Aquaman #5 – Review

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

The Story: Hey, Aquaman—talk about a fish out of water, huh?  …Please don’t kill me.

The Review: As a longtime reader of Johns’ work, I’m always amazed at the difference in effect his stories have depending on whether you read it in serial or in trade.  On an issue-by-issue basis, his writing often feels like two or three months pass before you really get anywhere in the plot.  When you put it all together, however, you discover how deliberate and strong his writing can be.  There just seems to be a slightly unfortunate conflict between his style and the medium.

And then you get issues like this one, where by some inspiration, Johns manages to craft a tight, rich story that can stand alone, leaving you satisfied at the end.  Perhaps this is by virtue of the plot itself; this issue acts as an epilogue for the first arc and a prologue for the next, so it feels less obviously like a part of a story, and more of a complete story of its own.

Maybe it’s the terrific pacing Johns delivers to the issue.  The opening, with Aquaman falling out of the clear blue sky and then crashing into the desert, definitely starts things off with a bang.  When you see him emerge from the crater he created, blade piercing clear through his thigh, the tension is already thick, and that sets a strong tone for the rest of the issue.

Among other habits, Johns tends to be very straightforward with his pacing, giving you a long chunk of action, then following it up with a swath of exposition.  This is a tried-and-true strategy, obviously, but it’s refreshing when he goes for something a little different.  Here, he breaks up the story not only by cutting between past and present, but also by interspersing the action and exposition in regular intervals, all of which makes for a much livelier, balanced read.

WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Batman #5 – It seemed that all anyone wanted to talk about with this comic was the twisting orientation of the pages, and it was an interesting gimmick, but behind this trick was a really great comic book.  It takes a really gifted creative team to effectively sell madness and insanity, but that’s what we got in this issue.  You really believe that Batman is cracking up!  And the Court of Owls is much more interesting than any of the established Batman rogues just because we don’t know what to expect from them.

Most Anticipated: The Walking Dead #93 – After a slow story arc, Robert Kirkman uncorked a promising new concept in his last issue that may jiggle a status quo that has become stale.  I’m pretty intrigued by the idea of clusters of survivors remaining separate and interacting with each other like the old Greek city-states.  Plus, you just know that something BIG will happen this summer in issue #100 and it’ll probably start building now.

Other Picks: Creepy Comics #7, American Vampire #23, The Unwritten #33.5, Bulletproof Coffin: Disinterred #1, Elephantmen #37, Captain America and Bucky #626

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Batman #5 – Basically, this comic was insane.  Which is good, given that its story was the gradual loss of sanity. Great art, creepy as hell atmosphere, and a really cool use of the physical medium really made this a comic to remember.  Snyder’s ability to deliver creeping horror is really something to behold.

Most Anticipated: Justice League #5 After one week’s delay….well, after that last page in Justice League #4, I really couldn’t pick anything else. I mean, it’s Darkseid.  I cannot wait to see what happens as the JLA meet their first adversary in the new DCU.

Other Picks: The Flash #5, Aquaman #5, American Vampire #23, Fantastic Four #602, FF #14, Mighty Thor #10