Comic Tasting: Dark Beach #1-6 (Behemoth/Sumerian) w/ California Meritage
Don't Frenchify it, pronounce it like "heritage" - mehr-i-TED-je
Y’all voted on what I should read next back in July, and DARK BEACH was the winner!
Behemoth or Sumerian?
One of the last books to be put out under the “Behemoth” banner, before the publisher was bought by Sumerian Records/Films and became “Sumerian” - note the single issues are all stamped “Behemoth” while the recent trade paperback is labeled “Sumerian”.
Written by up-and-coming director/filmmaker Michael J. Ruiz-Unger, DARK BEACH is his first long-form comics work after penning a short for Heavy Metal Magazine. More recently, he Kickstarted the sci-fi graphic novel, CRATER CITY. So it’s fair to say that sci-fi seems to be his favored wheelhouse, at least in terms of comics. This is going to be my one point of contention with Dark Beach, so I’ll circle back to this near the end.
What’s It About?
DARK BEACH takes place in the far-ish future (2355), where the Earth has been moved away from its dying sun by rockets - just like in the Chinese epic The Wandering Earth - and now travels the galaxy with artificial light generated within the sole surviving domed city-colony called “New Reykjavík”.
Inside this dome, our hero/protagonist, Gordo, gets an alert on a police scanner about a homicide and quickly arrives on the scene before the authorities to snap some pictures of a dead girl wearing a VR headset (the girl on the first issue cover above). He sells these pics to his journalist friend, but something about the case sticks with Gordo, and he soon finds himself digging deeper than he should.
While Gordo moonlights as a crime scene photographer, his “day” (there’s no more sun, remember?) job is as a construction worker, where he showcases a physical balance and comfort with heights, much like construction workers during the early 1900’s displayed when large US cities and the first skyscrapers were built.
Soon, Gordo discovers a group of conspiracy theorists who believe the Earth’s abandonment of the Old Sun was not what the official narrative claimed it to be, and Gordo’s own past soon dovetails with the same conspiracy these kids are peddling.
Ruiz-Unger creates a fairly believable futuristic society, though certain details feel more derived from cyberpunk classics - William Gibson, Blade Runner, etc. - such as the name of the domed city. Why “New Reykjavík?” For an English-speaking colony? How is society still such a perfect carbon copy of the society we have today but with tiddlypoms of hard sci-fi accoutrements peppered throughout? It all seems superficial, rather than necessary or fully fleshed out. But again, I’ll come back to this in a bit.
The plot - the mystery-noir story - is spot on. This is essentially the CHINATOWN approach. A (sort-of) P.I. stumbling onto murderous cover-ups of a conspiracy that is shockingly mundane: in Chinatown, it’s a conspiracy for water rights in LA. In Dark Beach…well, you’ll have to read it to find out.
I should add: there’s an additional element to the conspiracy, an otherworldly element that almost (if I’m being honest) is too much. At least, it’s too much for a 6-issue mini. It’s possibly the most intriguing element of the whole comic, but it arrives late and needed more in-depth handling than it received.
Sebastian Piriz’s art is clean and dark and displays a world that’s “normal”, real and yet shadows abound the science at work is both old-school industrial while also being alien and futuristic. It’s very fitting, though personally I preferred the flashback artist, Gonzalo Ruggieri, who illustrates a literal couple of pages per issue, slowly stringing together scenes from the past that will inform the happenings of the present. And then Ruggieri handles the art for the entirety of Issue #4, which gives the full backstory of the conspiracy theorists, and how they came to be in the situation they find themselves in the present.
Self-Published Once Before? With a Co-Writer?
Interestingly, it appears Ruiz-Unger self-published the first 3 issues of the series prior to Behemoth picking it up. The art in those earlier issues looks to be the exact same pages by Sebastian Piriz as was eventually published by Behemoth. Though notably there’s no mention of the artist for the flashback sequences, Gonzalo Ruggieri. So I suspect the flashbacks are a new addition to the new Behemoth editions, peppering in backstory throughout rather than saving it all for the end, which may have been the original plan.
Also notable regarding these older self-published issues is that they have a co-writer credited - Tucker Tota, who is no longer credited as a writer on the Behemoth issues though he is listed under “Special Thanks”, under his birth name, “Javier Puga”. Tota/Puga wrote a 2014 short film that Ruiz-Unger directed, and has released three music albums under his “Tucker Tota” name, the first of which is titled “Who is Tucker Tota and What Does He Want From Me?” (All three albums are available on Spotify, iTunes, and Amazon Music, fyi.)
