Aquaman #6 Review
Mera goes in search of dog food! (Not as fun as it should be)
Aquaman #6
Well this month we get to see more of Mera as Geoff Johns decides to try and define her character. The issue stumbles immediately and what we get is nothing more than an exorcise in terrible and contrived characterisation.
Now it isn’t all bad. Mera is still an infinitely more interesting character than Johns’ emotionless and stoic Aquaman. It maybe an utterly over sentimental moment, but the scene near the end when Mera is given dog food by Jennifer (who works at the grocery store) actually entertains. It’s not amazing but at least works. Also the team of Ivan Reis and Joe Prado deliver the necessary goods when it comes to the art. Not as spectacular as Reis on his own, the issue still has enough inspired art to at least make it a nice visual read. When Mera first summons the water in the grocery store it’s a nice image, which sells how powerful she is.
But the book is filled with concepts and characterisation that just offend. The whole flashback idea of Mera’s father sending her to kill Aquaman, but ultimately she changes her mind is so ill conceived it’s tragic. Overtly familiar, thanks to a Supergirl storyline pre-reboot, it just doesn’t go anywhere. It adds nothing to Mera’s character that makes her stand out as anything other than a woman in love, who is conflicted by her feelings for her evil father. Obviously this is set up for later storylines, but it is so heavy handed and over used that it holds no interest.
The moments at the grocery store and outside the house with the gunman are just as insulting. The actions of the pervy store guy are so overblown it is more comical than it should be. He is a caricature of a serious problem, and although he is dealt with in perhaps the right manner, the whole moment just leaves a bad taste. Especially when you include the reactions of the other customers and security guard. All are over the top and sensational, making Johns writing no better than tabloid journalism. There is no common sense in these scenes and this leads onto Mera.
She seems to come across as a bit stupid. Not because she doesn’t understand how to interact with humanity, but just due to her general demeanour in the script. The “lost in translation” character depiction is an easy one to get wrong as most writers need to balance the naivete with frustration. But Johns just has Mera react with anger far too quickly and for no better reason than she doesn’t like things. To be fair to Mera, you can’t really blame her for her actions when faced with johns army of ignorant and stupid human characters. But at the end of the day her actual characterisation is just unbelievable and over the top.
Whereas the art works and one scene isn’t all too bad, it is not what you expect from a comic that seems to do well in the sales charts. Much like the bombastic and meaningless Michael Bay directed Transformers films, Aquaman trundles on with absolutely no purpose. It’s characters come off more like caricatures than believable protagonists and it is a shame. You can target a large market share and still deliver intelligent, well structured and entertaining stories. But Johns has forgotten this and has decided on delivering the lowest common denominator for his easy to digest issues. For this title to have such a high profile is as depressing as knowing Transformers: Dark of The Moon was one of the highest grossing films of last year.
A COMIC BOOK BLOG RATING
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The art and one scene that didn’t offend | The characterisation of both Mera and the minor characters, the banal plot and the writing in general |
| Rating |
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6 Comments
Too bad you guys have “missed the boat” on this series since the beginning. Its a gem of a book with more heart than most comics ever have within their pages. Plus gorgeous art, brilliant colors, compelling characters, humor and a central theme which is rarely found in today’s comics. Kudos to the Aqua-Team of Johns, Reis, Reis, & Prado for generating a book well-worth the acclaim and sales it is generating!
Well I have no qualms in agreeing that the art has always been good, which I’ve always acknowledge.
But it is interesting that you think it has a heart, compelling characters and humour. Although I’d say the first issue had promise, it has never been achieved. Aquaman is nothing more than an emotionless husk, trading off Johns’ over reliance on broad, simplistic and well worn characterisation. Mera is little better, but at least she expresses herself. The characters are so devoid of depth that they just don’t seem compelling.
Compare this book to say Batwoman, Catwoman and Animal Man. Those books have an identity and a distinct voice, with a lot of concentration on believable characters. Aquaman just doesn’t stand up.
The central theme which ties into it’s humour may not have been used in the last couple of years, but it still doesn’t allow the book to “swim”. Due in no small part to Johns inability to do anything without over explaining a scene. From the young boy thanking aquaman, to the constant jibes from the public it is all a bit too on the nose. Also without any emotion setting other than Brooding/stoic Aquaman can’t generate any sympathy. It is this puerile type of writing which has plagued the book from day one.
But hey if your enjoying that’s fine. Just I think people deserve more from such creators.
Your comments to the prior commenter are laughable. AQUAMAN is what a comic book should be: bright, shiny & bombastic. Your other choices show where you draw your references from : Animal Man & Batwoman are pretentious bores more suitable for Vertigo than anything (i.e. books that no one reads) and Judd Winnick’s Catwoman??? You sir make me laugh.
Although your demeanour is distasteful. I am amazed that this is what you want from a comic. Bright, Shiney and Bombastic? Really is that it. No depth of character, no decent story telling. Wolverine and the X-Men, Amazing Spider-Man and The Defenders all fit that mode but manage to put something into there narratives and characters that make them compelling reads. Call me pretentious then if I prefer something more substantial. As for Catwoman although I am not a fan of the narrative strands, Selina Kyle is a complex character in the hands of Winnick.
It’s also amazing that you consider something a bore because no one reads them. This leads back to my comparison of Aquaman to the Transformers films. Just because they are popular films does not mean they are good. But then the lowest base story telling sells, if people just want those moments of “wow look at the pretty fireworks” thats fine. I will never say don’t buy it, but at the end of the day Aquaman is the sort of book that re-establishes the problems the superhero genre has, over simplistic plots presented in an unchallenging and attractive shell. It isn’t what a comic book should be because there are many facets to the medium much like film or art. It maybe the archetype of the superhero genre, but even that has evolved to be a bit more sophisticated than what Johns presents. Therein lies the problem its a book trading on its creators names and nostalgia for a character.
I guess I’m one of the (probably majority of) people who lie somewhere in between the opinions expressed in the comments above. I do think Aquaman is better than the reviewer gives it credit for. I found pretty much every part of that first arc really entertaining.
On the other hand, it is hard to deny that it’s a pretty shallow (see what I did there?) book so far. Has Aquaman expressed a single recognizable emotion to this point? I’m just not sure have a real sense of the guy’s personality yet.
And I’m sorry, but anyone who calls Animal Man a “pretentious bore” immediately destroys whatever little credibility he or she had in the first place. It’s got every bit as much action as Aquaman has had so far (if not more); it’s every bit as visually stimulating (if not more so); and the characters feel so much more real. And this is to say nothing about how much more interesting the concepts are than the simple “monsters from the deep!” concept that we got from Johns.
Mill had a great line about it being better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied; and if the fool is of a different opinion, it is because he knows only his side of the question. Just sayin’.
Well it’s nice to see a reasonable response from someone. Even though I have loathed the book so far, I still have hope that it might surprise me (naively so perhaps). It has the foundations to go far, but it has yet to achieve this. Granted that is a subjective view and my opinion of the book is prpbably in the minority. But I have to put a book in context of the genre its in and also in general terms of story telling, both aspects leads usually to a negative reaction to Aquaman.
I am also glad that you don’t think Animal Man is a “pretentious bore”