Aquaman Annual #2 Review

Written by: Jeff Parker
Art by: Yvel Guichet and Alvaro Martinez
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: July 30, 2015

They Live

Anyone up for some good old fashioned monster hunting?  I am a huge fan of Aquaman and Wonder Woman and I loved the grotesque gallery of Giant Born monsters whose story started in Aquaman #29.  They all come together for Aquaman Annual #2, but something seems lost in the translation.

Like a superficial jerk, I love the Giant Born for their looks.  They are a cross between MadBalls and Harryhausen monsters and are just fun to look at.  However, when they open their mouths, I lose interest.  Even when they showed up in Aquaman #29 and #30, I felt the same way.  That pretty much spells disaster for me and this Annual because we get the conclusion to a story that I honestly hadn't given a thought to in three months.



I wish that was my only problem.  The first part of the issue is the Aquaman and Wonder Woman Team-up and the two have less chemistry than Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez in Gigli.  I know they are fellow Justice Leaguers, but it seems weird for them to be hanging out.  It may be that I expected Superman to show up and make things even more awkward or the fact that the whole thing seems forced.

Jeff Parker tries his best with some decent dialogue, but the story is pretty one dimensional.  Hey, I love a good Monster Hunt and Fight, but it seems to go on forever.  Without a strong story around it it just feels unnecessary.

The second part features Wonder Woman and Mera.  While it is basically the same story, hunt the Giant Born and send them back to Hell, I liked it a little more than the first.  Mera and Wonder Woman are pretty good together, though it seemed odd that Wonder Woman didn't know more about her...like she's married to Aquaman.

In the end, this Annual may have ended the Giant Born story, but it felt completely unnecessary.   I still liked to look at the Giant Born, but my love ends there.  I thought that Aquaman and Wonder Woman teaming up would be a no brainer, but I guess I was wrong.

Bits and Pieces:

Aquaman Annual #2 is an overdrawn, unnecessary and forced Aquaman and Wonder Woman Team-up.  The Giant Born look cool and there is some nice action, but the story is paper thin and can't sustain the length of the book.  Aquaman fans who want to see the conclusion to the Giant Born story may get some enjoyment, but others should steer clear.

5.0/10