chriswoody94's review against another edition
5.0
First of all, I think it is just fantastic how the story begins with everyone reminding Arthur that he's the "useless superhero" that "talks to fish" and gets made fun of on SNL and YouTube. Aquaman has always been pretty under appreciated as a superhero, and it's good to see him get the cool factor that he greatly deserves. I also think that the character Mera is pretty great as well, and her power set is a very cool concept. The overall story was very good, with the evil, crazy angler-fish people who hunger for human flesh. I am very glad to be able to see Aquaman in a self-contained series here he gets the kind of treatment a hero of his caliber really should get, and this was a great start to the series.
roach's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
"Your fish aren't following us, Arthur."
"Their survival instinct is overpowering my telepathy."
"Has this happened before?"
"No."
(Quote translated from German.)
Geoff Johns' Aquaman was an earlier attempt to update the character for a modern audience by dealing with its reputation head-on. In this, Aquaman is confronted with the same opinions that people have about this DC franchise in real life. They make fun of his ability to "speak" with fish, joke about his goofy outfit, and ask him whether he's seen all the funny parodies of his online. No one takes him seriously and he deals with that.
There has been other media since then that tried to tackle this reputation of the character, like the 2018 Aquaman movie or, more successfully, the show The Boys with its stand-in character called "The Deep". But this comic came before all of that. So while its attempts at incorporating the character's reception and standing in modern pop culture into the story might be a bit on the nose now, it must have been pretty fresh back in 2011.
The actual story itself is pretty decent with some cool visuals including a bunch of humanoid deep-sea monsters wanting to feed on humans. But as with most comic book serials, the story doesn't go in-depth much and doesn't give much to hang onto afterwards. So, this compilation of modernized Aquaman comics pretty much just does what a comic does most of the time: Colorful, light entertainment for a quick read. Nothing more, nothing less.
Geoff Johns' Aquaman was an earlier attempt to update the character for a modern audience by dealing with its reputation head-on. In this, Aquaman is confronted with the same opinions that people have about this DC franchise in real life. They make fun of his ability to "speak" with fish, joke about his goofy outfit, and ask him whether he's seen all the funny parodies of his online. No one takes him seriously and he deals with that.
There has been other media since then that tried to tackle this reputation of the character, like the 2018 Aquaman movie or, more successfully, the show The Boys with its stand-in character called "The Deep". But this comic came before all of that. So while its attempts at incorporating the character's reception and standing in modern pop culture into the story might be a bit on the nose now, it must have been pretty fresh back in 2011.
The actual story itself is pretty decent with some cool visuals including a bunch of humanoid deep-sea monsters wanting to feed on humans. But as with most comic book serials, the story doesn't go in-depth much and doesn't give much to hang onto afterwards. So, this compilation of modernized Aquaman comics pretty much just does what a comic does most of the time: Colorful, light entertainment for a quick read. Nothing more, nothing less.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Sexual harassment
gaelmontiel's review against another edition
4.0
Everyone who's mocked Aquaman for being a lame superhero should get a copy of the first issue in this collection. Instead of using The New 52 as an excuse to give the character a clean start, Geoff Johns struggles with its unpopularity -somebody actually asks him "How's it feel to be nobody's favorite super-hero?"- and the results are great. The action-packed 4-issue opening arc,"The Trench", is followed by two self-conclusive stories: one that hints a major storyline in the future, and one that focuses on Aquaman's girlfriend, Mera. Although the former is the worse (mostly because of the art work), the six issues are perfect for establishing Aquaman's new status quo. In Green Lantern, Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis proved to be one of the best creative teams at DC, and they prove it again by granting Aquaman the comeback the character deserved.
jessiswhelmed's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
ayoung720's review against another edition
4.0
This was one of the first comics I ever read when I really started getting into them around 2015 and I absolutely loved this introduction to Aquaman. Just reread it for the first time since then and it holds up just as well... It's very fast paced and can read through in one or two sittings, so for anyone looking for a "light" intro to Aquaman/comics in general, I highly recommend this story.
wisecraic's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
daniel61793's review against another edition
5.0
I love all the color and art work that has went into this trade back. Most important LOVE the storie such a great one, I could really relate to it but also just a fantastic comic trade. I will be continuing the series
gohawks's review against another edition
3.0
I read this because I generally like Johns, but Aquaman is hard to craft a great story around. Johns does his admirable best, but the story isn't bursting with humor as NY Times blurb suggests. Reis's pencils are just fine, not amazing.
jonathonjones's review against another edition
2.0
It's hard to believe that the same person who wrote Batman Earth One wrote this book - it's so bad. Everything happens way too fast, conflicts are over before they even really begin, jumps to the past are added in randomly in a way that doesn't add to the story... it's just a mess.
The artwork is good, and some of the interactions between Aquaman and humans about how nobody likes him but he's actually pretty powerful are funny, but there's really nothing else to recommend it.
The artwork is good, and some of the interactions between Aquaman and humans about how nobody likes him but he's actually pretty powerful are funny, but there's really nothing else to recommend it.