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25 Comments

Aquaman #20 - Skinwalker

2

The Others appear in their own stand alone story as they try to recover Atlantian weapons!

The Good

Aquaman hires the Others to go and find some Atlantian weapons which the Scavenger has been selling on the black market. They team up with a woman named Sky who is connected to some of the dead members of The Others.

The only thing I really got excited for was the overall concept and story in this issue. I really like the idea of The Others working for Aquaman, having to find all these Atlantian weapons and relics, even if they fall into the wrong hands. We get to see one of these weapons called "The Power Glove" (see below) and it's concept is extremely cool, which is that it can punch through any object. The Skinwalker takes it in hopes of breaking an ancient seal to command an undead army.

While Sky is the new character focus here, I found the Skinwalker much more appealing. Native American lore and mythology is not as explored in modern day comics as it should be since it's such a larger part of the United States. He had a very cool look, and I liked his simple, yet enjoyable motivation for the overall story.

The Bad

Don't let the cover fool you. This is not written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Paul Pelletier. It's written by John Ostrander, pencilled by Manuel Garcia, colored by Pete Pantazis, and inked by Sandra Hope, Rob Hunter, Ray McCarthy, and Wayne Faucher.

There is so much time spent on setting everything up that by the time we get to the final confrontation, it's over in just a few pages. A part of this problem is because the creative team is only given so much time to set up this story. The overall pacing of the book is a bit of a mess. The concept here is far too big for one issue.

Everything about this issue feels a tad rushed, whether it's the pacing of the overall book or the fact the art is inconsistent, we get a great concept that falls a bit flat. This is a solid creative team too. There are times where Garcia's art, with whoever was inking on that page, really shined. Over on the next page, the inking would wash out the pencils, and then a few pages later, faces would be strangely distorted.

I can't take an item called "The Power Glove" seriously. I grew up in the 80s, and I'm thinking of something completely different when I hear those words.

The Verdict

Hopefully, someday, The Others will have their own stand-alone book. This is a team that could pull it off. Aquaman is a consistently great book. Sure, there's been a couple bumps in the road, so far, but overall, this has been a stellar series, but this issue was a big let down. Concept-wise, this is a fantastic book that gives DC a reason to use the characters from the Others without just shoehorning them into a book because there was already a connection made between these characters and Atlantian artifacts, but the execution of the actual issue is a bit of a mess. It feels rushed, and it's inconsistent. It has a solid writer and artist, but they needed more pages to work with to make this the issue it needs to be.

25 Comments

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TheCheeseStabber

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the_stegman

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Edited By the_stegman  Moderator

Judging from what you said went on, I can understand the rating. I love the series but if it focuses entirely on "The Others'' a team I really don't care much for anyway, I'd be less than thrilled too.

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inferiorego

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inferiorego  Staff

Judging from what you said went on, I can understand the rating. I love the series but if it focuses entirely on "The Others'' a team I really don't care much for anyway, I'd be less than thrilled too.

It's a fill in issue. I've never read a fill in that's as good as the main series or better. Most of the time, they're put together last minute.

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Trevel8182

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I swear to god if Geoff Johns leaves this book but stays on shitty Justice League, I'll drop DC.

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QuantomMan

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I havent seen a 2 star in a long time....glad I didnt pick this up

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kilomac29

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Edited By kilomac29

I enjoyed this issue, but I started this series with #19, so I don't know much about "The Others." I just finished The Trench in trade and really enjoyed it, so I'm excited about the next TPB so I can learn more about "The Others." The Native American mythology was interesting, but like the review said, the setup took so long the ending felt pretty rushed.

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Billy Batson

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Two stars for Ostrander?!
BB

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HempKnight757

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@trevel8182: I totally agree. Well besides Batman. I'm really scared he will leave in favor of Earth 2. Which could be good, but given how up & down JL has been I would rather him not.

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blkson

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Beyond pissed I pick this up :( This was really bad. I could've bought something else than this. 2 stars was generous IMO. I mean, I knew it was a filler issue but man, I didn't think it would be that bad.

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reignmaker

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This is the future of Aquaman after Johns leaves.

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SmashBrawler

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@reignmaker said:

This is the future of Aquaman after Johns leaves.

What makes you think that?

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Avengers_4everXX

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Edited By Avengers_4everXX

@hempknight757: Don't even say that. If he touches Earth 2 I am so beyond done with everything

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MadeinBangladesh

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Aquaman getting a 2/ dayum!

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kennybaese

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Every other issue people seem convinced that Johns is going to leave Aquaman, but I've literally nothing to that effect for quite some time now, so I'm a bit confused as to why.

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WaveMotionCannon

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Of they're doing a fill-in they should've done 2 issues. They could've told a better story and it wouldn't have been so bad. I like The Others and I'd like them to get a shot.

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modunhanul

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It's really that bad?

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Battle_Forum_Junkie

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Is this issue essential to the rest of the story?

Because I'm not to thrilled about this one.

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Atomiic

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Edited By Atomiic

I was a little disappointed with this issue, I liked what it was trying to establish but it felt very rushed wich sucks. Id rather have something come out a couple weeks late than to have something put together last minute. This could of made a pretty good 2-3 issue arc if it was given the proper chance.

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cc1738

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This sucked. I'm annoyed I wasted my money on it. I wish I had just waited until the next issue when Johns returned.

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bladewolf

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Not a terrible issue, but not great either. As you said, the story was rushed and since this was a fill-in issue I can understand why.

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reignmaker

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@reignmaker said:

This is the future of Aquaman after Johns leaves.

What makes you think that?

I'll have to go back and look for my source. But I read somewhere that Ostrander is favored to take over the book after Johns leaves. Think it was Bleeding Cool, but I'll post a link if I can find it.

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SmashBrawler

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Edited By SmashBrawler

@reignmaker said:

@smashbrawler said:

@reignmaker said:

This is the future of Aquaman after Johns leaves.

What makes you think that?

I'll have to go back and look for my source. But I read somewhere that Ostrander is favored to take over the book after Johns leaves. Think it was Bleeding Cool, but I'll post a link if I can find it.

Really? That sounds... interesting. I personally like Ostrander as a writer but I'm not sure if he'd do a good work on this title. I do think this issue is a poor indicator of how well he'd perform in this title though, as it's clearly nothing more than a rushed and somewhat pointless fill-in issue.

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DanialCarroll

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This review reads as if I wrote it myself. I really wasn't fond of this issue, and I loved The Others when they were introduced. I thought the writing was terrible and wondered how Johns could have dropped the ball so badly, but then you mentioned that it wasn't even him, which makes me feel better about thinking that :)

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elkinscs

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@the_stegman said:

Judging from what you said went on, I can understand the rating. I love the series but if it focuses entirely on "The Others'' a team I really don't care much for anyway, I'd be less than thrilled too.

It's a fill in issue. I've never read a fill in that's as good as the main series or better. Most of the time, they're put together last minute.

That Mera fill-in (#6 or 7 i think?) was actually really good. but ya, this issue was a huge let down. Also, Aquaman is in it for like 3 pages. Terribly disappointing.

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Cakeman3000

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I don't care how many times people have said this issue was horrendous, I'll say it again. Never have I felt so betrayed. It was awful, simply awful. Johns, please don't ever stop writing Aquaman...please.