Aquaman and the Others #2 – Review

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

The Story: The Others leave the world of the living—and come back again.

The Review: Usually, I give a new series a whole arc to get its bearings, especially if it’s from a set of creators I respect or admire. At the beginning, all I’m looking for is a sign, any sign, that greatness can arise from the title, given an opportunity to plant its roots. Every now and then, I run across a series that falls short of even that fairly low standard, which makes an early Drop necessary. I think Aquaman and the Others lands squarely in that category.

No one expects literary sophistication in comics, but Jurgens can’t even be bothered to create a veneer of credibility with his dialogue. Of all the ridiculous things I’ve seen in comics this week—see the mecha-zombie-ninjas in Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #2, for example—by far the most preposterous is the others casually chatting as they plunge from the sky after their plane gets shot down. Consider the following dialogue (and keep in mind this is all taking place during a freefall).

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.