Aquaman #7 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (writer), Ivan Reis (penciller), Joe Prado (inker), Rod Reis (colorist)

The Story: So tell me, Aquaman—was your ex-superteam as good as the one you have now?

The Review: Aquaman has been around for a long time, yet the point of this series is really about revitalizing him in the public eye again.  For all intents and purposes, he must break out and prove himself just like any new hero, his only advantage being a well-developed mythos Johns can draw from.  It’d be unwise to rely on this dusty material, though; it’s the new adventures of Aquaman we want to see, not the scrubbed-up reruns of old ones.

To his credit, Johns is bringing plenty of fresh ideas for this incarnation of the man who talks to fish, though in a rather odd way.  It’s true Aquaman’s first arc in this title included new enemies, new running gags, and a new status quo in general.  Still, it feels more like Johns has put most of his energies into reconceiving Arthur’s past and background, and what we’re reading from issue to issue is that past catching up to the present story.

Whether Johns has chosen the most effective storytelling strategy in that regard, we’ll have to judge later.  He has done a fine job with it so far, carefully drawing away the veil from the past through appropriate flashbacks and timely, piecemeal reveals that don’t overwhelm you with exposition.  This is the first issue, however, where he shows some of that momentum he generated in the early days of his now epic run of Green Lantern.

WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Prophet #23 – This series is probably legit now: Three really HOT issues in a row.  The world-building is great and the art is great, but what sets the series apart is this sorta stoicism  that I’m not getting from any other comic right now.  Everything in this comic is very direct and blunt and sometimes it’s nice to creators do that than try to show us how clever they are.  The only thing this series wants you to “get” is what is on the page, yet it isn’t a kiddie-comic either.  As a bonus, this issue gave us our first BIG reveal of the series.  Hop on now while we’re only three issues into the series!  Runner-up: Batman #7

Most Anticipated: Scalped #57 – That last issue was kinda unexpected, right?  There are only 3 issues left after this one and I’m sure it won’t be happy endings for the good guys of the Prairie Rose Reservation because that just wouldn’t be Scalped.   Something awful is probably going to happen to Dash, but what will it be given that most of his antagonists are already dead?

Other Picks: American Vampire #25, The New Deadwardians #1, Spaceman #5, The Unwritten #35.5, Choker #6 (after ~2 years!), Elephantmen #38, Morning Glories #17, The Walking Dead #95, Daredevil #10, FF #16

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Wonder Woman #7 – Honestly, this issue went buy in a flash and really sticks to one locale, but there’s so much coolness here.  The designs for Hephaestus and Eros were fantastic, Azzarello’s tinkering with Amazonian culture/history is great, and Diana’s lesson in assumptions making an ass of you and me was a solid character moment.  Oh, and Cliff Chiang returns.  Hurray!  A really fantastic book that every DC fan should be picking up and one that’s easily in my top 5 of the new 52. (for the record, the other four are Swamp Thing, Animal Man, Batman, and either Batwoman or Flash)

Most Anticipated: Spaceman #5 – Yes, I realize there’s a proverbial elephant in the room written by two of my favourite writers in AvX #0 this month, but there are two reasons for picking Spaceman this week.

1.  While I’ll be picking it up, I’ve never been a huge fan of zero issues.

2.  I have completely and utterly fallen in love with the world of Spaceman.  Every issue is like a vacation to a favourite destination.

Other Picks: Avengers vs. X-Men #0, Aquaman #7, The Flash #7, American Vampire #25, Scalped #57, Daredevil #10, FF #16, Mighty Thor #12, Moon Knight #11, New Avengers #23, Secret Avengers #24, Uncanny X-Force #23