The Good

Arthur and Mera head through the Maelstrom and find Mera, but she does not believe that Arthur is her son. Atlanna cues the attack and Mera and Arthur go on the run.

There's this moment, right in the opening that is utterly frustrating. Why is this in the "good" section? Well, bare with me. Atlanna doesn't believe Arthur is her son and it's rough to see for the reader because all you want is these two characters to reunite. As the book continues, the reader gets a sense that Atlanna isn't all there. She's in denial and has severe trust issues with outsides, even when those closest to Atlanna can see the truth right before their eyes.

There's only so many ways you can taker a story like this. You can have Atlanna open up and trust her son right away and we'd probably find something sinister down the road, or you can pull it off like this. Frankly, this way works better and what makes the superior way to tell this story is that Jeff Parker shows the reader that there is some imbalance to this character. He quickly does more for the development for this character in 5 pages than this series has done in the past 20 years. On an even brighter note, Atlanna also has "vuu vuu" powers, and this pleases me.

The issue continues the action and adventure that Parker has brought to this book. AQUAMAN is a fun book but also has a lot of substance to it. Parker is truly doing some great work with expanding the Aquaman mythos and building on this series. Fans of the character and series will be pleased with what's going on and the amount of fun being brought to the book. When I say "fun," I mean it more in a sense that this has almost an 80s adventure film vibe to it and not so much the "everyone is telling jokes" type of fun from comics today.

The art team creates awesomeness once again. Penciller Paul Pelletier, inkers Sandra Hope & Wayne Faucher, and colorist Peter Pantazis create some great, high-impact action sequences full of like and movement. There's a specific page that looks gorgeous as Atlanna blasts Arthur. It's a pretty fierce panel filled with a ton of detail. On top of that, Pelletier's creature designs are crazy but not out of the realm of possibility, making them a perfect fit for this story.

The Bad

All-in-all, it's a good issue for a great story but there was nothing that really pushed to the level of greatness. Sure, this issue merely serves as set-up for the finale next month, before Convergence, so like a lot of other DC books, it's just biding time, but at least AQUAMAN does it with a worthwhile story.

The Verdict

Parker is taking AQUAMAN out with a bang. Maelstrom has been an exciting and adventurous story that really builds on the legend of the titular character while delivering something that is a ton of fun. We finally get to see Atlanna in all her glory and she's a bit off her rocker and doesn't trust anyone, which is a cool turn for the book. This issue was a lot of set-up for the finale next month, but it's all really enjoyable. Once again, this is Parker's best story during his run and I highly recommend folks give this story a shot.

Finale? It's not getting canceled is it? :O

@ostyo: NO OF COURSE NOT WHAT HE MEANT WAS THE FINALE FOR THIS ARC

@ostyo: new creative team and such after issue 40. So everything is wrapping up. Would have liked this story to go on a little longer, but it's still been enjoyable.

I wonder if Aquaman started crying, would have Atlanna gone easy on him?

I wanted more fire troll and it look like I'm getting that kaiju size lol

Might have to pick up the collection for this storyline

Great issue as usual.

Atlanna and her staff were great (and my fears that she would be portrayed as more powerful than Aquaman were dispelled - she is very powerful but without stepping on Aquaman's turf), the purple eye Atlanteans open the door for Aqualad (the real Aqualad, not Manta's son - who I also like, but Garth needs to come back) and the Atlanteans and their beasts might be one of the seven kingdoms before the Rise of the Seven Seas by Johns. That would make Atlantis, Xebel. the Trench and Pacifica 4 out of 7 so far.

Also great catch by Justthatkid this opens the the door for more connections between Momoa's and new 52 Aquaman.

The Kaiju sized volcano god looks amazing, and he will be the second Kaiju Aquaman takes on after he beat the Karaqan.

Aquaman and Mera's dialogue was flawless (in this run one of the best written couples in comic book history IMO) and Aquaman's speed and mobility was impressive in this issue as was his durability and strength.

If the conclusion to this story is as good as the previous 5 issues, this will go down as one of Aquaman's best stories ever and one of the best New 52 stories in general (Throne of Atlantis is still better but Parker and Pelletier are absolutely killing it in this book).

Absolutely loving this book!

Betting issue 40 gives us a Garth reveal