Apparently it's not enough for Geoff Johns to swoop in and make writing a compelling Aquaman yarn look like child's play. He also has to prove that it's perfectly possible to toss an entire team full of essentially new characters at readers and make these readers fall in love with them after a handful of issues. This is a book that makes good on all the promise the New 52 offered.
More flashbacks in this issue shed light on the early days of Atlantis, its first king, and how all of that ties into Aquaman's revamped origin. The scope of the series is getting bigger all the time, yet never does it feel like Johns is losing sight of his characters or the very personal grudge between Arthur and Black Manta. New developments this month suggest that the series is only going to get bigger and more unpredictable after this current conflict wraps up.
Johns focuses more attention on the present-day incarnation of The Others in this issue. It's interesting to see how these characters interact with Aquaman and respond to his status as a Justice League member. Their jealousy is an amusing counterpoint to the constant "Aquaman is lame" jokes that were flying in the first arc. Johns offers up some memorable character work for characters like Vostok and The Prisoner (who makes for a much better Unknown Soldier than the one currently seen in G.I. Combat). It's impressive how much life Johns is able to breathe into these characters despite their limited dialogue and screen presence.
Ivan Reis and his collaborators shine quite a bit in this issue, despite there being three inkers. For the most part, the inking duties are divided in such a way that the pages play to each artist's strength. Andy Lanning's bold lines crop up in pages where clear, detailed figure work is required. Joe Prado's inks, meanwhile, enhance the more ethereal and underwater scenes. Unfortunately, Jonathan Glapion's inks don't seem to complement Reis' pencils as well as the other two. The standout sequence this month is an aerial drop that recalls the expert framing of Superman's plummet in the climax of Johns and Gary Frank's Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes.
See? Aquaman is as cool as Superman. In the right hands, at least.
Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and various other IGN channels. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.
Source : ign[dot]com
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