[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Dan Abnett
Illustrator: Riccardo Federici
Colorist: Sunny Gho
Summary
Aquaman and Commander Murk take the fight strait to Corum Rath, but to their surprise Rath is no longer a man. Having given himself to the Abyssal Dark magic Rath has become a monster with incredible power. Murk and Aquaman are forced to retreat after Murk is severely injured.
Down in the Catacombs, Vulko and Dolphin try to get the help of the Shades, ghosts that have sworn to protect Atlantis. Unfortunately, they tell Vulko as long as Rath is King, they can do nothing since the King is Atlantis. Rath’s forces led by Kadaver attack Vulko and Dolphin.
Aquaman leads a new attack on Rath only to find out the true power of the Abyssal Dark.
Positives
As always, Federici’s artwork and Gho’s colors really elevate the issue to a cinematic quality. The artwork so completely absorbs the reader into the story that you cringe when Murk gets injured.
When the Shades realize that Rath has given himself to the Abyssal Dark, Abnett finds a creative loophole that enables them to do something.
Negatives
For the issue, my only real complaint is that we were told and not shown the Shades taking on Kadaver and his men. This is not only a no-no in writing, but it really made the story hit a speed bump as the reader tries to figure out what happened. I can only assume it was written this way so we can see them at work for the first time in the final battle, but it still made the flow of storytelling a bit jarring.
Verdict
A nice action-packed issue with a interesting reveal about the Shades. Ultimately, however, this entire arc is beginning to be redundant: attack Rath, fail, retreat, repeat. This storyline needs to come to an end soon or it won’t be worth remembering down the line.
