COMIC BOOK REVIEW - Aquaman: Throne of Atlantis
By The Masked Medic
Man, I’m speeding through these reviews. You guys are so lucky. Or not depending on how much my notifications annoy you! Anyways, I thought it was time to return to the seas and continue reading the Aquaman New 52 series. This has certainly been one of the dark horses in the competition of my favourite comic book series because genuinely I did not expect it to be that good. You guys know that when it comes to the films, I’ve been pretty Anti-Geoff Johns due to his meddling, however, I can admit the man does know how to write good comics.
‘Throne of Atlantis’ starts with a flashback issue which tells us the story of young Arthur Curry who discovers that he is of two worlds; the land and Atlantis. Guided by his mother’s old advisor Vulko, Arthur learns of who he is and where he’s from. Cut to the present day and Arthur meets with his half-brother, Orm, to find out if he has been behind the plot whereby Black Manta was attempting to locate ancient Atlantean relics, which Arthur suspects will be used by Atlantis to fight the surface world with. Orm denies it stating that he has no desire to attack. However, when a US ship unknowingly launches nuclear missiles into an Atlantean city, Orm gathers his forces and prepares to attack. Arthur, realizing that things may get out of control, locates his Justice League colleagues and asks for help. But Atlantis moves first and suddenly the entire East Coast is under attack. Despite their best efforts, Batman and Aquaman can only save so many people in Gotham, and the same for Superman and Wonder Woman in Metropolis. Once Orm arrives on land, Arthur begs his friends to let him handle his brother, but things go south very quickly and Aquaman has to decide whose side he is on. Despite four of the League members taking on Orm, they are hastily dispatched to the bottom of the ocean by the magic in Orm’s sceptre. However, it soon appears that the Trench has been reopened and the creatures seen in ‘The Trench’ are back, but not under Orm’s orders. Can Arthur save his friends? Can he save his brother? And just who exactly is the mastermind behind this?
Once again, the novel delivers a good story that has numerous twists and turns that keeps the reader interested and invested. Now that we have an idea of who Arthur is, this novel also seeks to increase the number of scenes we see him interacting with the wider comic book world. Aquaman remains one of the strongest DC characters ever, but ’Throne of Atlantis’ really begins to explore that in greater detail. I mean we know that he’s strong and has unbreakable skin, but he’s also a royal and with that comes a necessity for diplomacy. I also felt like we really got an idea of who Orm, aka Ocean Master, really is in the novel. Often he’s forgotten in favour of Black Manta, but he’s probably more likely to be able to go toe-to-toe with Arthur.
The majority of the artwork was done by Ivan Reis, who I think is a phenomenal artist. His ability to draw cool scenes is excellent, and I like that he always makes Batman’s eyes look like an actual bat. Minor. He of course did the covers as well, which were really good. Overall, this is another good novel in what is shaping up to be an excellent series. I think anyone looking to get into Aquaman as a character needs to read this series! I hope it continues this way!
Favourite Panel:
Everyone is scared of this man. Everyone.
Favourite Character:
The obvious choice here seems like Aquaman, but I also think Mera is pretty awesome!
Rating:
Story Arc: ★★★½
Character Development: ★★★½
Artwork: ★★★★
Enjoyability: ★★★½
Re-readability: ★★★
Level: Intermediate