Aquaman #22 - A Review

The key to the monster dubbed Dead Water lies revealed, as two more of the special team assembled by the US Navy start to transform! With a nuclear fail-safe armed and a strange new life form at the center of it all, Aquaman will face a difficult decision with a harsh price no matter what he does.



I said last time that this story-line had come to resemble a good Doctor Who story in terms of the unique science-fiction ideas suggested. The ending of H2-0 reminds me of Doctor Who for an entirely different reason. Change Mera into the companion pleading for another way to end things without violence and Aquaman to The Doctor at his most angry and you could run this story pretty much intact as a Series 10 episode. While the plot is gripping, that characterization doesn't ring true given the characters of Mera and Arthur in Rebirth. Until now, Mera was always depicted as the more aggressive of the two with Arthur working for understanding at any cost.

The artwork is similar mixed. Philippe Briones is a talented artist but some of the poses he draws here are incredibly forced. The artwork is also too heavily detailed and over-inked at points, making it frequently difficult to process the perspective. The colors by Gabe Eltaeb are nicely rendered but a good paint job can't disguise a hole in the wall.

Final Analysis: 5 out of 10. Competently executed but

Aquaman #20 - A Review

Sealed inside a secret US Navy research facility with the monster known as Dead Water, Aquaman and Mera must forge an unlikely alliance with their enemies The Aquamarines and The Scavenger to survive. Yet even if they manage that, there is still the mystery of "Strange Water" - the substance that Atlanteans cannot breathe which seems to transform ordinary humans into monsters - to solve...


Aquaman #20 breaks the format of the book to date, being a military/horror story rather than a political thriller. Dan Abnett writes this sort of thing well but the fact remains that most of the characters here are cliche stock types (the treacherous academic the loyal grunt, etc.) that exist only as canon fodder. The artwork by Philippe Briones and Gabe Eltaeb looks fantastic, however. Just don't expect there to be as much depth to the story as there is to the ocean and this is an enjoyable bit of entertainment.

Aquaman #19 - A Review

The Aquamarines were created by the US Government with one purpose in mind - creating a team of super-powered soldiers capable of bringing down Aquaman if necessary.  Now, they have come to Arthur Curry requesting his help in dealing with a mutual enemy - the nightmarish creature called Dead Water and the "strange water" substance that created it.

Dan Abnett is one of the best when it comes to writing good science-fiction with a militaristic flair. Aquaman #19 is a prime example of the genre. Unfortunately - from the perspective of one who enjoys more character-based adventure - this issue is a bit dry. No pun intended. The Aquamarines are all ciphers with little in the way of personality and the opening scenes of the book are heavy with exposition. This gives the reader little chance to establish a rapport with any of the cast and little reason to care about them being endangered when the action begins.


Once the action does start, however, Aquaman #19 becomes an entirely different book. Philippe Briones is given ample opportunity to showcase his talents for depicting both unusual beasts and fantastic fight scenes. The colors by Gabe Eltaeb provide the perfect conclusion to the pencils and inks.

Aquaman #14 - A Review

As Aquaman continues his quest to prove the existence of the sinister organization NEMO and their plot to start a war between Atlantis and The United States, a warmongering faction of the US Government has launched their own attack against the Atlantean King. Dubbed The Aquamarines, this group of genetically altered covert super-soldiers were created for one purpose - killing Aquaman!


The story for this issue seems like filler but it is well-crafted filler in spite of that fact. Dan Abnett writes a damn fine action sequence, but the action is hampered by The Aquamarines lack of depth. In terms of characterization they are as uncomplicated and inoffensive as the villains in an action-figure line.


The artwork, thankfully, remains as strong as ever and Philippe Briones does a fine job bringing the Aquamarines to life. The characters are striking, even if the base concept is a bit silly and unlikely to ever appear again after this issue. Regardless, Briones is a fantastic visual storyteller and one of the best artists to ever handle Aquaman and Mera.

Aquaman #12 - A Review

Having taken over control of the secretive group NEMO, Black Manta has launched a false-flag war, using stolen Atlantean technology on American targets. Now Aquaman must fight a war on two fronts, protecting both his home nations from each other while simultaneously searching for proof of NEMO's existence and intentions.


