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The Internal Sea
Mare Internum
Colorist Der-shing Helmer / Edited by Adrian F. Wassel / Illustrated by Der-shing Helmer / Letterer Der-shing Helmer
Published by Vault Comics
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
Table of Contents
About The Book
Journey to the Center of the Earth meets Ghosts of Mars in the supernatural science fiction mystery on Mars, THE INTERNAL SEA: Mare Internum where the divide between the living and the dead is more transparent – and delicate – than humanity ever suspected.
Life on Mars…
No man is an island entire of itself, but Dr. Michael Fisher, a disgraced planetary geologist living on Mars, has never felt more isolated. The situation worsens when both he and Dr. Bex Egunsola, the station's newest biologist, accidentally break through the floor of an unstable lava tube into an ancient subterranean world... and they are not alone.
Is this purgatorial abyss a prison or a sanctuary? Genuine or constructed? How thin runs the line between life and death? And is there a chance for the fallen to return to the world of the living?
For fans of: Terra Formars (Yu Sasuga), The Weatherman (Jody LeHeup/Nathan Fox), The Space Between (Corinna Bechko/Danny Luckert), DUNE: House Astreides, The Martian Chronicles (Ray Bradbury), Sentient, Mars, Inc. (Ben Bova), The Strange (Nathan Ballingrud), Doom 3: Worlds on Fire (Matthew Costello), The MARS Trilogy (Kim Stanley Robinson), The Expanse, The Martian, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Red Rising , 2001: A Space Odyssey, Ghosts of Mars, The Expanse, The Martian, Scavengers Reign, Red Planet, and The Haunting of Hill House.
Written, illustrated, colored, and lettered by Eisner-nominated and critically-acclaimed writer/artist/editor Der-shing Helmer, The Internal Sea: Mare Internum, was an acclaimed webcomic that ran 2015-2019.
Life on Mars…
No man is an island entire of itself, but Dr. Michael Fisher, a disgraced planetary geologist living on Mars, has never felt more isolated. The situation worsens when both he and Dr. Bex Egunsola, the station's newest biologist, accidentally break through the floor of an unstable lava tube into an ancient subterranean world... and they are not alone.
Is this purgatorial abyss a prison or a sanctuary? Genuine or constructed? How thin runs the line between life and death? And is there a chance for the fallen to return to the world of the living?
For fans of: Terra Formars (Yu Sasuga), The Weatherman (Jody LeHeup/Nathan Fox), The Space Between (Corinna Bechko/Danny Luckert), DUNE: House Astreides, The Martian Chronicles (Ray Bradbury), Sentient, Mars, Inc. (Ben Bova), The Strange (Nathan Ballingrud), Doom 3: Worlds on Fire (Matthew Costello), The MARS Trilogy (Kim Stanley Robinson), The Expanse, The Martian, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Red Rising , 2001: A Space Odyssey, Ghosts of Mars, The Expanse, The Martian, Scavengers Reign, Red Planet, and The Haunting of Hill House.
Written, illustrated, colored, and lettered by Eisner-nominated and critically-acclaimed writer/artist/editor Der-shing Helmer, The Internal Sea: Mare Internum, was an acclaimed webcomic that ran 2015-2019.
About The Illustrator
Der-shing Helmer is the Eisner-nominated and Ignatz-award winning independent science-fantasy and educational comic artist from the CA Bay Area, now based in the San Diego Area. Der-shing is currently the Managing Editor at Vault Comics. She is a self-taught artist, and has a biology degree from UC Berkeley as well as a formal background in secondary science education.
Product Details
- Publisher: Vault Comics (September 9, 2025)
- Length: 320 pages
- ISBN13: 9781638492986
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): The Internal Sea Fixed Layout eBook 9781638492986