DC Comics reviews for the week of 1/23/19
Aquaman #44
Kelly Sue DeConnick isn’t writing the typical amnesiac hero storyline. With this issue she makes it clear Aquaman’s memories are essentially being held for ransom and he can get them back if he accomplishes a deadly mission.
For his part, Arthur isn’t getting a lot of answers from the townspeople in the village he washed up on. There’s a lot of mystery and vague answers, but no one is being forthright about his identity. Or explaining his fear of going too deep in the water.
Initially my biggest concern when this arc was solicited was this was going to be a boring Aquaman lost his memory again storyline to set up a new status quo. That doesn’t seem to be the case as DeConnick is already hinting a reunion with Mera is the end game. I’m a big fan of that direction as their relationship helped make the early days of the Rebirth era of the title so strong.
And while blank slate ‘Andy’ is fine for now, I’m far more interested in seeing how DeConnick writes the regular Aquaman.
We get a brief glimpse of life on Atlantis with Mera being pressured to meet her potential suitors. Mera is hardly the stand for tradition type and it seemed one of her first rules would have been to abolish the need for a mate to rule alongside her. Mera also kept saying ‘us’ a lot. Is she also pregnant with Arthur’s child?
Robson Rocha is maintaining the high quality arc of his artistic predecessors on the book. His work has continued to improve since the early days on Green Lanterns and he’s a strong collaborator with DeConnick. I’m most impressed with the improvements Rocha has made in drawing faces. That was a weak point two years ago, but now it’s become a strength and his characters are far more expressive now. Daniel Henriques wisely keeps his ink assists reserved, which allows for a more natural looking book that colorist Sunny Gho subtly enhances. Aquaman doesn’t need to be the flashiest book on the market, but this artistic team really captures the appropriate look.
This was just the second of this five-part arc so there’s much more story left. Right now, DeConnick has set up a fun fantasy mystery story that’s got plenty of depth.
Rating: 8 out of 10