[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Dan Abnett
Artist: Scott Eaton and Phillipe Briones
Inker: Wayne Faucher
Summary
Mera and Arthur stand around and have a chat. Corum Rath and Urcell also sit around and have a chat. The elder council gathers them all together and guess what? They have a talk (see what I did there) and decisions are made. Regardless of how that sounds, it is not remotely boring. The great political drama of 2017 is not on land, but deep in the depths.
Positives
In Kurt Vonnegut’s masterpiece Slaughterhouse Five, which was published in the 1970s, he proved his genius by having one throw away scene where someone has a bumper sticker on his car that predicts that Ronald Regan would, in fact, run for President again in 1980. Dan Abnett must have inherited Vonnegut’s time machine because less than a week after the current President of the United states withdrew from the Paris Climate Accords, Mr. Abnett has his hero state:
“I have done nothing but serve Atlantis. I have fought for peace. I have battled ignorance. I have championed understanding. Unless Atlantis engages with the surface nations and gains recognition as a vital and important power, then it will be lost.”
…and his villain, aptly surnamed Rath, state:
“My first act is to safeguard our nation and isolate it from the surface enemies.”
Holy crap! That is pretty amazing. How did you know sir? Seriously. Wow. What else do you know?
The artists have a lot to do even though there is a lot of standing around. I am on the record as stating that I feel artists really show their mastery by showing heroes clad in spandex standing still. When these muscled up monsters are forced to emote and use body language that is not screaming “fight me!” artists have their hands full. All comic nerds dreamed of drawing massive battles, but the real story telling happens between the fights. The art team owns it this month.
Negatives
I have to be honest and say that almost everything I love about this book is what most super hero fans will dislike about it. This is a bit like Vertigo under the sea. I love it, but I can see how that will not be a big hit with some readers.
Mera is window dressing in this issue. I am not a fan of that. Mera is WAY more than that and while she makes a mad dash at the end, I just think she was treated with kid gloves here. I hope that does not become a trend.
Verdict
That last panel is pretty amazing. If you have not read Aquaman before, you need to start right now.
