Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for arc.

Loved the premise of the book but unfortunately it was poorly executed.

Rusty water practically drips from this book's pages and claustrophobic darkness makes readers feel the pressure. In other words, this book, about a salvage expedition gone wrong, relies greatly on atmosphere.
https://www.noflyingnotights.com/blog/2022/01/25/sea-of-sorrows-2/

Independent salvage crews plunder the seas in the aftermath of World War I, but with great payoff comes great risk, and no one’s really sure what’s down there, in the depths with the shipwrecks and the riches.

This graphic novel is full or horrific imagery that is positively amazing. I didn’t always know what I was looking at, but trust, I was freaked out by it. I always love the idea of vicious, monstrous mermaids, and this book 100% delivered. It’s a complete collection, so it’s easy to read in one sitting and a perfect choice for this spooky season.

It’s not out until November, but if you’re still riding the horror highs of October, it’ll be right on time.

What could have been a good graphic novel with some DEEPLY disturbing horror imagery is ruined by the decision to make almost every panel so intensely dark you can't actually SEE half of what is supposed to be happening on the page.

While I loved the premise of the book, it was hard at times to follow the story. I had to reread sections more than once to understand what was happening.

The idea for this book had some rich promise --sirens who draw in people to slaughter them for their greed. The execution was a little soft. I thought the madness and mind control were a new perspective that made the story richer, but the contrivance of the plot was not very well established. I just don't believe, however desperate these people were (before the Great Depression) that they would get on this ship together. It feels artificial from the start, which hurts the plot overall.

This title felt like it would have made a fun B movie on a science fiction channel --it draws on the Lovecraftian and classic Greek traditions of horrors at sea. It just is not a particularly strong standalone graphic novel.

Also, was that Nazi hold they were after? Before WWII? Before the rise of the Nazi party? (Go back and look at the page with the gold bar --those are swastikas on the German gold that are likely meant to imply Nazi gold.)

Sea of Sorrows is a deep sea adventure story with a horror twist. It was done by the same creative team that created Road of Bones. This contains the entire run of 5 issues. The review copy did not include the creative team, so I am not able to place it in my review.

The art and colors are amazing. In the underwater scenes there is a solid black background which makes the brighter colors of the animals and materials pop. Even when things are full of blood and gore it is still beautiful.

I loved Road of Bones and this book does capture the same feelings. The creative team is so good at creating a build-up of emotion that I found myself looking around the room because I swore I was not alone. When they finally reveal the "monster" I actually yelped.

Even though I already read the single issues monthly I will definitely be picking up the trade.
5 stars!

I like the set-up--a crew of hardened sailors, together with some landlubber mobster head off to plunder a sunken U-boat of Nazi gold. But the way this plays out is full of cliches and the muddy artwork is almost impossible to follow, either underwater or on the boat.

I think this book sets out to do what it intends to do. The tension is great. Unfortunately the book is let down by the art. The colors are very dark. Even in scenes that took place outside in broad daylight I could barely see what was going on. It’s a pity because I really liked the unique designs all the human faces had.

Sea of Sorrows pays homage to a host of horror classicswhilst keeping things fresh and bloody. I loved the siren concept and was surprised by the ending!

Intriguing. Some old tars and some land-lubbers are together on a boat off North America, trying to get a fortune in gold bars off a German WWI submarine precariously perched on the seabed below. Only, if you believe one of the people on board, she seems protected by a giant mermaid – a mermaid he saw when his own boat faced war damage. Is she just his PTSD talking? Or is there something unexpected down there, between them and their prize? Or will they just top each other off in the usual bickering that stands for conflict in more cheaply-realised comics?

One thing that doesn't seem cheap here is the artwork, which has a suitably dark mood to it, especially down in the depths. Unfortunately, it has that in lieu of clarity – the characters are grim types that are very hard to differentiate, and that's when they're top-side, and before the six of them suddenly become thirty from one panel to the next. So much so that, when someone does something and gets the [redacted] to do something else and everyone joins in, it's just an incoherent mess, passing as a horror comic. An intriguing one, at first at least, but an intriguing failure.