Glazer’s Take: Aquaman #1 isn’t a strong issue. Everyone mocks and is rude to the character, while he’s generally a badass and/or a nice guy minding his own business. His conversation sounds like Bendis at his worst when writing a generically stoic character, and he even gets Johns’ standard daddy issues. Ivan Reis is freaking fantastic, and utterly wasted here. I have no interest in a hero I’d have to constantly feel sorry for. 4/10.
But here comes Ryan Conner, voice of the forums to become the voice of disagreement: Unlike Glazer I loved the issue for all the reasons he didn’t. I loved the pop culture references. Aquaman has been a whipping boy for a long time now. I liked the wink and nod to that. Plus I have daddy issues so this issue got me in that way as well. The art was stunning and I loved the creepy new “villians”. I’ll be sticking around for this.
And, from out of nowhere, the ever elusive former EIC of ComicsNexus, Manolis Vamvounis: An entire issue of Geoff Johns beating off for Aquaman. Sure he’s not widely loved OR respected by the mainstream audience (there’s that famous Aquaman song or that skit in BBT) but I never thought that would translate in-story as well. He was a freaking founding Justice Leaguer, even before the reboot! Still, here’s an honest-to-gawd attempt to make him all serious and mighty and a mean mother-paddler. He goes up against armed robbers, flings an armoured truck around, bounces bullets off his manly brow, ruggedly takes his fish-missus (fisshus) over the wavey shores, and at some point the whale is so thoroughly derailed that Aquaman ends up in a fish tavern ordering fish and chips and actually bothering to explain to people why it’s ok to eat fish and giving an interview to a BLOG about how he doesn’t actually spend all day gossiping with the trout?!? The fisshus doth protest too much. Still, this issue is proof that with the right writer and artist, you can make any character a top 20 selling hit. oh yeah, 8/10.
And where do our readers stand? Let us know below and read Grey’s full review here!
