Cormack McCarthy is one of those writers that readers feel very strongly about. Much like Haruki Murakami, his books either draw vitriol from readers or undying love. The polar opposite of reactions to these two prolific writers can be understood on both accounts. When it comes to McCarthy many of his books tend to focus on man’s inner struggle between altruism and selfishness. Murakami tends to want to understand why people are disconnected from the bigger fabric of humanity.

Both of these themes tend to be grim and make transparent the evils that lie within the reader. They don’t offer escape but instead a mirror for us to look in to.  This is what makes McCarthy’s The Road so affecting to anyone who has read it. Many zombie stories reveal how our need for survival often outweighs our need to do the right thing. In the first issue of Trout: The Shallowed Knock, we find two protagonists paying for past sins and finding even more impediments on their journey.

We meet Giuseppe, a man who gets caught up in a mass murder, a crime which implicates him and puts his son, Trout in the crosshairs of the townsfolk who burn his house in protest. Thankfully, the two-escape alive, as they find themselves on an ocean vessel, one where the crew is feeling uneasy about their new passengers, fearing trouble follows them. As the two are thrown off the ship and put on a lifeboat, as fear and confusion consume the men, making Trout and Giuseppe, almost good for dead, as something even more sinister awaits them under the sea. By issue’s end, Trout is lost at sea while Giuseppe is in desperate need to find his son for better or worse.

Overall, a comic that is fun and harrowing and a whole lot of weird. It gives me echoes of Terry Gilliam’s The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. The story by Troy Nixey is extensive, keen, and penetrating. The art by Nixey and colorist Dave Stewart is simply awe-inspiring. Altogether, a great story which looks to get even better in the next installment.

Story: Troy Nixey Art: Troy Nixey
Color: Dave Stewart Letters: Troy Nixey
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

Dark Horse provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review