Morning Star co-creators Tim Daniel and David ‘DB’ Andry will explore the depths of horror in the post-apocalyptic undersea thriller Crush Depth, teaming with artist Alex Sanchez, colorist Kurt Michael Russell and letterer Justin Birch.
Mad Cave will publish the first issue of the horror/action series next March. The story follows the Chief Science Officer on a submarine that’s afraid to surface in a world devastated by climate change — but when something alien arrives on the sub, she may not have a choice.
“The DNA of Crush Depth is laced with inspiration from John Carpenter’s The Thing to Jeff Vandermeer’s Annihilation and several other touchstones such as The Abyss, Underwater and Neville Shute’s novel On The Beach,” said Tim Daniel. “It’s evocative of that time but ultimately will prove to be as cathartic as the moment when we collectively threw open our doors once again and ventured out of our homes to find the world had changed some and maybe we had too.”
Here’s Mad Cave’s description of the story:
Two brothers locked in a sibling rivalry wrestle for command of a massive nuclear submarine, The Absolution, in a near future irrevocably altered by climate change. Chief Science Officer Liana Pearson finds herself not only caught between the Wilder brothers but drowning in her fear of the surface world. When something alien infiltrates The Absolution and upends the balance of power, Liana is left with only two deadly options-—reaching the toxic surface world or steering the sub into the unforgiving abyss and crush depth—Breathe Deep!
“For my entire life, I’ve been equal parts fascinated and terrified by things that live in the water,” Andry said. “My grandparents lived in a house 11 feet up on stilts in the Mississippi bayou. Fishing and boating in the brackish water off the dock in their backyard, I’ve seen everything from snapping turtles to green eels and garfish. I’ll watch any deepwater documentary or shows about sea life, but getting in the water is about the scariest thing to me —this fear is what I got to explore in Crush Depth.”
Sanchez took the plunge on this project because of his love for horror films and suspense stories.
“Since I was a kid, my favorite genre of films has always been horror—Slashers, body horror, found footage, and suspense in particular,” Sanchez said. “If I wasn’t illustrating comics, I probably would be in the movie industry lending my talents in some visual effects department, somewhere. Not surprisingly, for the better part of the last couple of decades, a large portion of my work in the comic book industry has been drawing books with a suspenseful theme. These are the kinds of books that pique my interest. So, when I was presented the opportunity to draw Crush Depth, I jumped at the chance because I knew I would immensely enjoy building the world with Tim and DB.”
Take a look at some of Sanchez’s interior artwork:
And here’s the first issue’s variant cover by Ramon Villalobos:
The first issue will arrive in stores March 19.