Comic Book Review: Ben 10: Deep Trouble written by Jason Henderson, pencils by Gordon Purcell, inks by Scott McRae
When Ben Tennyson was ten years old, he went on a summer vacation with his cousin Gwen and Grandpa Max. Seemingly by coincidence, Ben stumbled upon an alien pod containing a device named the Omnitrix. Bonding itself to Ben like a wristwatch, the Omnitrix gave him the ability to turn into ten different superpowered alien forms. As Ben 10, our young hero had to learn to use his powers skillfully and responsibly.
The Ben 10 cartoon series started in 2005, and has had five iterations (the fifth being a reboot to his origins.) Lasting that long on Cartoon Network is a testament to its popularity. This volume is the first of the IDW version of the tie-in comics, printed in 2014. It follows the continuity of the Omniverse season, in which Ben is now teamed up with the competent but inexperienced Plumber (secret agents who deal with alien incursions) Rook Blonko.
The story begins with another vacation for the Tennyson family, plus Rook and former foe turned friend Kevin 11. After a brief encounter with alien bounty hunter Sunder, the assembled vacationers board a cruise ship. Naturally, one of the other passengers is more than she seems.
Meanwhile, returning villain Ssserpent is busy attacking certain ocean-going vessels for mysterious reasons. He’s definitely looking for Atlantis, but why?
Now Ben 10 must join with a new ally to stop Ssserpent to protect an organization that serves the seas as the Plumbers do the skies!
One of the more deceptively difficult aspects of making a cartoon tie-in comic book is mimicking the art style of the animated version while not looking like the pictures are just traced from cels. Veteran inker Gordon Purcell and penciller Scott McRae do a decent job at this.
The story feels like it could fit in as a four-part mini-arc in the cartoon. Mind you, having a new organization appear that’s been around for years doing stuff all around the world but no one ever noticed is a bit contrived, but that happens in comics all the time.
Ben seems to be way too trusting of hot girls he just met. I hope that backfires on him every so often. Also, I’m kind of tired of the “person from isolated civilization that distrusts our hero simply because he’s an outsider, but comes around because our hero is just that heroic.”
While the story tries to tell the reader what they need to know to keep up, people who only ever saw the first season might be confused. “Ben’s a celebrity now? Kevin’s a good guy and has completely new powers? There’s an entire agency that Grandpa Max and now Ben belong to?”
Recommended to fans of the show. Those who haven’t seen any of it might want to watch some episodes to get the feel first.
