The jokes are unfounded, and the hatred unjust. Aquaman is awesome and Geoff Johns is here to set the record straight!
What They Say:
Aquaman has renounced the throne of Atlantis–but the sea will not release Arthur Curry so easily. Now, from a forgotten corner of the ocean emerges the Trench! A broken race of creatures that should not exist, an unspeakable need driving them, the Trench will be the most talked-about new characters in the DC Universe!
The Review:
Of all the superheroes, DC and Marvel alike, no one has received the brunt of jokes and ridicule more than Aquaman. We all know the jokes and most of us have made the comments ourselves. The truth is, for me at least, Aquaman has been awesome since 1994 when he grew a beard and lost his hand. Since then, Aquaman comics have increased the action level and intricacy of the drama to make a very solid character that deserves more love than he gets. I don’t pretend that people don’t like Aquaman because of his Silver Age years or the old cartoons. I don’t pretend that a lot of people won’t give Aquaman a chance to be awesome because of the stigma; and neither does Geoff Johns.
The relaunch of Aquaman is extremely solid! This book contains minimal back story on the King of Seas, a scene of him saving the day, a thoughtful conversation with his wife, Mera, and the start to an arc featuring some seriously evil creatures. It has everything I could’ve wanted in a first issue! The genius behind this issue though is in the self-aware commentary that Johns adds to the dialogue. Everyone Aquaman encounters in this book talks to him like he’s a nobody. They make the same comments and jokes that people have made about Aquaman for decades, and it pisses off Aquaman! It pisses him off because he knows that he is none of those things, he knows all the deeds he has done over the years. Johns also uses this space, and Aquaman’s dialogue, to put to rest the most common misconception about him, that he ‘talks’ to fish. These exchanges and clarifications immediately squash the predisposition people have about Aquaman. It also does it in a way that shows that Aquaman IS a capable hero, that he IS worthy of being an A-list character, that he IS a complex character with tons of potential that people should be reading about.
The artwork in this book is also completely amazing. It is extremely clean and detailed with a surprisingly adept use of action. The action scenes still aren’t manga amazing but they are handled much better than most American superhero comics. The book may not really suck you into the story but it does give us a character that is worth reading about. That is the most important thing, the character. By addressing stigma and competently battling that stigma, Johns has given Aquaman a clean slate. A clean slate and a promising story that will not only have him battle flesh eating creatures of the deep but develop Aquaman’s character into someone real and worthy.
In Summary:
There really isn’t anything I can say in a short summary that I haven’t already said in the main review. So here’s the short of it, the piece of information I hope everyone takes: Aquaman IS awesome, Aquaman IS cool, and this new series should quickly put to rest those misconceptions everyone has. I’m not guaranteeing everyone will like or love this book, but give it chance. It will at least change how you view the King of the Seas, Aquaman.
Grade: A
