Today, Shelby and Scott are discussing The Wake 6, originally released February 26th, 2014.

I’ll always be talking to you, Parker. Always. You just have to listen, honey. You keep listening. You hear me? You keep listening.

Dr. Lee Archer, The Wake 5

Shelby: When faced with the thought of losing a loved one, there’s a lot of comfort to be found in the idea that they will always be there, always watching over you. The knowledge that you are still carrying a part of that person with you, and will always carry it with you, can help you move on. But what if you don’t move on? What if you just instilled that faith in someone watching over you in your children, and they in their children? You’ve basically created a mini religion, where the vague belief that there’s something out there, something more, and maybe if you just keep listening you’ll find it.

This issue picks up 200 years in the future. The mers are a constant threat, the United States as we know it is gone, with new coast lines, new territories, and not a lot of fresh water. We finally really meet our friend Leeward, who spends her time hunting mers for the hallucinogen they produce. She trades some heads chock full of the stuff for an Ear, a long-range listening device. Despite what the Gov says, she is constantly listening for…something; she figures if there isn’t anything out there to hear, why does the Gov care if she listens or not? Naturally, she gets caught listening by the Arm, the enforcement branch of the Gov, just as she hears something I completely did not expect.

What the what?! 200 years ago, Lee sank to the bottom of the ocean as the mers began their conquest of the world, and here she is talking to her descendant about how to fix it. I was on board with the dystopian, Water World-esque future, and I was sure Leeward would hear something that would not only validate her belief there was something to be heard but also show a way to defeat the mers, but hearing Lee herself totally threw me for a loop.

Despite the numerous flashbacks-and-forwards in the first five issues of this book, this issue is a radical departure from what we’ve seen so far. Scott Snyder set us up with horror-science fiction on the ocean floor, now we’ve got pure science fiction at its finest. There’s a lot here that reminds me very much of Frank Herbert’s Dune; it’s just with water, instead of sand. Think about it: there’s a government elite who looks down on the “outliers” surviving on their own, a monstrous danger which provides a mind-altering drug desirable enough to risk hunting them for it, we’ve even got the expansive time frame with one character spanning generations to speak to a descendant. Hell, what is a “wake” but a dune of water?

I love the world Snyder has created here. It feels so real, so believable. World-building in science fiction is incredibly important, and Snyder does a masterful job of making the world feel full and developed without overwhelming us with too much new slang or jargon. His new government is just sinister enough, just oppressive enough. Sean Murphy and colorist Matt Hollingsworth shine, as usual. I love how little blue there is in this book. For a story about monsters from the deep flooding the world, the color palette is surprisingly warm.

Leeward’s existence is (visually, anyway) in sharp contrast to Lee’s. The first 5 issues of this book were dark and claustrophobic; the characters were restricted and confined. Now the mood is glaring and harsh. The palette takes things from warm to hot and humid, and it’s so open. Despite that openness, however, humanity finds itself just as confined as Lee and her team were at the bottom of the ocean. Between the waters full of monsters and the Gov which may also be full of monsters, the people are stuck between a rock and a hard place. I can’t wait to see where Snyder and Murphy take this next — this book has really become something special. Scott, what did you think; were you as blown away by hearing Lee at the end as I was? What do you make of the crane as the new national bird? How adorable is that little “woosh!” in the panel above as Leeward comes in for a landing?
Scott: I was absolutely blown away by the end of this issue. It provokes so many questions: how could Lee be alive after all this time? What has she been doing? What has she learned that is going to save the world? At the same time, though, it offers the first real idea of what the second half of this series is about. Leeward spends most of the issue waiting for a miracle, hoping to overhear something that will help her make sense of the world she’s living in. When Lee’s voice comes over that radio, her miracle has arrived. Leeward may not know it yet, but we do. It’s clear now that the first five issues weren’t merely a prelude to a bigger story; Lee Archer, who we assumed died 200 years ago, is now the key to helping Leeward save the world. I think Snyder is out to make a fool of us. Never make assumptions, he’s saying, no matter how much logic they follow.

I loved delving into this new world. The satellite images of Earth swallowed up by water don’t look all that different from projections you might have seen in An Inconvenient Truth. In this case, the Mers are responsible for melting the polar ice caps, but the true horror comes from the knowledge that we’re well on our way to creating this same world on our own. (Don’t you see, people, WE’RE THE MONSTERS!)

It’s apparent right from the get-go that the series is basically starting anew with this issue. The look of the cover page is a huge departure from the first five covers.

Is that…sunlight? The shift in color palette is dramatic, and possibly out of necessity — Hollingsworth may well have used up all of his blues and blacks coloring those first five issues. This cover sets a new tone in more ways than one. Leeward looks the part of a heroine we can rally around. The previous issue ends with humanity losing to the Mers and looking doomed, and here’s this tough looking woman holding the head of  Mer — a head, we soon find out, she took with her bare hands. Hot damn, there’s hope!

Shelby, it’s funny about the crane, because there’s an image early on in this issue of Leeward and her glider that reminded me of another wading bird — the stork.

The analogy takes a strange turn when you consider that the “baby” she’s carrying is actually the head of a Mer, but still, I can’t help feeling like this is somewhat intentional on Murphy’s part. In her own way, Leeward is delivering new life to humanity. Anyway, I like the idea behind changing the national bird to the crane. Like the Governess says, cranes stand tall and proud in the water, traits this new-look America wants to embody. Another, rather ominous, fact the Governess ignores is that most species of cranes are endangered. In the face of extinction, standing proud won’t get you very far.

For a complete list of what we’re reading, head on over to our Pull List page.  Whenever possible, buy your comics from your local mom and pop comic bookstore.  If you want to rock digital copies, head on over to Comixology and download issues there.  There’s no need to pirate, right?