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Crush Depth
A deep sea submarine horror adventure series that deals with the world-shattering effects of environmental cataclysm and the struggle for power between two brothers.
Two brothers locked in a sibling rivalry wrestle for command of a massive nuclear submarine, The Absolution, in a near-future irrevocably altered by climate change. Chief Science Officer Liana Pearson finds herself not only caught between the Wilder brothers, but drowning in her fear of the surface world. When something alien infiltrates The Absolution and upends the balance of power, Liana is left with only two deadly options--reaching the toxic surface world or steering the sub into the unforgiving abyss and crush depth--Breathe Deep!
Two brothers locked in a sibling rivalry wrestle for command of a massive nuclear submarine, The Absolution, in a near-future irrevocably altered by climate change. Chief Science Officer Liana Pearson finds herself not only caught between the Wilder brothers, but drowning in her fear of the surface world. When something alien infiltrates The Absolution and upends the balance of power, Liana is left with only two deadly options--reaching the toxic surface world or steering the sub into the unforgiving abyss and crush depth--Breathe Deep!
Kindle Edition
Published September 30, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 2, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for the advanced copy.
I was drawn to this after reading a review that compared it The Thing, which happens to be my favorite horror film. Having now read it, I think that's an apt description. I'd also compare it to the movie The Cave (2005).
I like the glimpses of the future at the start of each issue, before we get into how that future happened. I do wish the author explained more about what happened in the past. There was some mysterious catastrophic climate issue that has left these people living on this submarine, looking for signs of life. What happened??? I thought at first maybe we were on another world but we're not given -anything- on what's happened to the surface world. I'd expect some dialogue at the very least but we get nothing.
I think more was put into this graphic novel visually than narratively. The art is great, with some really cool creature work that is like a slimier version of The Thing.
The ending wasn't bad but again I want more answers. It felt at times like things were cut or there were missing conversations happening as well, which I think was the missing info we don't get but that the author knows, so it's almost like have a conversation where it's assumed we know certain things we don't.
I'd read more of this though.
I was drawn to this after reading a review that compared it The Thing, which happens to be my favorite horror film. Having now read it, I think that's an apt description. I'd also compare it to the movie The Cave (2005).
I like the glimpses of the future at the start of each issue, before we get into how that future happened. I do wish the author explained more about what happened in the past. There was some mysterious catastrophic climate issue that has left these people living on this submarine, looking for signs of life. What happened??? I thought at first maybe we were on another world but we're not given -anything- on what's happened to the surface world. I'd expect some dialogue at the very least but we get nothing.
I think more was put into this graphic novel visually than narratively. The art is great, with some really cool creature work that is like a slimier version of The Thing.
The ending wasn't bad but again I want more answers. It felt at times like things were cut or there were missing conversations happening as well, which I think was the missing info we don't get but that the author knows, so it's almost like have a conversation where it's assumed we know certain things we don't.
I'd read more of this though.
November 24, 2025
8- The common opinion on Goodreads seems not to be in favor of this comic. I see mainly three star reviews. But I had a really good time reading this. While it isn't the most original story ('The Thing' is an obvious reference point and I had to think of SF-movie 'Life' as well), it was well executed. If the goal of horror fiction is to make you feel uneasy, squirm in your seat and flip the pages, then this book achieved it's goal. That is not an easy goal to reach for a graphic novel (for me) as I find horror works better for me in the written form, where it leaves room for my imagination to fill in the unknown. Many horrorstories in graphic novel format I find interesting but not scary. But this worked for me, maybe because it was written in such a way that as a reader you still have to let your imagination work, the raw art helping with that. The flashback structured helped with that, as did the unknowability of life above the oceans. This creates a claustrophobic atmosphere that I found really effective. Add to that that I love submarine stories (people living in close proximity pushed to their limits really makes for great drama) and stories that take place under water (there are hydrothermal vents here and giant squid, at least at the start) and this was a winner for me. The characters could have been given a bit more space to breathe and if there had been an issue extra the situation they find themselves could have been expanded upon. I had to think of 'Underwater' - a movie where the audience also doesn't get time to get to know the main characters before the action hits. I like that movie well enough, but a bit more connection to the protagonist would have made it even better.
