Aquaman #1 Review

About.com Rating 4 Star Rating

User Rating 4 Star Rating (2 Reviews) write a review

By Aaron Albert, About.com Guide

Aquaman #1

DC Comics

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Introduction:

Aquaman has long been seen by many as the lame duck of the DC Universe. He could swim fast, talk to fish….and that was about it. His powers were a bit lackluster, he was remanded to the sea, and just didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the Justice League. Episodes of Superfriends didn’t help either. Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis are seeking to change that image in the latest incarnation of Aquaman, part of The New 52 lineup.

Vitals

Title: Aquaman
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Ivan Reiss
Inker: Joe Prado
Colors: Rod Reis
Letters: Nick J. Napolitano
Content: Aquaman is rated for teen readers and older. It has violence, action, and some intense scenes.
Publisher: DC Comics
Cost: $2.99

Story:

The king of Atlantis roams the streets of Boston, just in time to stop a robbery. The police on the scene and the robbers themselves just can’t seem to believe their eyes. Aquaman kicked some butt.

The scene shifts to a harbor dive and Aquaman is paying a visit. He endures the grilling of a local blogger, ribbing him for being the laughing stock of the superhero world. Aquman is not impressed and leaves before a bad situation is made worse.

The half breed son of a human man and Atlantean woman feels he has no place in either world, looked down upon by man and creature of the sea. He decides to make a place on land with his consort Mera and it would look like it is none too soon as a menace to the surface world has just awoken from a trench deep in the Atlantic Ocean.

Review:

When I was looking over the titles from The New 52, I had wondered which comics would make the cut to the first lineup and which would be left behind. DC has made some interesting moves by having their “Dark” line and some titles that one might not think worthy of their own series. Aquaman has had a rocky history in his own mag so I was interested to see what they would do with the character, who would be attached to helm the ship, and if it would fly. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.

This version of Aquaman sees him much more powerful than my reckoning being much stronger and durable than before. When bullets bounce off of him and he can leap over buildings, you know there has been an upgrade. Johns did a great job of making him more powerful but not over the top.

The thing that really drew me in was how Johns knows the kind of joke Aquaman has become and spins that right into the comic book. No one is giving the king of Atlantis a break, from the cops he saves to the blogger that he runs into at the restaurant. Aquaman bristles from the jokes, but doesn’t rise to squish the people he protects. I really liked the play upon how we perceive this character and how Johns is working that into the story as well as how he is working to change that perception. It really worked for me and I was glad to see Aquaman restored to being a true hero.

It looks like DC is really bringing in their big guns to give this book a chance and I have to say I think it worked for me. It was a great hook and I found this comic more interesting than some of the other titles featuring Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman from The New 52.

Conclusion:

You might think that Aquaman is a title that you could just pass by and not miss anything. I would disagree as this comic really has a lot going for it. It will be very interesting to see where Johns and Reiss takes this as they seem to be pumping on all cylinders with the great art, storyline, and character development. Of the titles I have read so far from The New 52, I have actually enjoyed this one right near the top of the list. Check it out.

User Reviews

4 out of 5

The plot is what now?, Member Justin_other

What is the plot for this story? Aquaman stops an armored truck heist and then heads to the local seafood restaurant for some grub. I'm not even joking that is actually the plot. I tried to tell someone I enjoyed this but his skepticism was defined by the simple statement of ""yeah but it's Aquaman"". He asked me what happens in the comic so I told him the plot. He thought I was joking and I never did convince him otherwise. Stopping an armored truck heist is a bit of a cliche in comics (right up there with a building on fire, a bank robbery or a mugging in a back alley) but I'm guessing this was to show that even as a fish out of water Aquaman is still powerful. I mean reading a comic that starts with a high speed chase who thinks it's going to be AQUAMAN coming to the rescue. You'd think the smaller crises to start the story off , if there was one, would be more along the lines of Aquaman VS pirates or a boat with overcrowded human cargo. I can hear Aquaman complaining to his agent right now ""I was promised water on my first adventure chum. By Neptune's beard what went wrong?"" The whole restaurant scene was hilarious. It's very tongue in cheek. Within the humor it's dialed back and you can tell that they are trying to bring out more of the human side of Arthur Curry Aquaman and less of the royal king of the high seas Aquaman. This also shows with the decision for life direction Aquaman makes at the end of the comic. I was going to buy this comic anyways because I have been a fan of Aquaman since Peter David did his amazing run on the character. I always think of him as the Tarzan of the sea. He is raised by dolphins and he is master of his environment, but really the types of stories he is in don't work as well with a plot of vigilante crime fighting and costumed villains. I knew the art would be great and I was not disappointed. A lot of the new 52 has really let me down overall so this was a pleasant surprise. I'm still on the fence though because this is only the first issue. Will Johns continue to make him interesting? Will DC continue to have a good creative team on this book? Or will the writer/artists move on? Will the old character but new series push be gone and then the audience loses interest so the series is killed? This often happens with Aquaman and second tier characters like him. (Those are a lot of questions, and time will only tell, but the real question is when is Aquaman going to start his own sit com and when is Black Manta going to try to blow up his mail box? Oh Black Manta....(computer search for Brave and the Bold Aquaman sitcom if you don't know what that means). No matter this comic as a stand alone issue was a very enjoyable read and I will be picking up the second issue to see what happens next (hint: There is terror coming from the deep.).

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