REVIEW: Aquaman #41
The second installment on the ‘Road to Drowned Earth’ is here in the shape of Aquaman #41. In regards to the covers, Riccardo Federici provides art for the regular cover which looks stunning, however the events depicted don’t entirely marry up to the story told inside.
The variant issue provided by Joshua Middleton is incredible and conveys a real ‘Universal Monsters’ feel, an old fashioned horror sensibility that benefits from DC Comics recent initiative to enhance art by removing titles and logos from variant covers.
It has begun! The ramification of ‘The Triumvirate’s’ arrival on earth is being felt across the globe and the proud nation of Atlantis is no exemption. This second prelude issue to the ‘Drowned Earth’ event wastes no time introducing the threat unleashed in Justice League #10 and thrusts it upon Atlantis. The majority of this issue is set in Atlantis as the reader bears witness to Commander Murk, The Drift and Queen Mera defending their beloved nation against not only the rising tide but the monstrosities that lie just beneath the waves. This issue is non stop action and really does a fantastic job of pushing the narrative of the overall story forward in blockbuster fashion. The Queen of Atlantis and Mera is at the forefront of the whole issue. Mera is written masterfully by long-term Aquaman scribe Dan Abnett who captures the many facets of Queen Mera’s character perfectly including her heroism, leadership, compassion and overwhelmingly powerful ‘Aqua-kinetic’ skill set. If you are excited to see Mera in the upcoming Aquaman movie and want to find out more about the character, I highly recommend this issue.
The dialogue between characters in this issue convey’s a real sense of urgency and peril especially between Mera and incapacitated Batman who attempts to keep the world afloat in the face of extreme peril. Batman’s reaction to Mera’s feat’s of power and leadership really go a long way in showcasing just how incredible the Queen of Atlanis is and that she is so much more than just Aquaman’s other half. Artist Lan Medina did an incredible job on art duties for this issue especially when the action engulfed not only the characters at the forefront of the action but the entirety of Atlantis too.
This issue was great, full of action and landed all its punches. A fine continuation of the story that touched base with potentially one of the overall story-lines’ biggest hitters who may have a big part to play in the action to come. I can’t wait to see what the tide fetches in next.
