Review: Dark Ark #6

Six issues in and the rain continues unabated. All the world remains flooded and only two great arks containing all of the land creatures from before the flood remain. One is Noah“s ark filled with natural creatures as instructed by God. The other is the dark sorcerer Shrae“s ark, filled with the monsters and abominations that the flood was supposed to wipe off the Earth.

Having avoided the divine wrath of Angels last issue, Shrae dispatches imps to find and spy on Noah“s ark to find out what caused him to pray for holy intervention. They find the ark, but can’t see the cause of distress without getting too close and revealing themselves. One manages to sneak in and finds out the secret of Noah’s problem.

In the meantime, we get to see how Shrae bargained with and recruited people to build his ark. He promises them safety from God“s flood, although he doesn“t promise them safety from the ark“s other passengers. Bunn devotes a larger part of the issue to how Shea lures people to their doom with his mix of truths and lies. He and Juan Doe make it clear why these people face God“s punishment.

Even in this issue, which is mostly build up the to troubles both arks face, Cullen Bunn (X-Men Blue, Harrow County, Venom) remains masterful in playing with the drama. That makes is all the more disappointing when he feel the need for the dialogue to hit the nail square on the head, in case the slow kids in the back didn“t get it. Despite these occasional stumbles, this book keeps ratcheting up the tension, right to the big reveals.

Doe“s art is the other leg of this book that keeps things going strong. It really is amazing how he is able to both provide and obscure clarity at the same time with the blinding rains and, in the flashbacks, the withering sun. Sometimes, Doe“s (Deadpool, Red Sonja, Ressurectionists) monsters can seem too cartoonish for a story that hews so closely to the dark side of life. But that is a price I am willing to pay for the amazing splash page surprises he is able to spring.

Bunn and Doe are clearly enjoying playing with the unexplored parts of this story. To be fair, many of the stories from the earliest part of the Bible are so spare that they leave you with more questions than answers. This story has been so entertaining because Bunn and Doe are willing to play in the grey areas.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Juan Doe
Letterer: Ryane Hill
Cover Artist: Juan Doe
Publisher: Aftershock

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Andy Hall

Sent from the future by our Robot Ape overlords to preserve the timeline. Reading and writing about comics until the revolution comes. All hail the Orangutan Android Solar King!