Throughout the first four issues of DC Comics new Aquaman series, Jeremy Adams has taken everything away from our hero, shoved him into a new and magical unknown world, and has even given him an upgraded version of his classic trident. As if things weren’t ramping up enough, Adams takes this fifth chapter to really accelerate the narrative as we hurdle towards what I assume will be the finale to this (hopefully) first story arc.
Last month saw Aquaman getting a new soul-forged version of his classic trident that I instantly fell in love with: Thalassa, the Trilance Saber. A trident that can shift into a big-ass sword and back again on a whim? Iconic. And then seeing him cut through an entire ship with it? Undeniably badass. With his sleeves now missing (hell yeah), Aquaman was freed from his captors and stood ready to take on Dagon and find his family.
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This new issue opens up by giving readers a peek into the justice system (I use those words loosely) in Dagon’s high court within his city in The Blue. As you can imagine, the judges working for our villain don’t have a light hand when it comes to their verdicts. In fact, the moment they render punishment led to my first laugh of this issue. As the clearly innocent people are sent out into The Blue to be eaten, this issue’s title comes up as they scream. The title/credits box reads: “Aquaman in…Yeeaaah! Aahhh! Oh God! Oh God It’s Eating My–! Ahhhh!” It’s incredibly dark but damn if it didn’t make me chuckle.
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That’s one thing that Adams has continually succeeded in with this series: surprising me. Besides the above, he introduced water-based mythical creatures like Grindylows and Jenny Greenteeth. Adams does it again this issue as Arthur and his crew run into Captain Nemo, of Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, as they explore Dagon’s city. After rescuing the iconic captain from Dagon’s cops, Arthur is ready to raise ten kinds of hell to finally confront this new villain. Under another writer, Aquaman’s actions to provoke Dagon’s forces so he and his crew get arrested could be taken as dumb or rash. But Adams writes with a wryness that infuses the book with a fun, swashbuckling sensibility. I couldn’t help but have fun when Aquaman said, “Well then…let’s cause some trouble….” The issue’s story manages to be both badass and fun in equal measure.
As soon as I saw that we were going to explore the world of The Blue and Dagon’s city within it, I got excited. And that excitement was paid off with John Timm’s fun and expressive line work. The creature citizens of The Blue are either gross or cute while Timms’ rendering of action scenes come across as dynamic. Jeferson Saozinski assists with inks on this issue and they boldly help bring Timms’ expressive work to life. Rex Lokus really got to unleash with all of the citizens and colors of The Blue – this issue has enough colors to make the art by Timms really pop off the page.
As we come to a close on this first chapter of Adams’ Aquaman, I’m left with some questions that loom ever larger as time goes on. Are we near the end of our time in The Blue? Or are we getting another chapter to explore more of who this mysterious Dagon is? What did Dagon do to Mera? Lastly and more dourly, as an Aquaman fan, I can’t help but wonder how much longer this title will last. There are so many questions I want answers to and I hope the editors at DC give Adams the runway to explore as much as he wants to.
For whatever is coming next, Adams and co. have shown that they can put Aquaman through paces both sad, tense, and fun. I couldn’t ask for more from an Aquaman book.
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