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Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Aquaman (Vol.9) #5


"The Drowning Part Five: Executive Sanction" by Dan Abnett, Philipe Briones, and Gabe Eltaeb.

Having been "freed" by Mera from a government detention center, Aquaman and Mera find themselves face to face with a small army (literally), all ready to fire upon our heroes. When fired upon, Mera is ready to respond with lethal force, but Aquaman still tries to keep things from getting too out of hand. Despite being outnumbered, the soldiers don't pose much of a threat, leaving Aquaman and Mera enough room to have an ongoing discussion about their relationship throughout the melee!

Meanwhile, tensions get ratcheted up in both the White House Situation room, and Atlantis, as they respond to the events. Finally, the fight is halted when a another party arrives: Superman!


I have to assume that writer Dan Abnett is having a bit of a laugh with this issue, since I couldn't help but chuckle at our heroes having a "talk" about their relationship, while at the same time flipping tanks and stopping choppers in mid-air. It's not intended as criticism; in fact I liked the comedic aspect of it, mixed in with the big action moments. Aquaman and Mera are complete butt-kickers here, so watching them squabble in a manner a lot of us can relate to I thought was charming.

And while I want to see the whole Aquaman vs. America think wrapped up soon, I did enjoy seeing the White House consider the Sea King the "most dangerous" member of the JLA. I wonder what Batman would think about that?

As I mentioned last issue, I think Philipe Briones is getting better with each issue (where have you gone, Brad Walker, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you), with his rendition of Mera still his most effective. Another thing he's good at is scene setting--both the sub-plots in Atlantis and Antarctica (where Black Manta meets the head of N.E.M.O.) have lots of interesting visual design going on and are interesting to look at.

Speaking of the art, I have been loving Brad Walker's covers for this series--they have a real fluidity of movement combined that reminds me a touch of the great Michael Golden. They have consistently been winners.

Aquaman #5 is on sale now!


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