Aquaman and the Others #1 – Review

By: Dan Jurgens (story), Lan Medina (pencils), Allen Martinez (inks), Matt Milla (colors)

The Story: If the Justice League’s not available, we can always call those Other heroes.

The Review: Never in my geekiest daydreams would I have imagined a day when there’d not only be an Aquaman series that was actually popular, but two Aquaman books. That’s truly an abundance of riches, especially when you consider icons like the Flash haven’t gotten their second title yet (some, like Martian Manhunter, haven’t even gotten one). But are audiences ready for that much Aquaman? Can his current popularity handle that kind of exploitation?

I suppose the better question is: can the Others? The very existence of this issue shows that Geoff Johns was onto something when he created Aquaman’s personal justice league, but I’ve always felt that it would take a very clear vision of the Others’ purpose to bring them back. It probably would’ve helped if we’d known how they came together to begin with. They’re all permanently attached, but it’s never been clear what forms that attachment besides the Atlantean relic each of them holds, and this issue does nothing to change that.

Aquaman Annual #1 – Review

By: John Ostrander (story), Geraldo Borges & Netho Diaz (pencils), Ruy Jose, Allen Martinez, JP Mayer, Mariah Benes, Oclair Albert, Julio Ferreira, Jay Leisten (inks), Rod Reis & Hi-Fi (colors)

The Story: The Others must race to stop a witch from saving the world.

The Review: Here’s a fun fact: Ostrander nearly shares my mother’s birth year, month, and is just shy of the day.  That definitely funks up the way I think of his writing.  I mean, do I really want someone my mother’s age to be writing comics for ostensibly a new generation of readers?  Not that it can’t be done.  Jim Shooter did a bang-up job on the Three-boot volume of Legion of Super-Heroes, and he’s only a couple years younger than Ostrander—and my mother.

On the other hand, I haven’t been all that impressed with Ostrander’s recent DC work, which makes me all the gladder that it’s only occasional.  While the premises of his stories are usually solid, his heavy-handed execution definitely reveals his age, or so it seems to me.  Under his pen, Aquaman and the Others seem a little too prone to theatrics; they’re blunter, louder, more melodramatic than their introverted personalities would support.

Aquaman #20 – Review

By: John Ostrander (story), Manuel Garcia (pencils), Sandra Hope, Rob Hunter, Ray McCarthy, Wayne Faucher (inks), Pete Pantazis (colors)

The Story: Oddly, a girl who sees dead people is not the strangest member of the Others.

The Review: One of the best concepts Geoff Johns introduced on his run here has been Aquaman’s first team effort, the Others.  Johns not only managed to give each member a well-defined personality and design, he also gave them a strong team dynamic, as if they really had worked together for years.  Their intimacy was so convincing that it was kind of bittersweet to see them part ways when it was so tempting to give them a title of their own.

In this issue, Ostrander sort of tests the viability of the Others as characters in their own right, without Aquaman as their center.  Indeed, here Arthur seems more like a featured player in his own title.  Despite being their de facto leader (though the Operative may disagree with that assertion), he comes to them as someone asking his friends to do him a big favor, one he’s not yet comfortable presenting to his current team.  He stands equal to the Others, which in turn boosts their own standing.

Aquaman #13 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), Ivan Reis (pencils), Joe Prado & Julio Ferreira (inks), Rod Reis (colors)

The Story: Nothing like old buddies teaming up for favorite pastimes—like avenging crimes.

The Review: As we arrive at the end of this series’ second arc, it seems appropriate (albeit a bit middle-schoolish) to reflect on what we and the hero have learned.  After all, there’d be little point to the story if at its end, both of us are left in the exact same place in the exact same condition as we started.  The first arc was all about reinforcing Aquaman’s status as a major superhero and making him realize his place belongs on the surface world.

Looking at the conclusion to this world-spanning, treasure-hunting, companion-seeking arc, what has Arthur gotten out of it?  I’d say it’s acceptance of his past, the good and the bad; embracing who he used to be and who he is now and who he strives to become.  It’s a rather simple and lovely way to make us relate to him a little more, even though we have pretty much nothing in common with his life.  He’s already earned your respect; now he’s earning your sympathy.