So, I recognize it's not a new classic and I don't know if I will remember this story for a long time, but reading it I was at the edge of my seat, and that makes it worthwile for me.
So, I recognize it's not a new classic and I don't know if I will remember this story for a long time, but reading it I was at the edge of my seat, and that makes it worthwile for me.
June 27, 2025
What an interesting, action-packed submarine horror story!
With artwork equally beautiful and horrifying, this book tells the story of a crew that one by one starts turning into something terrifying after encountering another, wrecked, submarine. Set in a dystopian world, the authors have created an extremely interesting story that I'm eager to read more of! The characters are interesting, and the plot starts developing almost immediately, sucking you into the story as soon as you start flipping the pages. I believe you'd enjoy this if you're a fan of the Alien movie franchise!
Highly recommend to every horror lover, even if you don't usually tend to go for graphic novels! I'm excited for more volumes to come out, so I can binge them as soon as possible and see what happens next!
A huge thank you to NetGalley, Mad Cave Studios and the authors for sending me an ARC of this book!
With artwork equally beautiful and horrifying, this book tells the story of a crew that one by one starts turning into something terrifying after encountering another, wrecked, submarine. Set in a dystopian world, the authors have created an extremely interesting story that I'm eager to read more of! The characters are interesting, and the plot starts developing almost immediately, sucking you into the story as soon as you start flipping the pages. I believe you'd enjoy this if you're a fan of the Alien movie franchise!
Highly recommend to every horror lover, even if you don't usually tend to go for graphic novels! I'm excited for more volumes to come out, so I can binge them as soon as possible and see what happens next!
A huge thank you to NetGalley, Mad Cave Studios and the authors for sending me an ARC of this book!
June 24, 2025
Nick Cutter's The Deep meets Alien underwater in Crush Depth. This fast-paced horror graphic novel combines beautifully twisted art and a claustrophobic survival story, and it's a really fun read. This story has two of my favorite horror tropes: an extreme, isolated setting; and an unexplainable, monstrous entity slowly picking off the cast one by one. I would highly recommend Crush Depth to fans of horror graphic novels, as well as to readers who enjoy underwater horror, survival horror, and freaky monsters.
Thank you to NetGalley & Mad Cave Studios for the arc! All thoughts & opinions in the review are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley & Mad Cave Studios for the arc! All thoughts & opinions in the review are my own.
October 2, 2025
3.5 Stars
Review submitted to X @AdamReadsComics for MadCave Studios.
Review submitted to X @AdamReadsComics for MadCave Studios.
July 5, 2025
My thanks to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for an advance copy of this graphic novel that tells of a future where the surface of the planet Earth is something to be feared, where man has taken to the seas to live, and hopefully thrive, through something deep in the depths might have something to say about it.
For some reason the sea has become a recent fascination to me in all forms of media. I've always loved sea stories, Tom Clancy's Red October lead me to to stories about submarines, which lead to the past and ships of the line with Patrick O'Brian, and Alexander Kent being a few authors. However it is that which lives in the ocean I have become interested in, watching the new Ocean documentary, reading books about turtles, sharks and the creatures that live below, deep below the surface. What amazes me most is how much of a real final frontier it is under the sea. Scientists are constantly finding new things, new life, new civilizations of creatures working to survive. The sea recovers faster than we give it credit for, though we try to destroy it every way possible. Under the sea might be the only way we can continue to keep life on the surface. Though maybe what exists under the waves might not want to humans around any longer. Crush Depth is written by Tim Daniel and David "DB" Andry, with illustrations by Alex Sanchez and tells of a far ruined future Earth, the sea, voyages of discovery, and what deadly secrets they find.
