RIPTIDE: DRAKEN (VOL. 2), available from Red 5 Comics on March 31st, 2021, tells the complete story of a journalist and an engineer joining forces when an offshore oil rig crew discovers the Loch Ness monster is real.
The Details
- Written By: Scott Chitwood
- Art By: Danny Luckert
- Colors By: Matt James
- Letters By: Troy Peteri
- Cover Art By: Danny Luckert
- Cover Price: $12.95
- Release Date: March 31, 2021
Was It Good?
Yes. In many ways, it’s an entertaining throwback to the action/monster films of the 80s and 90s of the PG-13 variety. Action, special effects, and an explosive ending that would make Michael Bay proud.
The art is fairly good. There’s a large amount of reference drawing in this volume, but it works for the subject matter and the settings.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
The Draken oil platform, located 200 miles off the coast of Scotland, has a problem. The undersea pump engines keep getting wrecked. Every time the oil rig’s crew repairs the motor and fire it up, something attacks it.
After the latest repair run, the crew tags whatever attacks the motor and follows it towards the Scotland shore where it mysteriously disappears.
Hannah Lee is aboard a small fishing ship in Loch Ness filming a news segment about the hunt for the Loch Ness Monster. During the filming, a large shape surfaces and runs into the fishing boat, knocking itself out. When the crew examines the large animal floating next to the boat, they retrieve the Draken’s tracker. Suddenly, the beast wakes up, and they’ve got the whole encounter on film.
The Loch Ness monster is real, and soon the entire world knows about it.
Hannah calls the contact number on the tracker, which puts her in contact with the oil company that owns Draken. And the operations manager on board, Alex, coincidentally is Hannah’s old crush.
Special credit to the writer here and throughout the rest of the story for making an atypical creative choice. The story could have gone the cheap route by portraying the oil company and its management as one-dimensional villains willing to break any rule (or law) for a buck. Instead, they went with a company invested in self-preservation but still trying to do the right thing.
When Alex shows up, there’s an instant connection between him and Hannah that the rest of Hannah’s crew don’t quite trust. Alex offers full rights to the story and all the research as long as the film crew holds on to the story temporarily. It’s a convincing argument when you consider unfettered media coverage would be a chaotic disaster.
Through a little trial and error, Hannah’s crew figures out the monster is hyper-responsive to different types of sounds, and they can attract or repel it by broadcasting some of the sounds it was making when approaching the boat. Despite their best efforts, the loose, drunken lips of the fishing boat captain tip-off all the local newspapers and the chaos begins. It also doesn’t help that the overzealous paparazzi accidentally drive Nessie up on land for all the world to see.
With the proverbial cat out of the bag, Hannah joins forces with the oil company aboard the rig to persevere the rare creature from capture, solve the mystery of the damaged pump motors, and keep everyone alive in the process.
Without spoiling the ending, Nessie is not alone, different sounds get different reactions, and Michael Bay would be proud.
Final Thoughts
RIPTIDE: DRAKEN (VOL. 2), available from Red 5 Comics on March 31st, 2021, combines the fun of cryptid hunting with a 90s style creature feature for an entertaining trade. The art is solid, the characters are believable, and this collection is an all-around fun popcorn story.
Score: 8/10
We hope you found this article interesting. Come back for more reviews, previews, and opinions on comics, and don’t forget to follow us on social media:
If you’re interested in this creator’s works, remember to let your Local Comic Shop know to find more of their work for you. They would appreciate the call, and so would we.
Click here to find your Local Comic Shop: www.ComicShopLocator.com