021
Price: $3.99
Read It Digitally: Deep Beyond #1