Aquaman is a joke. I know it, you know, the clerk at the grocery store knows it. Hell, there have been spoofs about him on Family Guy and many other sketch comedy shows. He talks to fish, how lame is that? Geoff Johns has taken this into consideration when writing DC’s re-launch of Aquaman. He knows that we all think he’s a joke, so why not have the populous of the DCU thought the same thing? Let’s have Aquaman live in a world where he’s publicly ridiculed like the “real world” and that’s what John’s gives us.
We’re introduced to Aquaman during an armored truck jacking. He’s able to stop the speeding truck with a flick of his trident, flipping it onto its roof and trapping the criminals inside. Instead of the normal thanks that Superman or Batman are familiar with he gets the jokes and insults tossed at him. “Hey Aquaman, need a glass of water?” one chides and then they proceed to bitch about being upstaged by Aquaman. The man just reflected bullets off his Atlantean armor and saved the day, but still he gets no respect.
After a hard days work he’s starving and heads to a local restaurant that has fond memories for him. Instead of a peaceful meal he’s reminded that he’s in a fish restaurant. “How can he eat fish when he talks to them?” he’s asked. With some irritation he explains he doesn’t actually talk to fish since they’re not smart enough to, but instead can “push” them to do what he wants and tries to enjoy his meal.
Minutes later he’s interrupted by a fan who wants to interview him for his blog, but when his questions start getting more and more derogatory he has had enough, leaves his meal untouched and storms out of the place. More happens in the book, but I think you get the gist of it.
This is probably the best introduction to Aquaman that I have read in a long time. Each time they focus more on “Conan on Water” instead of making him the super hero that he is and with Geoff John’s newest creations playing the role of villain in Aquaman’s book I cannot wait to see how dark this book gets.
Artist Ivan Reis doesn’t disappoint, but that is no surprise. His art is always stunning and Aquaman is no exception. Masculine and strong are the first two words that come to mind when I think about Ivan Reis’ Aquaman; two words that I’ve NEVER associated with him before, so already I see him in a different light.
Will the team of Reis and Johns beat the curse of Aquaman and turn him into the Manly Hero he should be or will he fall back into the depths with every other Aquaman launch??? I hope it’s the latter, but only time will tell.
I give this a strong 8 out of 10.
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