The time is the future. The surface of Earth is something that scares Chief Science Officer Liana Pearson more than anything, a desolate hellscape ravaged by out of control pollution and climate change. Pearson is part of the crew of the Absolution a massive nuclear submarine that travels the oceans, looking for something to help the planet, one they haven't surfaced to see in years. Life is not all peaceful underwater as two brothers vie for control of the boat, making things a little tense. On Pearson's birthday the crew receives a distress call from a British submarine The Vehemence, a call they respond to, but are too late. However things don't look right. The sea is filled with bodies, but the wreck of the sub looks old, as do some of the corpses. Something strange is going on in the water. This strange moves into the submarine and soon things go from odd to deadly.
A claustrophobic thriller with many familiar tropes, but done well. The added climate element adds further problems to the crew, as they have no real sanctuary to flee to. The ship is the only thing keeping them alive, and if that falls, well game over man, to quote Aliens. The story starts quick and keeps moving, showing life on a sub, Pearson's fear of the surface, and the threat quickly, but not too quickly that is seems like plot dumping. The story again is a familiar one, but the addition of the sea, with lots of science and descriptions of life under the surface adds to the story. A nice mix of alien, body horror, Deep Star 6, a movie from my youth, and political fears of the future. The art is good, the technology seems lived in, and rendered well. The only problem I might have is it seems a little bright for being underwater. That is a minor quibble.
Fans of the ocean, claustrophobia, strange fish tales, and action will like this. A nice done in one story that could continue, but has a ending that should make readers wonder, in a good way. Not recommended for a beach read, but fun nonetheless.
For some reason the sea has become a recent fascination to me in all forms of media. I've always loved sea stories, Tom Clancy's Red October lead me to to stories about submarines, which lead to the past and ships of the line with Patrick O'Brian, and Alexander Kent being a few authors. However it is that which lives in the ocean I have become interested in, watching the new Ocean documentary, reading books about turtles, sharks and the creatures that live below, deep below the surface. What amazes me most is how much of a real final frontier it is under the sea. Scientists are constantly finding new things, new life, new civilizations of creatures working to survive. The sea recovers faster than we give it credit for, though we try to destroy it every way possible. Under the sea might be the only way we can continue to keep life on the surface. Though maybe what exists under the waves might not want to humans around any longer. Crush Depth is written by Tim Daniel and David "DB" Andry, with illustrations by Alex Sanchez and tells of a far ruined future Earth, the sea, voyages of discovery, and what deadly secrets they find.
The time is the future. The surface of Earth is something that scares Chief Science Officer Liana Pearson more than anything, a desolate hellscape ravaged by out of control pollution and climate change. Pearson is part of the crew of the Absolution a massive nuclear submarine that travels the oceans, looking for something to help the planet, one they haven't surfaced to see in years. Life is not all peaceful underwater as two brothers vie for control of the boat, making things a little tense. On Pearson's birthday the crew receives a distress call from a British submarine The Vehemence, a call they respond to, but are too late. However things don't look right. The sea is filled with bodies, but the wreck of the sub looks old, as do some of the corpses. Something strange is going on in the water. This strange moves into the submarine and soon things go from odd to deadly.
A claustrophobic thriller with many familiar tropes, but done well. The added climate element adds further problems to the crew, as they have no real sanctuary to flee to. The ship is the only thing keeping them alive, and if that falls, well game over man, to quote Aliens. The story starts quick and keeps moving, showing life on a sub, Pearson's fear of the surface, and the threat quickly, but not too quickly that is seems like plot dumping. The story again is a familiar one, but the addition of the sea, with lots of science and descriptions of life under the surface adds to the story. A nice mix of alien, body horror, Deep Star 6, a movie from my youth, and political fears of the future. The art is good, the technology seems lived in, and rendered well. The only problem I might have is it seems a little bright for being underwater. That is a minor quibble.
Fans of the ocean, claustrophobia, strange fish tales, and action will like this. A nice done in one story that could continue, but has a ending that should make readers wonder, in a good way. Not recommended for a beach read, but fun nonetheless.
