The mermaid’s vehicle is badly damaged, but she finds a deep cavern full of water. Will she have enough time here to make repairs and figure out where she must go next? Find out in The Last Mermaid #2 from Image Comics!

THE LAST MERMAID #2

Writer: Derek Kirk Kim
Artist: Derek Kirk Kim
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: April 3, 2024

Previously in The Last Mermaid: The story opens on a desert planet near the ruins of a suspension bridge. The sand blows off a buried mech unit inside of which is the mermaid and her axolotl, Lottie. The toxicity level of the water in their unit is dangerously high and climbing. They must search for water. Lottie points the way toward a rocky canyon. They make their way there and jump their vehicle in. The water toxicity continues to rise. The mermaid sees a creature, possible food, and chases it, but then they get caught in a rockslide.

PEACE AND RESPITE

The Last Mermaid #2 opens with a panel showing a tiny seedling growing. The mermaid wakes up to find her vehicle, the HAVC, broken and the water level low. She reaches for the controls and jumps the HAVC. It lands near the seedling and another jump takes it down further where it lands in water.

Water pours into the HAVC, and the mermaid can breathe comfortably again. She leaves the vehicle to swim, as does Lottie. They take a moment to look around. This is the largest water cave they have found yet, and it is considerable. There are even fish here, which she hunts for food, as well as finding underwater worms for Lottie. She is surprised that this cavern has been left alone and has not been claimed by a gang of mutants.

She looks back at the HAVC and sees just how big the hole from the rockslide is. She must repair it. But looking around, she sees other units that have fallen here. She can probably find a replacement for that part. She settles in to do repairs.

Days pass, but she is able to fix the HAVC and bring it back online with good water quality. She also finds lots of seashells. She and Lottie like this area, and she considers giving up their quest and just settling down here. Then Lottie finds some strange worms that don’t pull loose from the sand. And when the mermaid picks up a shell, she finds a bone instead…

HIDDEN SECRETS

Right from the start, the art of The Last Mermaid #2 reminds us of how hot and dry this world is. The mermaid is alive, but barely. The golden glow of the sunlight and the droplets of sweat on her face highlight her desperation, which is also shown beautifully in her facial expressions. Desperate times call for desperate measures. To stay here is to die, so she moves, not knowing where she will end up. All she can do is hope. And she is lucky.

The underwater scenes are lovely even though this is a cave. The water here is not crystal clear, and we see that through the art. It uses light effects and small amounts of blurring to give that impression while not obscuring the scenes. This is an underwater cavern, after all. I also liked seeing the mermaid go hunting. She can camouflage herself, blending into her background sort of like an octopus does, which is a creative touch. I do like the sinister touch of finding other vehicles which have crashed in this location. It makes us wonder whether this cave is really asidyllic as it first seems.

BOTTOM LINE: EXPLORER IN AN UNFAMILIAR LAND

In the Last Mermaid #2, we see that the mermaid is a resourceful character. As we learn more of the dangers of this world, we wonder what her mission is and why she is so driven to pursue it.

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