Dan Abnett has a long history writing military fiction. It's not a genre I've ever felt much affinity for but Abnett does a fantastic job of drawing on that experience with this story. This issue feels less like an Aquaman comic and more like The West Wing mixed with The Last Ship. Yet the story is still engaging and it's an interesting change of pace to see how a military conflict would work in the science-fiction setting of the DC Universe mixed with the usual superheroic action.

Abnett's script requires an artist of diverse talents and Philippe Briones proves worthy of the challenge. The battles in this issue depict traditional military aircraft, the sci-fi ships of Atlantis and a number of giant Godzilla-style monsters. Briones depicts them all expertly and Gabe Eltaeb's colors finish the artwork perfectly.

Aquaman #11 - A Review

Aquaman has bested The Shaggy Man and, in doing so while saving the city of Amnesty Bay, done much to mitigate the warmongering of various elements in both the Atlantean and American governments. Yet Black Manta and his followers in N.E.M.O. have more tricks up their sleeves. Could this be the beginning of the dark time foretold in Atlantean prophecy - the Deluge that will destroy both Atlantis and the surface world?


With this issue, several previously planted plot seeds begin to bloom and Dan Abnett proves himself a master writer. The story is light on action and heavy on set-up, but it proves a riveting read regardless. The rich ensemble cast Abnett has built for this series over the previous ten issues (some seemingly throw-away characters despite the emotional investment put into them) are brought into play in a more direct capacity and there are a number of amazing emotion-driven moments here.

Would that Abnett's script was well-presented by the artwork. Philippe Briones is a fine artist but there's some discontinuity between the script and the finished artwork. Consider the above scene where Arthur refers to Mera's costume being ripped and her being injured when she appears to be perfectly fine. I believe the word balloons between the characters may be mixed up but it is still a glaring error that should have been caught by the editors in either case.

Despite this, I still enjoyed this issue immensely and would recommend this as a wonderful jumping-on point for anyone interested in Aquaman.

Aquaman #5 - A Review

Thanks to the actions of an Atlantean terrorist group, the United States and Atlantis stand on the brink of war! Only Aquaman stands a chance of ordering his armies to stand down. Unfortunately, Mera's efforts to free him from prison have only aggravated the situation and now a military strike force is out to kill them both...

The action in this issue is quite good and the artwork is excellent throughout. This doesn't stop the issue from seeming like filler but it is solid, enjoyable superhero action. As in most Dan Abnett stories, the best moments are the brief character scenes where we get to see the supporting cast shine. Too bad these moments are all too brief.

Aquaman #4 - A Review

As a show of good faith, Aquaman has allowed himself to be imprisoned in the wake of an apparent Atlantean attack on an American warship. As an increasingly impatient Mera directs the Atlantean investigation into the incident, other forces on both sides of the brewing conflict work to escalate tensions between the two nations.

While I expected good things from Aquaman #4 I wasn't expecting one of the best political metaphors in recent comics history. Abnett draws parallels between the surface world's fear of Atlantis and American xenophobia with surprising subtlety. The artwork by Philppe Briones is full of similar complexity, with an astonishing amount of detail fit into every panel. And Gabe Eltaeb's color art completes the book perfectly.

Aquaman #3 - A Review

The Atlantean embassy has been seized by the American government in the wake of Black Manta's attack. Now, as Arthur and Mera journey to Washington D.C. to directly address the concerns of undersea aggression, Black Manta finds himself sprung from prison by NEMO - an organization with their own grudge against the Atlantean king. Yet it is an enemy close to home that is about to make Aquaman's life even more difficult....

I don't think any DC Rebirth title has surprised me more pleasantly than Aquaman. I expected the writing by Dan Abnett to be excellent and it has been, drawing off the rich history of the character while simultaneously building upon it and making it accessible to new readers. The artwork by Phillippe Brones is good, though slightly posed at times. Still, I've enjoyed this series far more than I expected to and I plan to pick it up for the foreseeable future.