August 25, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for the ARC copy of Crush Depth. This has not affected my review at all, which are my own thoughts.
In a future world that has been altered by extreme climate change, Liana Pearson, Chief Science Officer of a nuclear submarine, finds herself caught on a brotherly war, yet she'll go with anything as long as she can stay away from the surface. Yet, when the team finds a sunken ship and something other-ly infiltrates the submarine, Liana doesn't have many choices left; she can only go up to the toxic surface or down to the deep abyssal zones.
It's starting to look like Mad Cave publications are a hit or miss with me😂 This one disappointed me a bit more than others because I'm an avid fan of horror, even more nautical or deep sea horror, so I expected to like, or at least enjoy, this one. Which...wasn't the case.
Mainly, it was confusing at times, mostly, the actions scenes. The art style made it hard to truly know what actually was going on, or what the characters were doing. Also, either I'm dumb or the conversations were rather strange at times, 'cause I didn't understand what the characters meant :| Though, I'm gonna blame that one on me being a bit bored by the story and not paying too much attention😂
Good thing is, that the story was fast paced, jumping straight into the horror of it all and going to what actually mattered. I'll give it that AND Liana's character. I kept reading for her, to be honest. Her design, her personality and how she kept going no matter what.
And, you know what, let's go back to the art style topic. Because it frustrates me that it was confusing at times, when it mattered a lot to really comprehend the depth of the story and how characters action impacted the next events. Yet, at the calm moments, or even on isolated panels, and that cover, the art looks tremendously good. Like, there's a panel of Liana right at the start that make me pause for a second and think: "this is going to be SO good". Yet, it only went down after that :/
Overall, not that bad, just confusing😅 Don't think I'll recommend this one, but if anything of what I said makes y'all curious, go for it I say. Sci-fi deep sea horror with a determined protagonist and an epic fight for humanity
In a future world that has been altered by extreme climate change, Liana Pearson, Chief Science Officer of a nuclear submarine, finds herself caught on a brotherly war, yet she'll go with anything as long as she can stay away from the surface. Yet, when the team finds a sunken ship and something other-ly infiltrates the submarine, Liana doesn't have many choices left; she can only go up to the toxic surface or down to the deep abyssal zones.
It's starting to look like Mad Cave publications are a hit or miss with me😂 This one disappointed me a bit more than others because I'm an avid fan of horror, even more nautical or deep sea horror, so I expected to like, or at least enjoy, this one. Which...wasn't the case.
Mainly, it was confusing at times, mostly, the actions scenes. The art style made it hard to truly know what actually was going on, or what the characters were doing. Also, either I'm dumb or the conversations were rather strange at times, 'cause I didn't understand what the characters meant :| Though, I'm gonna blame that one on me being a bit bored by the story and not paying too much attention😂
Good thing is, that the story was fast paced, jumping straight into the horror of it all and going to what actually mattered. I'll give it that AND Liana's character. I kept reading for her, to be honest. Her design, her personality and how she kept going no matter what.
And, you know what, let's go back to the art style topic. Because it frustrates me that it was confusing at times, when it mattered a lot to really comprehend the depth of the story and how characters action impacted the next events. Yet, at the calm moments, or even on isolated panels, and that cover, the art looks tremendously good. Like, there's a panel of Liana right at the start that make me pause for a second and think: "this is going to be SO good". Yet, it only went down after that :/
Overall, not that bad, just confusing😅 Don't think I'll recommend this one, but if anything of what I said makes y'all curious, go for it I say. Sci-fi deep sea horror with a determined protagonist and an epic fight for humanity
August 26, 2025
Thanks to Mad Cave Studios and NetGalley for a copy of this arc.
Crush depth is a enjoyable take on a relatively familiar set of horror tropes.
Its quite a bit like The Thing.
For me thats a plus.
I don’t think every story needs to reinvigorate the wheel and there is enough bits of intriguing world building to make me feel somewhat invested.
I think ultimately we needed this to be a touch longer to truly be successful. We can identify that objectively this would be a scary situation to be in but our cast was to large for the limited page run.
