When Jeremy Adams’ Aquaman series was announced for the DC All-In initiative, I was beyond stoked. I’ve been loving a lot of the modern runs on Aquaman and couldn’t wait to see what Adams and co. would bring to this underwater corner of the DC universe. Then the first issue hit and the mystery of this series really began. Atlantis and Arthur’s family disappeared? Arthur being referred to as The Dark Tide and fighting water kaiju in the future? Much like the namesake of the publishing initiative, I too was all-in. However, while this series has been good, it hasn’t been without some bumps along the way. With a bombastic first issue and a couple of slower ones to develop the mystery and new world Aquaman finds himself in, this latest chapter moves things along in a fun way.
After opening with a flashback/dream sequence, Arthur is rudely awoken by his captor, Lori Lemaris, as the mermaid takes him to her master, Dagon. Arthur uses his new hydro-kinetic abilities to dry out the wood in the ship’s hull before throwing himself out of the vessel into the swirling maelstrom of water. Luckily for him, his new allies Arion and Vivienne, show up having finished making the soul-forged weapon for Aquaman. Arthur proceeds to wipe the floor with his captors before he and his allies stand triumphant, ready to take on Dagon.
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The standout moment for me in this issue has to be the introduction of Aquaman’s new soul-bonded weapon: Thalassa, The Trilance Saber. I know what you’re wondering: what does that mean? Well, imagine Aquaman’s normal trident but now the two outer tines can slide down the handle to become a cross-guard, turning the trident into a kick-ass longsword. The best part? He can do this mid-combat on and off like some kind of badass slide whistle, depending on what the moment calls for. Making Aquaman’s traditional weapon we all know him to have be able to transform into a sword on a dime is such a smart move.
Artist John Timms and colorist Rex Lokus continue to put out one of the most gorgeous and vibrant books on the stands. Timms renders the dream sequence at the beginning to feel truly ethereal while also deftly handling the action scenes later. This art team always makes me feel greedy as I just want to see more and more of their work on this book each month.
I really enjoyed this issue compared to the last one. Although I had my quibbles about the last issue cover hinting at a Darkseid tie and failing to really touch on it, this issue opts instead to mostly be an action set piece for Aquaman’s new mythic weapon. Reunited with his allies and now armed with Thalassa, Aquaman is ready to take on Dagon and find the answers to where his wife and people disappeared to.
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