At issue #3, the train just keeps on moving.
What They Say:
The secret of the Trench revealed! Where did these cannibalistic sea creatures come from? What fuels their monstrous hunger? Why have they chosen now to invade the surface world? To unravel the mystery of the Trench, Aquaman must seek help from the last person on Earth he ever wanted to see again.
The Review:
If you felt the fight between Aquaman, Mera and the Trench was too short in the last issue due to its sheer awesomeness, this issue doesn’t disappoint. The fight continues right where it left off and concludes within just six pages, but how the fight is handled is superb. The artwork is so clean and detailed that I was able to get completely lost in reading it. That is the power of good writing. Despite the traditional American comics framework of the panels where the motion is blocky instead of fluid, I was able to feel suspense and excitement. That’s because panels aren’t wasted here, they are constructed to have to most impact and detail the story requires.
Once the fight is over we get a splash of character development in Arthur. It is short and subtle but speaks volumes as to the direction Geoff Johns is taking the character. Aquaman just spent pages worth of kicking ass and being awesome, saving human lives and defending the city from these monsters; and yet the public (in this case, police officers) still think of him as second tier and offers to put in a good word for him. Arthur doesn’t snap back or have any sort of reaction. He is just tired. He’s tired of hearing about people thinking negatively about him, he’s tired of trying to prove himself, he just wants to still do the right thing regardless of people’s opinions. That level of integrity is fantastic to see in a character that could easily have been written to be angry at the world and super angsty, thank goodness for small miracles.
The second half of the book deals with Arthur visiting Mr. Shin, a man who helped Arthur learn his powers as a child but turned on him when Arthur wouldn’t take him to Atlantis. The purpose of the visit it simply to have an expert examine the body of one of the Trench that was killed in the fight to figure what it is and possibly where it came from. Like everything else in both this issue and series, Johns and Reis know just how long to spend on each part of the story. It never outstays its welcome but is never so short it feels pointless.
In Summary:
Not a whole lot really happens in this issue that progresses and deepens the plot of this story arc aside from a little information that will help Arthur and Mera find the creatures. But a lot happens that enriches the world of this new Aquaman and provides just a taste of his background to cement this new legacy. Johns is building the world from scratch, and by dropping these little hints we can pull from previous Aquaman lore and define the new world in the post-Flashpoint universe. To Johns’ credit, this doesn’t alienate new readers either. It doesn’t assume we know anything but doesn’t spell everything out for us. I don’t know about you but that’s something I love in my entertainment.
Grade: A-
Readers Rating: [ratings]
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