Aquaman #8 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), Ivan Reis (art), Joe Prado (inks), Rod Reis (colors)

The Story: It’d be a good idea to get the old gang back together while there’s still a gang.

The Review: Like a lot of his fellow Justice Leaguers, Aquaman has always struggled with figuring out who he is and where he belongs, torn in his loyalties between two peoples and cultures.  The interesting part is that unlike many of his peers, he does have a legitimate human origin, though only half of one.  But humans, we know, don’t take too kindly to those who seem different, so it’s not so cut and dry that Aquaman would pledge himself to them.

In fact, this issue shows us that for a while, he did anything but, declaring his outright rejection of the whole human race before diving into the sea.  In his defense, there was quite a bit of trauma motivating this decision, as it took place on the day of his father’s funeral.  If you want to know just how emotionally wrecked Arthur is, Johns shows him nursing his grief over a mixture of family photos and newspapers, one headline blaring, “The Aquaman’s Father Killed.”

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.