Aquaman #6 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (writer), Ivan Reis (breakdowns), Joe Prado (artist), Rod Reis (colorist)

The Story: See, Mera, this is where a little concept called a shopping list would come in handy.

The Review: I don’t know about other reviewers, but I like to throw around the words “cliché,” “predictable,” “trope,” “formula,” and “archetype” like time’s a’wastin’ and I’ve got too many on my hands.  It’s just that after reading so many stories over the years, particularly in comics, you become very familiar with all the traditions and conventions of the craft, and sadly, it gets a little harder to surprise and excite you.

Take the premise of Mera buying dog food in a small town.  Now, as an exercise, consider how you’d write that story.  Odds are there are a few beats you’d feel obliged to hit, no matter what your creative chops are.  You’d almost have to get in at least one scene where Mera’s naivety about contemporary surface life leads to some amusement at the normally competent warrior woman’s expense.  Inevitably, the culture clash will lead to a misunderstanding that will just as inevitably result to some hydro-violence.  And somewhere towards the end, you’ll have at least one moment of mutual kinship so you can conclude on a heartwarming note.

If you imagined any of these scenes, congratulations—you just outlined about three-quarters of the issue’s material.  Rather than focus on any of that, let’s look at the more original stuff Johns has to offer, the most prominent of which has to be Mera’s origin story.  Johns retains most of the significant rewriting of her early life he originally wrote in Brightest Day, only now it’s unclear whether her hubby knows about her secret but ultimately impotent treachery or not.  Johns also adds a new layer of intrigue by bringing up the question of what exactly happened between Mera and her daddy when she betrayed him.  Given their shared violent streaks, you can’t imagine the parting went down without some physical pain.

WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Batman #6 – This was easy.  For my money, I think this was a better comic than Batman #5 which everyone (including me) gushed over.   The art team of Capullo/Glapion/FCO is giving us a wonderful and fresh visual look on Batman.  It’s art that we’ll see artists still trying to emulate 20 years from now.  It’s that good.  But…it isn’t just an art book.  I love that Scott Snyder has created a menacing new threat in the Court of Owls.  New villains just beat the hell out of the old standbys because we really have no idea what the Owls can do and what lengths they’ll go to.  Awesome!

Most Anticipated: Prophet #22 – I totally whiffed on Prophet #21.  For some reason the cover art didn’t appeal to me and I also REALLY wasn’t attracted to the idea of revisiting a 90’s Image comic.  I was WRONG.  After hearing everyone (and I mean everyone) praise #21 I checked it out and it was splendid!  It is totally new reader friendly and follows the John Prophet character who has re-emerged onto the surface of the Earth after hundreds or thousands of years of hibernation underground.  Um….let’s just say that things have changed.  The big hook here is the mystery, as we have no idea why the world is a wasteland and where all these mutated animals are coming from.  Wonderful art too, but I think different artists are doing each issue, so we can just hope for similar excellence.

Other Picks: American Vampire #24, Bulletproof Coffin: Disinterred #2, Morning Glories #16, Captain America and Bucky #627, Atomic Robo: Ghost of Station X #5, Secret Avengers #23

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Wonder Woman #6 – Loved the art, loved the story, and continue to love the modern mythological tale Azzarello is weaving.  I never imagined myself enjoying a Wonder Woman comic as much as I am this one.  Great stuff and if you’re a DC reader, but this isn’t on your pull-list, you need to go about rectifying your error post-haste.

Most Anticipated: Secret Avengers #23 – So I’ve finally gotten on the Rick Remender band-wagon, having caught up with his Venom and Uncanny X-Force runs.  While it was tempting to make one of those my pick this week, Secret Avengers still has my curiosity piqued more than anything else.  The zany, big ideas are there and the cast is a fun one, but I’m looking forward to more of the character-work Remender excels at.  It’s been solid, but I’m hoping that with this second issue, this series begins to take off.  It certainly doesn’t help that Hardman and Breitweiser are a fantastic artistic team who should be surgically joined to one another’s hips for years to come.

Other Picks: Uncanny X-Force #22, Venom #13.3, Wolverine & the X-Men #6, Fantastic Four #603, Mighty Thor #11, American Vampire #24, Aquaman #6, The Flash #6