I would have been pleased to have picked this up in my local comic book shop but if had come out in issues i don’t know if it would have made it to my pull list. I would have bought the trade though.
A fun quick read
Crush depth is a enjoyable take on a relatively familiar set of horror tropes.
Its quite a bit like The Thing.
For me thats a plus.
I don’t think every story needs to reinvigorate the wheel and there is enough bits of intriguing world building to make me feel somewhat invested.
I think ultimately we needed this to be a touch longer to truly be successful. We can identify that objectively this would be a scary situation to be in but our cast was to large for the limited page run.
I would have been pleased to have picked this up in my local comic book shop but if had come out in issues i don’t know if it would have made it to my pull list. I would have bought the trade though.
A fun quick read
June 26, 2025
Crush Depth follows a crew in a massive nuclear submarine, The Absolution. Due to climate change, there is uncertainty about the surface. Chief Science Officer Liana Pearson comes across something alien when the crew discovers another submarine and fights to survive.
I found the story a little hard to follow, but only because there were a lot of different characters. I also kept forget which brother was who. The artwork was vibrant! I like the gory details and the creature character design. I really liked Liana's character and I'm hoping to see how she manages to survive the surface!
Thank you, NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios, for the ARC.
I found the story a little hard to follow, but only because there were a lot of different characters. I also kept forget which brother was who. The artwork was vibrant! I like the gory details and the creature character design. I really liked Liana's character and I'm hoping to see how she manages to survive the surface!
Thank you, NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios, for the ARC.
March 26, 2025
This was pretty good. Not a lot is known about the world at the moment. Just what's been hinted to us. They have been underwater for almost a decade. Unable to find land or clean soil. So some kind of apocalyptic scenario must have happened. They haven't even had contact with other humans in years. I have so many questions. Especially about what was potentially just unearthed. I'm liking the series so far. Definitely grabbing more!
June 30, 2025
Thank you to Mad Cave Studios and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
3.25 stars.
A horror graphic novel set in a submarine, which is terrifying enough for me even without any monsters!
At times the story was a little confusing, and although the speech was crystal clear the artwork seemed to have a slightly blurry look to it which looked out of place.
But I thought the sense of horror was effectively conveyed, as were the creatures.
3.25 stars.
A horror graphic novel set in a submarine, which is terrifying enough for me even without any monsters!
At times the story was a little confusing, and although the speech was crystal clear the artwork seemed to have a slightly blurry look to it which looked out of place.
But I thought the sense of horror was effectively conveyed, as were the creatures.
July 6, 2025
Crush Depth is an ok comic. It is one of the few horror comics that I think would have benefited more if it was a traditional novel instead of a comic/graphic novel.
Disclaimer: I received this copy free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and free review.
Disclaimer: I received this copy free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and free review.
November 18, 2025
Just alright
Interesting premise that isn't fully realized and sputters out in a boring way in the last couple of issues. The art is okay, nothing special and is a bit muddy at times. No guided view which was a massive disappointment for a digital comic in 2025.
Interesting premise that isn't fully realized and sputters out in a boring way in the last couple of issues. The art is okay, nothing special and is a bit muddy at times. No guided view which was a massive disappointment for a digital comic in 2025.
December 28, 2025
A well worn story, predictable and very much ripped from a thousand different things, with the right art the tired story could be easily elevated, but the art in some places is rough and confusing, making this all just...ehhhhhhh
July 9, 2025
A dystopian environment where a submarine crew meets the Thing/Alien within an underwater adventure. Good characters with a very intriguing world. I'd love to see further explorations in this world.
August 20, 2025
Pretty much a B-rate version of "Alien", with added body horror, on a submarine. And near-identical twins, and art that struggles with the action… Two and a bit stars.
September 10, 2025
3 1/2 stars
February 1, 2026
Climate-change apocalypse survivors on a submarine respond to a distress call and find a new (or very old) life form that begins to mutate them. A suspenseful and creepy story.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews