This is my second book by Lemire and once again have been touched deeply by his story and characters. Lemire is fantastic at setting up the mood of the story from the start. You get the sense that something big is about to happen and immediately feel for the MC, hoping he will stay safe where nothing can harm him. In this case, it's the memories that bring Jack, our MC, into a downward spiral as the relationships in his life are being weighed down by his refusal to leave the past behind. The mem...

Jeff Lemire’s 2012 graphic novel The Underwater Welder is a somber, black and white study of loneliness, psychological fear and abandonment issues.On the surface, Nova Scotian oilrig welder Jack Joseph is a hard working blue-collar guy whose wife is expecting their first child. Under the surface, Jack is a mess of emotions as he reconciles his own expectations of fatherhood with his own complicated and troubled childhood, torn between divorced parents.Lemire uses Jack’s job to serve as a metapho...

The Underwater Welder reveals itself in layers. The introduction compares this book to an episode The Twilight Zone, and that's a fairly apt description. A deeply flawed character makes his way through a supernatural situation - it's Jeff Lemire's pacing that really sets the tone for this story. Although it doesn't experiment with narrative or paneling as much as his (in my opinion) masterpiece SWEET TOOTH, The Underwater Welder stands alone in expressing its vision. Often haunting, sometimes he...

One of the best GN I have read all year. Jack Joseph is an underwater welder who lost his treasure hunting father in a diving accident when he was a little boy. Jack starts to 'see' things about his past down below even as he prepares to become a father himself.

This comic is being marketed as “an un-aired episode of the Twilight Zone”, yet I am not sure this is the perfect description. It is mostly a story of memories, and letting go, with very little of the surreal actually being an important part of the tale. The best word to describe it would be “Lemire-esque”. It takes on his ephemeral stories with the mundane and un-normalcy of his art, making it just a bit magical but mostly centered on reality. In here we follow Jack Joseph, an underwater welder...

As a welder diving off an oil rig, Jack Joseph is well accustomed to the underwater pressure at the bottom of the ocean. He is less able to deal with the pressure of being soon to become a father. His deep dives seem to be tied to escaping his problems, but then things begin to happen. I don’t usually get on with graphic novels, but this one was quite special with the words and art work combining to great effect. Well worth the time!

Wow. This, along with Essex County, is Jeff Lemire's best work to date (maybe ever). Although I loved Essex County slightly more, this is still an absolutely brilliant, heartbreaking and heartfelt story, a deep examination of one person's relationship with himself, his dead father and his family. Incredible stuff.

I am not sure why others are not liking this book more. I think it is amazing, with terrific drawing and storytelling and depth. Have been reading Sweet Tooth, another father-son story from Lemire that is in a more dystopian setting. I really liked The Nobody. I liked Essex County, too, maybe his best work that I have read from him. But this is also great, pretty consistent tone with Essex, an indication of his potential extending even more, maybe. Why do I like this so much? Is it because I am

I enjoyed this book, but in the end I was left with an empty feeling like one induced by the many wordless panels. The artwork was good (black and white with occasional touches of gray), but not so spectacular that I was mesmerized for full minutes by it and the story lacks the depth that I was expecting. ** SPOILERS **I see that people try to find some deep meaning and hidden clues of brilliance. For me, it was quite simple. Jack is unable to accept his father's death and lives his life mechani...

Jeff Lemire is awesome. This is bittersweet, ethereal, but still somehow ending on a high note. I always open an indie Lemire book and think, great, black and white. Because I'm really into a good colorist. Then a few pages in I think, I'm an ass, this is awesome, and it clearly creates an appropriate tone of minimalism which complements the writing. Just great stuff.

I would be thankful for the gifts that were given, I will not turn my back on the past, You should not resent me for moving forward, I cannot rectify all the things that went bad for you.I cannot move where these four walls surround me, Even though it may be right for you, I cannot see through another man's eyes, I will not walk in my father's shoes.This graphic novel is a beautifully rendered maritime mystery that speaks volumes about the often fraught relationships between fathers and sons. It...

The waves are high and the sunset's redSo now it's time to go to bedThe tide is up and the wind does ripBut this old ship`ll never tipWe're far at sea, days from landBut if you're scared just take my handJust hold on tight boy-o-mineIn arms you'll be just fineThe moon is full, the sea is deepAnd we rock and rock and rock to sleep Brilliant, Deep, Soulful, most importantly human and so real...Jeff Lemire`s The Underwater Welder is the story of Jack.33 years old Jack Joseph is an underwater wel

Jack Joseph is used to the pressures of diving deep beneath the surface of land thanks to his career as an underwater welder, but the immense pressure of impending fatherhood is beginning to crush him. As he tries to swim away from his self doubts, memories of the past rise to the surface and threaten to suffocate him. Can he escape from the irresponsible path of his alcoholic father who instilled in him a love for the deep seas, or is he doomed to fail his wife and child just like his father on...

Jack Joseph has a wife with a baby on the way and a job welding pipes underwater for an oil rig off the coast of Nova Scotia in the small town he grew up in. Things should be great - good job, happy family - but Jack's haunted by the disappearance of his father 20 years ago who went diving one night during Hallowe'en and never returned. His dreams have seeped over from the night into the daytime and under the sea, welding pipes, he begins to see and hear things from those dreams. And lately his

There are two Jeff Lemires. There's the one who writes the adventures of corporate-owned superhero comics. That one does serviceable, often entertaining work. And there's the one that writes and draws stories about his own original characters. That one does brilliant work, like , , and this graphic novel.Lemire's art at first seems crude and minimalist, but as you read, you become sucked into the storytelling. The artwork gives you just what you need to both follow the story, to fire you...

I thought this was good. What does it take for a man to realize his wife and soon to be baby are worth his time and he can't keep running away from them. It appears he has to go through something a little similar to what his dad went through before he disappeared. The black and white story tells a heavy story about trying to get your life in order. The man is stuck in the past waiting for his dad and he's missing his present. I thought this was a good and interesting story. I did think there wou...

Memory is a beast, savage and merciless. It bites and tears and conquers. Its armory storehouse is not filled with inconsequentialities but with the things that stick—with barbs and teeth and talons more often than not. Certainly memory can be a rewarder, but only capriciously so. Do I remember my first kiss? I do. But not in the fidelity of colour and texture and temperature and tone that such a moment should deserve. Do I remember where things went wrong with that girl, so long ago? I do. And

This is what a graphic novel should be. A brilliant story, fleshed-out characters, deep emotions and great art that captures the mood of the story and the character's feelings. While diving, Jack, an underwater welder on a deep sea oil rig, sees and hears strange things. These strange occurrences seem to be related with his fear of becoming a father in a few weeks, and with his own childhood. Jack becomes obsessed with this strange experiences and with his repressed memories of his own father. W...

As Jack is about to become a father for the first time, his memories go back to his father. As the story progresses, Jack tries to find a way to reconcile the past so that he can live his future. This is a wonderful story of how guilt, pain, confusion and regret from the past can threaten and possibly destroy our futures if we don't face them. How can we move forward if our past holds us back and makes us afraid? Wonderfully told story with wonderful graphics that show the turmoil of Jack's thou...

Another elegant Jeff Lemire story and a great read for Father's Day. This book confronts the fears and insecurities of fatherhood in the poignant tale of a man struggling to piece together the mysterious disappearance of his father years ago, an event he hasn't fully come to grips with and one that affects his feelings about being a new father himself. It's sincere and nostalgic, with the grace we've come to expect from Lemire's independent work. Happy Father's Day!