Still good.
I’m getting this series in trade mainly because I don’t have the money but I can get this (or I hope I can) this is the crossover I have been looking forward to and the first part was very promising so I hoped this would be good as well.
Plot
Aquaman saves Harvey Bullock and Commissioner Gordon from drowning Aquaman and Batman have saved as many as they can but hundreds have drowned. Mera tries to stop the waterbut feints under the strain. Aquaman later meets with his brother to discuss terms of peace
Review
This was a great issue it isn’t perfect but it is a good continuation of Justice League #15 and this looks to be a very promising crossover. One of the things that I was interested in was the art I really like Paul Pelletier’s art after the fantastic work he did with Greg Pak on Incredible Hulk and I think he was a good choice as a replacement for Ivan Reis as his work like Reis’s does have tons of energy and he can draw large scale action scenes (excuse me but what was the final part of War of the Hulks? It doesn’t get any better than that) so I thought he would be good on this. I only buy Aquaman in trade (utterly loved the first trade and guess what I’m working on a review for it) but I love what I have read and it is a really good series but it would never be the same without Reis but DC have got a good replacement.
Geoff Johns once again throws you straight into it with Commisoner Gordon and Harvey Bullock drowning I think that including some of the major characters of that city is a smart move since it does show the gravity of the situation and how hard it hits if some of the most important people are effected. I also liked seeing Mera using her powers and if you have read this series you know she is very powerful so it did help to show how powerful the wave that hit is because she cannot stop it or wash it away.
One of the most interesting parts of this issue was the conversation between Batman and Aquaman as I said in the review for Justice League it is clearly evident that Batman and Aquaman are at odds with each other as to who should lead the team but we do see that the clearly aren’t enemies and it was nice to see Aquaman express himself to Batman and how he felt about Atlantis and what they have this issue really is just action scenes but it was nice to see this quieter moment in this issue especially with these two characters.
While there isn’t a real development between Superman and Wonder Woman you do see a sort of protection of each other because Vulko (who I’m not familiar with) hits Superman and then Wonder Woman threatens to hit with her sword if they did not have a relationship going she probably would have just stopped him but threating to hit him with the sword is a little more aggressive showing how Wonder Woman will protect Superman and will do a little more for him than most people.
There is also a short appearance by the monsters of the Trench I really can’t wait to see them reappear as I loved their initial appearance and I thought they were a very fitting villain for this series and I’m interested to see how they affect this story and who actually released them since they were trapped they will definitely be an interesting part of this series and I want to see how Aquaman reacts to their return.
We then get to a conversation between Aquaman and his brother Ocean Master this was one of the most inevitable parts of this issue this is not a bad thing since it a great part of the issue and really does put up several questions like whose side is Aquaman on? And who is going to lead the team? The first question was one of the big ones for this crossover and is the fairly obvious one because he is part Atlantean so he might side with them and his brother is there king but he might stay with the League because he has found a home in America it will be very interesting to see how this unfolds and how it will affect the story and also the team in general. The second is the one that is put forward right at the end of the issue where we are left with a great cliff-hanger and both questions are put forward in one panel I’ll definitely get the next issue and I’m really interested to see how it goes.
Really the only problem I had in terms of story in this issue is that it doesn’t progress much it is by no means a bad thing this is a very necessary part of the story and is well written and very enjoyable yet it only progresses towards the end but I’m sure it will pick up the pace next issue.
The art isn’t as good as I hoped I love some of the stuff Pelletier has done especially his Hulk work but his art isn’t bad Pelletier does an excellent job of portraying emotion and action sequences especially the splash pages and I like how he shows light in the underwater scenes there is just a slight inconsistency in the amount of detail in characters such as when Ocean Master does appear I think some of the details on his armour are missing and it could have been done better and sometimes it doesn’t look properly finished but on the whole the art looks good probably the reason it doesn’t look so good is that Pelletier was working on an issue of Wolverine two weeks ago so he probably did have to miss a few bits to get the issue out on time but next month I’m sure it will improve.
Verdict
A good continuation to the story and I’m excited for the next parts of the story it is a bit slow but it is a necessary part of the story and it is nicely done the art isn’t as good as I’d hoped for but I’m sure it will improve next issue.
4 stars
