Throwback Thursday: Aquaman #25 Review

The King is Dead, Long Live the King

Written by: Geoff Johns
Art by: Paul Pelletier
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 27, 2013

Before the New 52, Aquaman suffered as the butt of most of the jokes in the DC Universe. Geoff Johns has remedied that and with his final issue of his run  shows us just how great the character has become and will continue to be.

Aquaman #25 ends the Death of a King story arc in a most triumphant way.  This issue ties everything together from the entire run into a huge showdown between Arthur and the Dead King including Vulko, Mera and even the Trench joining in.  The battle between the two kings is well worth the wait and when the smoke (can there be smoke in water?) clears, there will be no doubt at how awesome Aquaman has become.  Kudos to Geoff Johns for a great run and great sendoff.

Besides the battle, there are so many great moments in this issue.  Arthur finally shows why he wants to be King of Atlantis and how great a King he can be.  The moments between him and Mera are both heart warming and heart breaking and also laugh out loud funny.  Johns saves the best for last though with a cliff hanger that sets up future writer Jeff Parker with a great starting point for his run.

Paul Pelletier's art is great as well.  The action scenes explode off the page and the more personal panels look great as well.  There are a few splash pages that are some of the best the series has seen.

If I had to find something wrong with the issue I guess that I was a little upset at how quick the battle with Arthur and King Atlan was.  It was still awesome, but over a bit too fast.

Bits and Pieces:

Aquaman #25 was a great end to the Death of a King arc and a fitting end to Geoff Johns' run on Aquaman. No longer a joke, Johns leaves Aquaman in such a great place for future writer Jeff Parker to continue the story.  It's sad to see Geoff go, but Aquaman fans were certainly lucky to have him.

9.75/10