Aquaman #59 – Kelly Sue DeConnick, Writer; Robson Rocha, Penciller; Daniel Henriques, Inker; Romulo Fajardo Jr, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Following up on last issue’s time jump, which saw Mera still in a coma after giving birth and Arthur’s daughter growing up fast, the Princess of Atlantis is now missing and Aquaman is on a rampage. I’m still not thrilled with Mera being sidelined so frequently in this series, but this is probably the most compelling issue of DeConnick’s run in a while. Not surprisingly, Arthur’s first stop is the city of Dagon and its leader Ocean Master, set up in Dan Watters’ special a few months back. Much like Zod over in the Superman books, Ocean Master claims to have turned over a new leaf, serving as protector to the powerless and mutated of the undersea folks. After a brawl, he spares Arthur and professes his innocence, while pointing him towards suspect #2 – Vulko, who stands to benefit as Mera’s fiance and the possible heir to the throne. It’s a tense situation, and things aren’t any lighter up on the surface.
The old sea gods have sort of taken a backseat since the first arc, but they’re helping to search for the princess in this issue, along with Jackson and the mysterious Caille. The odd new family Arthur’s put together in Amnesty Bay is one of the biggest strong suits of this series, but it’s really Jackson who steals the show this issue. Still blaming himself for Mera’s coma after she assisted him in battle and collapsed, he’s desperate to find Arthur’s daughter – and that leads him and Caille to salvage the Manta-mech that contains the brain patterns of his grandfather. The twisted Manta family dynamic has been one of the most interesting parts of this series, but I’m also really glad to see the developments between Jackson and his mother. That relationship started out tense, but it’s a good example of how parents can recover from the earlier mistakes they made. The end of the issue hints at the true culprit, but I’m not sure all is what it appears to be – but it’s definitely good to have this book back from hiatus.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
