Saturday, April 19, 2014

Review of Aquaman: The Others



Book #12. Aquaman, volume 2: The Others, hardcover graphic novel, collecting issues 7-13. Written by Geoff Johns, with Art by Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, and Rod Reis. 

Tom Curry met and fell in love with an Atlantean queen. She could not stay with him on the surface world, and she had to leave Tom. But she left him with a son, Arthur. As the youngster  grew, Adam demonstrated enhanced powers, and a telepathic communicate with sea life. Tom contacted a scientist, Dr. Stephen Shin, to help him with Arthur, and Dr. Shin helped train the young Aquaman.

But Shin’s interest in Atlantis brought him to the attention of Black Manta, who attacked Arthur, and Tom suffered a heart attack as a result. He died a few days later, and in revenge, Arthur killed Black Manta’s father. And in these issues, the cycle of revenge continues, as Black Manta comes after Aquaman in the present day.

In this arc, we learn that in his early days as a hero, Aquaman traveled with a group called The Others. Their goal was to protect the six most powerful Atlantean artifacts. But as Black Manta has been gathering these artifacts, The Others join forces again to stop his power-grab.

Geoff Johns builds on the story that he began telling in volume 1, reviewed here. Aquaman is a legitimate hero here, and he and his wife Mera constitute DC Comics’s #1 power couple. But in this arc, his wife is in the same position that we as readers are, learning things about Aquaman’s past (and past connections) that we never had a clue of before.

The art team of Reis, Prado, and Reis is again strong. Their work here earned them a “promotion” to the higher-profile Justice League book. Along with Johns’ strong plotting and scripting, this book continues to be one of the strongest books in the New 52.

FYI, DC Comics recently released the first issue of a new title related to this arc, Aquaman and the Others.

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