Riptide

by Alex Vede

Ancient grudges ignites a new cold war between mankind and a forgotten nemesis. After a shocking discovery a marine biologist must choose between loyalty to humanity and a chance for peace with the mysterious Ceto, the last inhabitants of the lost city of Atlantis. Will he risk everything to save both species?

A thrilling adventure unfolds beneath the waves, where ancient grudges and modern conflicts collide. Set during the tension of the Cold War, the story follows Max, a marine biologist drawn into the secretive NARWAL organization. His to decode mysterious whale communications that point to the legendary Ceto—an advanced underwater civilization believed to be a myth.

As the ocean stirs with unrest, Max becomes entwined with Sloan, the fierce daughter of a fallen captain, and her mother, Marianne, whose thirst for vengeance drives them all toward disaster. As they uncover the Ceto’s desperate bid for survival and revenge against humanity, Max and Sloan must navigate a treacherous landscape of secrets, betrayal, and moral dilemmas. With the threat of nuclear weapons looming, the stakes have never been higher.

Dive in and discover a world where the ocean’s depths hold the key to a new beginning—or the end of everything.

Genres: Comics

224 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 2025

Reviews

[Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing art style that goes super well with the story, every landscape drawing as well as underwater-panel is just incredible.
Story-wise it’s solid, though I find the plot to move a bit too fast. Especially towards the end it starts lacking, and settings/character decisions and changes happens way too quick to feel as real or genuine as they did in the beginning. It was a too large of a buildup to turn out the way it then did, with a somewhat simple and insufficient ending.
Overall a great read, especially since the character designs and artwork is as cool as they are. Because of that I particularly enjoyed the included “Sketchbook” part at the end of the book with concept art the artist made for this comic, very interesting to see!
4/5

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got teary reading this one which I was not expecting.

[D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

really enjoyed the art and the premise had a lot of promise, but it didn't really hit me like i wanted it to. other readers might experience it differently, and i encourage giving it a go.

i personally wanted more depth to the character development. i say this understanding that readers also don't want to go through a lot of panels with either inner dialogue (which can be corny if not executed well) or silent panels where we extrapolate a lot from the characters (there is some of this, and adding more would probably cause pacing issues), so i'm not implying i know better than the author. i guess what i mean is that sometimes the characters make choices that didn't make a lot of sense to me, given what they've actually experienced in their interactions. i'm not cynical, but if i have been given a reason to distrust and have limited time to rebuild trust...well. i think most people would realistically make somewhat different choices, so i want a reason why these characters decided what they did, or changed their minds when they did.

this being said, i think the author/artist shows a lot of creativity and promise, and i'd sure rather support a sincere work of art than super polished but disingenuous slop. just because i'm saying "i wanted more" doesn't at all mean that i don't think this artist can deliver, and i'm up for reading their future work.

[Mee Too · Rating 3 out of 5]

It would be like riding a roller coaster where after the slow ascend, all the drops where lame… all that anticipation for nothing.

A dull roller coaster ride, no wonder the line to get on was empty.

2.9✨

[Shana Darabie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting art, but ultimately the actual story is too thin despite the potential for some amazing world building