Aquaman #4 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (writer), Ivan Reis (penciller), Joe Prado & Eber Ferreira (inkers), Rod Reis (colorist)

The Story: Hey, Trench—your mama’s so fat, she cuts herself and calls it rare!  Booyah.

The Review: As relatively civilized beings, we impose some standards of morality upon ourselves, one we in our lily-handed society can easily adhere to.  But when the wheel turns and our survival is at stake, it’s perhaps unsurprising that all those rules and ethics tend to go out the window.  For some people, the sacrifice is a no-brainer; an impure heart is easier to nurse when you’re not dead.  For others, prioritizing life and principle can be a finger-chewing exercise.

Arthur easily falls into the latter category, which makes sense given his royal heritage—you know, “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown” and all that.  As former king of Atlantis, he probably had to make all kinds of decisions which affected scads of lives at a time, and so he does here.  Even though he no longer acts for the Atlanteans, he has another race of people to think of, so it’s inevitable that he had to “seal” the Trench’s fate for good.

Although Aquaman has to do some quick soul-searching to deliberate what his course of action toward the Trench should be, Mera spares no tears.  Johns has really played up her warrior’s gait since he took over the character, and while that’s certainly made her into a very compelling character, it also poses a risk of making her too strident.  Her black-and-white perspective on what to most of us would be debatable issue (“They’re primitive.  Unintelligent.”) may drive a wedge between her and her husband in later, even grayer conflicts.

Besides, her view of the Trench as “mindless creatures” is just patently wrong.  While their behavior definitely lacks subtlety, their needs are simple: preserve themselves at all costs.  Johns does a remarkably good job showing how endangered their species is.  Seeing all those sick, mutated, inbred Trench infants floating dead in a dark cavern actually does fill you with both repulsion and pity.  “Survival of the fittest” may be nature’s mantra, but it’s a cruel one, indeed.

WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Daredevil #7 – What a nice change of pace this issue was!  It featured an injured Matt Murdock stranded in a snowstorm with a bunch of blind kids.  You have to take some leaps of faith on the story (i.e. Why how has DD thrived in NYC all these years if snow is his mortal enemy?), but it was touching and uplifting to see Matt/DD doing something very out of the norm for a superhero.  The art was also incredible.  As much as everyone is talking about “Mark Waid’s Daredevil run…”, they should really be giving at least as much credit to Paolo Rivera and the now departed Marcos Martin.  They’ve had just as much to do with the new, lighter tone of the book.

Most Anticipated: American Vampire #22 – After a three-issue flashback story arc that some reviewers didn’t love (but I thought was quite good), we go back to “normal” with a story arc set in the 1950’s.  Rafael Albuquerque is back on art!  Yay!  And I can’t wait to see how Scott Snyder is using he batch of characters from the WWII arcs.  Will it be the same vampires we’ve come to know and love?  Will the humans be old by now?  What’ll be new in the world of vampires?  Can’t wait!

Other Picks: Spaceman #3, The Unwritten #32.5, Witch Doctor: Resuscitation One-Shot, Secret Avengers #20, Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #8

DS’ Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Daredevil #7 – I have to say I quite enjoyed Waid’s interludish Daredevil #7 of the blind leading the blind pulling the blind. Well worth checking out.

Most Anticipated: Warlord of Mars #14 – I’d been hoping for a Barsoom book last week, but I guess I was just impatient. This week, we’re into the second installment of the Gods of Mars in Warlord of Mars #14. Carter and Tars Tarkas together in the valley of death!

Other Picks: Captain America and Bucky #625, Captain America #6, The Mighty Thor #9, Uncanny X-Men #3, X-Men Legacy #260, Captain Victory #2

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: PunisherMAX #20 – While it was tempting to give the title to this week’s issue of Invincible Iron Man, PunisherMAX was ultimately just the better comic.  A gripping read throughout with disturbing and psychological character-work mesh with brutal and amazingly choreographed action.

Most Anticipated: Spaceman #3 – Normally I trade-wait when it comes to minis, but last week I caved on Spaceman and picked up the first couple of issues.  While it certainly will appeal more to some readers than others, I truly love this book.  Azzarello and Risso have grafted a fantastic world here, a dirty, dystopian future that has a distinctively “European comics” feel.  A fantastic book and one where writer and artist carry equal loads.

Other Picks: I, Vampire #4, Uncanny X-Men #3,  The Flash #4, Captain America #5, Captain America #6, American Vampire #22, FF #13, Aquaman #4, Mighty Thor #9