Aquaman #3 Review
Aquaman continues to swim the waters of mediocrity with this new issue.
Aquaman #3
To be honest there is nothing inherently wrong with this issue of Aquaman. It features some characterisation and action whilst moving the plot along. It’s solid and serviceable superhero action, but it never really enthrals.
Geoff John’s continues to bring us a stoic Aquaman, a fiery Mera and an unappreciative civilian populace. It doesn’t offend but it doesn’t entertain either. The writing doesn’t really engage the reader on any other level than the simple joy of superheroics. Which isn’t a bad thing but like the books own identity it isn’t very interesting. One of the main factors for this is the fact that the plot is just another standard superhero tale.
It could be argued that this is done to give more focus on establishing Aquaman as a character, but Johns has actually given us very little to go on. An overly serious man of few words needs more to do than what is presented here. Mera is quickly becoming a more compelling character and she hasn’t got any more depth to her than Aquaman has, she’s just more interesting.
There is a glimmer of hope with the introduction of an old family friend. Mr Shin’s desire to see Atlantis foreshadows possible future plot lines which may be a welcome change from what we have here. The connection to Aquaman’s father is obviously more complicated than what is divulged, probably due to Johns’ glaringly obvious signposting. Although some of the expository dialogue is clunky it at least serves a purpose as the fish creatures biology is looked at in great detail.
Ivan Reis continues to showcase his talent and it really does lift the book up. He has become the only real draw here and his work on Aquaman does a lot to define the character. His pencils breathe life into Aquaman and most of the characterisation he receives is due to Reis and not Johns. The fight scene is frenetic and entertaining. Reis’ Mera has a savage grace to her which works well next to Aquaman’s strong and disciplined fighting style. If nothing else the book looks great.
But on the the whole there is nothing here for anyone wanting the depth presented in other DC titles. There is no massive problems that make the book unreadable, it’s just an utterly mediocre read even with the great art that’s on display. It’s a book that will entertain people and have fans, but has not lived up to the hype surrounding it.
A COMIC BOOK BLOG RATING
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The Art as always is great | Depressingly average |
| Rating |
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2 Comments
totally agree and was wondering if Geoff Johns could be canceled? Aquaman has no personality the insults are getting old and how much more is he going to take? and Mera seems way more interesting we got no thoughts or anything just him looking sad all the time!? the potential future plots he is setting up are sound interesting but when the main character is meh at best i worry we wont even make it that far
Finally somebody agrees with me. It just seems so bizarre that this title was (and perhaps still is) hyped as the second coming. It has done nothing with it’s first three issues.
I think we will get to see the future developments as it seems like a popular title. Oh well it can only get better.