The Good
Cyborg goes under the knife in order to help the Justice League, who were captured and placed at the bottom of the ocean for the Trench to feed on. Back on land, the back-up that Cyborg called in the last issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE has arrived and they seem to be kicking some butt.
This issue is full of the Trench, and their numbers are overwhelming. This may be too much for the Justice League to take down. The reasoning behind the Trench being a part of this story and issue is fantastic, and it just heightens what the JL has to overcome to win this battle. And frankly, I never thought I'd see the Trench and the Atlantians team up. We learn a bit more about the history of Atlantis, which in turn, has a deeper connection to the Trench.
I made the comment in my review of the last issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE that I'm finally coming around on Cyborg, and in this issue, he steps up in a huge way in order to help the Justice League, and he's quickly becoming one of my favorite members of this team. He's become a very important member of this team, not only because he wrangled in some new heroes to fight on land, but also because he's down in the trenches (literally) saving the team.
I've never been to sure of Vulko. He's very loyal to the Aquaman, but in this kind of creepy way. He's horrible to Dr Shin, especially because Vulko blames Shin for so much more than he's ever done. Things between Vulko and Shin come to an interesting conclusion here that will have you scratching your head.
By "scratching your head," I mean yelling HOLY @#$&!
While this issue is a bit all over the place, it's something I love about the issue. The surface world is in chaos, so I love the occasional jump to Cyborg or to the bottom of the ocean to slow things down for a bit.
The Bad
You need to read JUSTICE LEAGUE in order to fully understand this title; otherwise, things will be confusing. Sure, it may not be a horrible thing to read JL, but it's another book on your pull. Both books are enjoyable, but make sure to pick up the last issue in order to fully enjoy this one.
Paul Pelletier's art on here was a bit hit or miss for me. The stuff that was good, was great, but there were plenty of times, throughout the issue, long shots were chosen for smaller panels, and it looks a bit off. He crams way too much into the panel.
The Verdict
AQUAMAN 16 is a bit of a shocker, but it's a very solid issue. The conclusion for this story is going to be nutty. I found myself a huge fan of Cyborg and what he put on the line in this issue. The Trench comes back full force here, which is awesome, and it seems like the JL have their hands full. On the down side, it's hard to just read this Aquaman book on its own. You have to read JL to get a full scope of this story. Also, I like Pelletier's art on the issue, but some of the long shots in smaller panels had way too much going on.
Overall, I highly recommend this issue.