Picking Nits
Now, I do have a nit to pick with DARK BEACH (here’s where we circle back to my "point of contention”.)
Recently, another comics creator, Tim Larson, took a different sci-fi comic to task by asking: “Why is this a sci-fi comic?” By which he meant, why did the story of that particular comic take place in some sort of “future” with made-up countries, societies, technology, etc.? Because he noted that nothing in the story demanded this be so.
And I have to say, Dark Beach fails to answer this same question/rubric. The story, at its core, is a straightforward noir. This literally could have been the movie Chinatown. Ruiz-Unger creates a future where the Earth is wandering, sunlight is artificial, and weapons, computers, VR, etc. can all be tweaked from current reality because “future”. But nothing about this story required any of it. In many ways, it makes the proceedings awkward: a single domed colony of surviving humanity is arbitrary. The main villain who runs the whole conspiracy turns out to be a fairly basic sociopath, with disappointingly common motivations for the insane stakes the sci-fi elements turn everything into.
Essentially, by nesting this very down-to-earth noir story inside a far-reaching sci-fi concept, the conclusion to the tale becomes anti-climactic. It simply doesn’t fit or harmonize with the grandiose setting or stakes involved. I can see the story as a metaphor for climate change and how those in power are never honest or willing to do what’s necessary to save the rest of us. But it matters precisely what a writer swaps out climate change with. In this case, it’s difficult to suspend disbelief.
As a story of human corruption and the violence that follows to cover up for it, the story of Dark Beach is a solid one. But as a story where the majority of humanity is sacrificed and the entirety of those who remain are also being sacrificed at that same altar, it’s difficult to swallow.
Ruiz-Unger currently has his latest short film - an ode to kid’s adventure stories called SAVE THE FLEA - screening at festivals. It recently screened at Fantasia as part of the “Are You Afraid Of Fantasia” shorts block, an ode to the Canadian horror tv show Are You Afraid Of The Dark. I hope he continues to make films and comics, as he’s plainly a passionate storyteller and has a certain knack for riffing on established, beloved genres.
Paired With? Red Meritage!
An expert blend of wildly disparate varietals, that harmonize into something more than the sum of its parts. While I thought the finale of DARK BEACH lost its harmony, the majority of the comic definitely dances this fine line of mixed genres, and makes them sing beautifully for the majority of its run.
“Meritage” blends are made from Bordeaux grape varietals, but grown and vinified in the USA. Back in 1988, a group of vintners banded together to create official rules “…to identify and promote handcrafted wines blended from the traditional ‘noble’ Bordeaux varieties.”
Since these weren’t wines made in Bordeaux, they couldn’t call them “Bordeaux blends” (though some still do, unofficially, shhh). So they founded “The Meritage Alliance”, selecting a new made-up work that was a blend (ha) of “Merit” and “Heritage”, so you pronounce the vowels like in “heritage” - Mehr-i-TED-je. Don’t French-i-fy it. The whole point is that it isn’t French!
Meritage wines are blended from: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and sometimes the rarer St. Macaire, Gros Verdot, and Carmenère. Blending is often the way to make the best wine possible, vs. sticking to whatever a single crop of a single varietal offers a winemaker in any given year. The problem is that winemakers can only label these as “Red Blends” or “White Blends”. Not very sexy, is it? Especially if the winemaker thinks it might be one of their better wines that year.
So The Meritage Alliance crafted rules and polices them. They make certain that anyone using the “Meritage” label is actually producing wines in the necessary blends/styles. Any winemaker that wants to make a “Meritage” blend also has to pay the Meritage Alliance a small fee to do so, which I think originally was meant to keep people serious about using the word, but these days you sometimes have big brands paying to use the word as a cover to enhance subpar blends. Not all Meritages are created equal, cuz capitalism.
But the joy is that you (usually) get a serious, expertly balanced blend in most bottles labeled “Meritage”. And many of them are still on the low end price-wise! You get the intensity of Cab Sauv, blended with the smooth fruit-forward character of Merlot, the acidity of Cab Franc, and the spiciness of Malbec and Petite Verdot. These are often wines able to be savored on their own, no food necessary. They pack a lot of flavor, a fair shake of intensity, but are also surprisingly balanced. The joy of expertly blended blends.