Category Aquaman

Sep 27 2012

Aquaman 0

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Aquaman 0, originally released September 26th, 2012. Aquaman 0 is part of the line-wide Zero Month.

Shelby: Geoff Johns is a big picture kind of guy. When he gets an idea, it’s a big idea. This plays out well in trade paperback collections of his story arcs, when you can read them in great big chunks. It doesn’t always work so well in the monthly issues; when a huge story is dragged out over months, the pace slows and it’s hard to keep that big picture in your mind. I think Johns found a solution to the problem: just write an issue with a story so big it spans all the oceans, treat it like the opening scenes of a movie, and give your artists plenty of elbow room.

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Aug 30 2012

Aquaman 12

Today, Peter and Patrick are discussing Aquaman 12, originally released August 29th, 2012.

Peter: The multi-issue story arc is an ungainly creature. What should the first issue look like? How about the last? What shape does it take in the middle? I tend to read my comics the way I think DC wants me to: one at a time, the week they come out. But sometimes that episodic reading does a disservice to the story. That’s why someone decided to collect them into graphic novels. “The Others” is definitely one of those stories that I am going to have to go back and read as a whole from start to finish to get the full effect. Geoff Johns has crafted something that definitely will flow together better as a whole, because frankly, this is a roller coaster of emotion and story.

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Jul 26 2012

Aquaman 11

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Aquaman 11, originally released July 25th, 2012.

Shelby: Despite what you are currently reading, I don’t really think of myself as a writer. Art was always my schtick, the only writing I did in school was academic papers and the occasional bullshit artist’s statement. I’ve been a reader, however, since I was 4, so I’m pretty good at figuring out what I like in a story. I know that sometimes exposition is necessary to advance the plot or give character insight, and I think there are natural ways to present that information within the story. Comics, though, have such opportunity to show me what I need to know instead of just telling me, I sometimes don’t quite know why writers chose to have their characters just standing around gabbing when they could be doing something so much cooler to give me the info I need. 

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Jun 28 2012

Aquaman 10

Today, Peter and Shelby are discussing Aquaman 10, originally released June 27th, 2012.

Peter: Since its return last year, Aquaman has been selling extremely well just about every month. That is really surprising to me. For a while I’m wasn’t sure what was driving these sales. Was it Aquaman nostalgia? Was his impressive run in Brightest Day? Out of all the books I have been reading, it’s been pretty hit and miss. It has some really great issues (issue 5) that have been amazing, and some really terrible issues (issue 6) that just don’t work. With the introduction of the Others storyline, Aquaman has quickly become one of my favorite books again. This issue is no exception, giving incredible historic elements, as well as dynamic characters.

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May 28 2012

Aquaman 9

Today, Shelby and Peter are discussing Aquaman 9, originally released May 23rd, 2012.

Shelby: I have grown to appreciate Aquaman. I used to think he was pretty lame, but I think his character has been fleshed out in recent years. There’s some depth to him now; he’s a man torn between two worlds, and all that. Geoff Johns obviously has some grand ideas for where he wants to take Aquaman; he just keeps doling out his ideas at such a slow pace, I’m afraid there will be a point when my questions so outnumber the answers, I’m just going to get fed-up.

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Apr 26 2012

Aquaman 8

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Aquaman 8, originally released April 25th, 2012.

Shelby:  Geoff Johns first impressed me with Rebirth, the retold origin arc of Hal Jordan as Green Lantern. His narratives combine epic, sweeping action with a much closer, personal look at the characters. He has a knack for writing emotion that doesn’t diminish the super-humanness of these characters. Lately, I haven’t been quite as impressed; both Justice League and Aquaman have felt a little….pedantic. It’s true, I have fallen away from Johns somewhat with the relaunch, but I feel like this Aquaman arc is beginning to get back to what it is I first liked so very much about his writing.
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Apr 2 2012

Aquaman 7

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Aquaman 7, originally released March 28th, 2012.

Shelby:   I felt hugely relieved after reading this month’s Aquaman. After the less-than-exciting conclusion to the Trench arc, followed up with a TERRIBLE issue about Mera’s trip to town, I was beginning to regret picking up Aquaman. “Maybe I was wrong,” I thought to myself. “Maybe Aquaman can only be the butt of jokes! Maybe the awesomeness he exuded in Blackest Night and Brightest Day was all an elaborate ruse by Geoff Johns to sucker people into reading Aquaman, like a huge practical joke!” Happily, this issue has assuaged my doubts with an exciting introduction to what I’m hoping will be a really fun arc about the mystery of Atlantis. 
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Feb 23 2012

Aquaman 6

Today, Shelby and Patrick are discussing Aquaman 6, originally released February 22nd, 2012.

Shelby: You may not know this about me, but every weekend I put together the headers for the Alternating Currents for the following week. Doing so means I take a little sneak peak at the cover art for upcoming issues. Last weekend, as I was working my way through these, I got really, really excited for Aquaman 6. I mean, just look at it! We’ve got fire and water constructs and cars flying around and, front and center, we’ve got Mera herself, looking like all kinds of badass. “This is it!” I thought to myself. “This is that moment I’ve been waiting for since the relaunch! Time for Mera to shine!” Ultimately, I was let down.
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Feb 3 2012

Aquaman 5

Today, Peter and Shelby are discussing Aquaman 5, originally released January 25th, 2012.

Peter: As someone who read all 52 issues of The New 52, I had high hopes for some characters that I felt, in my opinion had been neglected in the past. Aquaman was one of these. From his recent revival in Blackest Night, and Brightest Day, also penned by author Geoff Johns and drawn by Ivan Reis, from his portrayal as a Black Lantern zombie, to the Water Elemental guardian as chosen by the The Entity, Arthur has gone through some fairly drastic changes in both physical appearance and mental status in the recent past. Coming into the New 52, I was especially excited because Johns wasn’t doing a full remake of Aquaman, like many other characters in the New 52. Johns instead decided to use the character momentum that he had started to develop in previous storylines, and continue on with it, and that is what Johns, Reis, and company are doing here. Continue reading →

Jan 24 2012

Aquaman 4

Originally Published January 6, 2011

DC Comics recently relaunched their entire series, giving curious but uninitiated nerds a convenient entry point.  Fellow blogger Drew Baumgartner and I are two such nerds, and we’ve decided to jump in with a handful of monthly titles.  We really wanted to pull out all the nerd stops, so we’re also going to be writing about them here and on Drew’s blog (which you should all be reading anyway) every Friday.  This week, I’m hosting the discussion of Aquaman while Drew is hosting the discussion of Nightwing.

Patrick: Aquaman is poised to make a comeback.  Stacked, even.  Writer Geoff Johns and artist Ivan Reis know what everyone thinks of the character and they’re making a very specific effort to make him one of the great heroes in DC’s stables.  And these titans of the industry attempt to accomplish this by making Aquaman out to be a mighty force for good, a nearly invincible warrior that saves a seaside village from gang of roving fish-monsters. Continue reading →