Aquaman #12 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), Ivan Reis (pencils), Joe Prado, Oclair Albert, Andy Lanning (inks), Rod Reis (colors)

The Story: Welcome to the only comic where you can see trident-on-scepter action.

The Review: Part of the premise of this series from the very beginning has been the idea that Aquaman belongs as much in the public eye as his fellow Leaguers.  Yet even though he’s (mostly) exorcised the ridicule attached to his character, he still hasn’t quite made the case that he’s just as big an icon as any of the Big Five of the DCU.  Maybe he doesn’t have to.  At the end of the day, all that matters is whether you care enough about him to follow his journey.

And against all odds, you do.  Had this series merely been about him earning his name as a hero, you probably wouldn’t get quite as invested.  But the heart of his story—and it’s possible even Johns didn’t see this coming—is his growth from a closed-off man of the sea to someone who feels attachment and, yes, love.  This depth of feeling usually gets reserved to Superman, but Aquaman deals with his emotions very differently than the big Boy Scout.

Aquaman #11 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), Ivan Reis (pencils), Joe Prado, Jonathan Glapion, Andy Lanning (inks), Rod Reis (colors)

The Story: Friends don’t let other friends pursue blind quests of vengeance alone.

The Review: Even though in terms of the pure quality of his work, he doesn’t seem to be working at the superhumanly consistent level he once did writing Teen Titans, Justice Society of America, and Green Lantern simultaneously, there’s no sign Johns is any less popular or beloved than ever.  Frankly, I don’t think that widespread admiration will ever go away because Johns offers what so few other writers do in comics these days: unadulterated warmth.

Reading a Johns story, no matter how grim the events that happen in between front and back covers, frequently feels like curling up in an oversized armchair with a cup of hot cocoa.  At the heart of his work is always, well, heart.  No one has written themes of family, whether by blood or by spirit, with so much genuine care, and certainly no one writes the archetypical Hero—with capital letters, mind you—with so much conviction in the righteous might of goodness.

Aquaman #10 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), Ivan Reis (pencils), Joe Prado & Andy Lanning (inks), Rod Reis (colors)

The Story: This ain’t Shakespeare, but it has a vengeful cycle of sons killing fathers anyway.

The Review: This intro is a bit too short a medium to get into the whole “nature versus nurture” debate, so I’ll just rely on a pithy cliché to get my point across: the more things change…  To make things fair, I’ll use myself as example.  Even though I like to think I’ve grown up some inmye twenty-odd years, every now and then I’ll catch myself with a habit from childhood—or worse, my teenage years—I thought long gone that makes me wonder if I’ve changed at all.

Aquaman begs the same questions.  Compared to the shaggy-haired youth with major anger issues we’ve seen from flashbacks, Arthur’s slicked hairdo and cool under media mockery shows a pretty big evolution in his character.  But the moment he sees Manta, it’s as if he’s never changed from that vengeful, shirtless kid he used to be (especially when he actually rips off his shirt in mid-battle).  He abandons all teamwork, shrugging off the concerns of Ya’wara and Prisoner of War, completely fixed on his own objectives, nothing else.

Aquaman #9 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (story), Ivan Reis (pencils), Joe Prado, Oclair Albert, Andy Lanning (inks), Rod Reis (colors)

The Story: All those years of PTSD therapy, undone by one super-villain attack.

The Review: As I read through this issue, it struck me that I haven’t been giving Johns enough credit for what he’s been doing on the title.  In many ways, Johns has had to reintroduce Aquaman like a brand-new hero, giving him a fresh mythos for a new generation of readers.  At the same time, Johns has not only been preserving the essentials of Aquaman’s lore, he’s been portraying Aquaman as a hero who comes with a rich history already attached.

The Others represent this strange mixture of new and old in Aquaman’s current continuity.  Though I still think it an unusual choice for Johns to spend so much time establishing a whole other set of characters when his star still has a long way to go in the development department, he’s been doing a remarkably good job at it.  The opening with Prisoner-Of-War shows Johns’ writing at its best: largely stripped at dialogue, yet incredibly informative and emotionally stirring.  I will happily accept any number of Others if Johns can write them all like this.

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.