Aquamen #1 – Chuck Brown/Brandon Thomas, Writers; Sami Basri, Artist; Adriano Lucas, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: The Aquaman family has been at the center of a lot of DC stories lately, particularly the two completed minis that dovetail into this sequel. Jackson Hyde navigated a complex Xebel civil war and a family crisis—but nearly lost his mother in the process. Meanwhile, Black Manta dealt with a twisted impostor and a shocking reveal about his own DNA. But now, a far bigger threat might be emerging. As this issue opens, an old enemy returns—Ocean Master, who attacks the United Nations with a massive sea dragon and sets his sights on the Atlantean ambassador. Orm is obviously far beyond where he was previously in sanity, ready to completely shatter the fragile peace between the surface and the sea. But while Arthur tries to talk his brother down, Jackson isn’t in a great emotional place himself, and takes out his frustrations on the mind-controlled monster. While Arthur tries his best to calm him down, all is not well in Aqua-town.
Black Manta, meanwhile, is on the trail of a much bigger conspiracy—one that might trace back to the same latent Atlantean DNA mystery in the last mini. Around the world, people are suddenly being “Activated”—starting to speak in Atlantean language out of nowhere. Some become feral and start attacking anyone in sight, while others gain a mysterious new sense of focus and purpose—collecting equipment to build a mysterious device. Is this part of Ocean Master’s plan, or is a much bigger threat slowly emerging? This first issue takes a while to get everyone on the same page, and the ending promises much more tension down the line. But both previous minis were consistently strong, and this debut continues the excellent character development all the main characters got. This is an ongoing series—although given upcoming events, it’s not clear how long the plural part of the title will last.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
