North Air Entertainment, a production company designed to develop and produce entertaining properties for TV and film, recently made its first foray into the comic book world with Shake the Lake #1. Part Lords of Dogtown and part American Pie, the comic book series dives deep into the sport of wakeboarding – a new territory for comic books to be sure – and focuses on the wild and raucous activities of a handful of its participants as they hit the waves and navigate a path for an endless summer.
Shake the Lake follows a group of college-aged friends as they forgo adult responsibilities in favor of non-stop partying and the exhilaration of wakeboarding. When their devil-may-care ways result in the loss of relationships and their housing, the group decides that the next-best course of action is a road trip to a lake-side town, where they will garner jobs for the summer in the local marina. The first issue, written by Zach Block and Machi Block, introduces the various “bros” within the group, some of whom are attempting to segue into adulthood while others are content to party hard with little care for much else. While the dialogue may be a bit stilted at times, it may be more welcome to a teen reading audience that would be more drawn to the antics of the wakeboarding crew. Similar to films like Blue Crush (2002), the story is heavily focused on the fun-in-the-sun activities and camaraderie of its protagonists.
The artwork of the series by Diego Lopez Mata and Andrea Lopez Mata is bright and photo-realistic with a strong digital feel. Although the series is geared towards a young-adult audience, there are quite a few scantily clad young women which may appeal to some younger readers (with parental permission). The artists clearly have talent with facial depictions and coloring; however, there are times when the characters appear to be heavily influenced by photo reference material.
Shake the Lake will be a three-part comic book series from North Air Entertainment, and the first issue is currently available through the official website digitally and in print. If you’re a fan of surf movies, carefree days at the beach, and the antics of a group of friends determined to make the most of the summer, be sure to give Issue #1 a try!
