Intelligent, beautiful, smart, and completely intriguing. The Wake boasts two of the best creators comics has to offer performing at the very peak of their powers. Read Full Review

With each issue of THE WAKE, it feels less like a comic you read but more one you experience. Scott Snyder has a crazy story cooked up and there's no telling what's coming next. Having Sean Murphy on art and Matt Hollingsworth on colors is like we're getting an extra special treat. There will be a little wait until the next issue but, like they say, "good things..." Read Full Review

Characters seem to die in comics only to cheat death and trick readers in a multitude of different ways " it's a hallmark of the medium. Regardless of whether this is or is not the last readers see of Lee Archer, I thought the final scene of Issue No. 5 stood out as an excellent example of how Snyder, Murphy and Hollingsworth are able to treat the (potential) death of a character in a somber and respectful manner even as it leaves readers feeling emotionally drained and weighed down in its wake. Read Full Review

The Wake is and intelligent action adventure and that ladies and gentleman is why Scott Snyder is so praised. It is unreal what he does with some material that could be very one dimensional. He turns it into something layered and meaningful. This is a team up I'd like to see again in the future on more creator owned work. Read Full Review

It's not often that you enjoy seeing the last throes of humanity as it perishes, but Snyder uses a winning combination of genres to make The Wake's Armageddon a blast to read, while Murphy pulls out all the stops to make it a blast to see. Read Full Review

Perhaps it's due to current events across the world, but it is all too easy to think about how people here and now are being affected by natural disasters. Snyder also, plays on the heartstrings of people who are in charge of caring for the well being of others. If you are a parent, guardian, or anyone who has the well-being of another person depend on you, then the writer probably has you in the palm of his hand (yes, I cried.) It doesn't matter if you do or not see it coming or fall somewhere in-between. This mid-way conclusion is an emotionally charged ending that forces all of us to think about what would happen once our choices are taken away. Despite this weighty plot-point that could potentially leave an audience in despair, leave it to this writer/artist team to give you a charge of hope, energy. The back matter also provides a great idea of where things will be headed in the second half of this mini-series and a desire to have the very next issue in your hands now! Read Full Review

For a while a really feared for the future of Vertigo but the release of The Wake has really helped revitalise the whole line. Even though the book is only half way through its run, it will probably make it in to a lot of peoples end of year top 10 books lists. Read Full Review

The Wake #5 is a fantastic way to end the first half of the story, despite it having a pet peeve of mine in it. I'm sorry I can't talk about it more, but you really need to read it and experience for yourself. Worth the price of admission and I hope to see you back when it returns in February. Read Full Review

"The Wake" has been a great success for storytellers Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy, and for Vertigo. This issue continues to grow the story, as what once seemed like a simple monster tale now involves ancient civilizations and imminent global catastrophe. Scott Snyder is an expert at balancing sweeping actions scenes with small moments that actual make the reader care about the characters stuck under the ocean. Sean Murphy's art is beautifully sinister, and adds a great deal to the overall tone of the book. And man can he make a mermaid scary. "The Wake" #5 brings one part of the story to a close, but it's clear that there are much bigger things ahead. And below. Read Full Review

Boy, that Sean Murphy can draw. The best moments in this book are the quieter ones, when characters talk into a small screen while trap on the bottom of the ocean, surrounded by darkness. Those are the scenes that feel truly horrifying. It's easy to get lost during some of the more frantic action scenes, which does dampen the excitement some. Fortunately, the confusing pages are few and far between. Overall, The Wake reads and looks great. It's a bummer we have to wait so long for more. Read Full Review

The creative team is able to blend the horror, science fiction and action/adventure genres together and use the conventions of each properly and effectively. A perfect balance. Experiencing Snyder and Murphy's work each month is truly a literary treat! Read Full Review

One of the more thrilling and frightening books out there turns out an extremely forgettable and subpar book. The comic forced an ending that just doesn't seem natural for the story told in the previous four issues. The artwork provides visual treats that help the book along but fall short of the complete package when it comes to the quiet moments. This is not the strongest effort from this pair. I hope the second part of this story makes this issue seem like a blip on the radar. Read Full Review

I hardly ever give out a perfect ten, but this issue deserves it 100%.

One of the best comics right now. Can't wait to see where this goes in the 2nd half.

Wow!! Just read it and you will be wowed too. I promise.

Great issue.

I'm not sure what to think about this narrative structure. The protagonist's story has seemingly come to a close with this issue. She's the only character that has been developed at this point; the other characters are just stand-ins in roles that fans of genre fiction will find comfortable and familiar: the crazy hunter guy, the professor of arcane knowledge, and so on. Although we the readers have had more details of Lee's past revealed to us over the course of the story, she has not really gone full circle along the hero's journey--no real transformation has occurred. Basically, Lee's story just seems to exist in order to set up the shocking reveal that there are actually thousands of these gargantuan creatures, and not just the one they've defeated. Basically, all her efforts were essentially useless, and her story is apparently irrelevant to the next half of The Wake. In this way, this story becomes less about Lee (or any human) and more about mindless monsters. With the knowledge that Lee will not be a part of the second arc (unless Snyder really surprises me), I'm much less interested. That said, I'm certainly sticking around for the next arc. Despite a somewhat unsatisfying end to this part of the story, it was still fun to read, and the art is obviously fantastic. more

$4! 27pgs . . . . . . An action packed issue that ties up the first half and prepares the reader for big things (i hope) in the 2nd half. Plenty of action here, but im not sure how i feel about the progression of the series so far. Murphy's arc rocks, but i'm not sure the colors help it. The biggest problem is the sudden lame price jump for this issue. Not very cool to the monthly readers, esp considering they will be reprinting the arc for $10!! ill get the 2nd half in TPB, i think.