The Bigger they Are, the Longer they Float
Writer:
Dan Abnett
Penciller:
Scot Eaton
Inker:
Wayne Faucher
Colorist:
Gabe Eltaeb
Letterer:
Pat Brosseau
Cover Artists: Brad Walker, Andrew Hennessey & Gabe Eltaeb
Cover Price:
$2.99
On Sale Date: October 5, 2016
**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE
BOTTOM**
Hey, Arthur Curry of Amnesty Bay, Maine! The Red Sawx
made it inta the World Series playoffs! You gotta be ecstatic, this is wicked
awesome! How d’ya think they’re gonna do? D’ya think they could end up facing
the Cubs in the Series? I’m gettin’ chills, bro! I dunno if you get reg’lar
television down in Atlantis, so if you need ta know a score or somethin’, gimme
a holler! I owe you one for the latest issue of Aquaman, I thought it was freakin’…y’know what? Lemme tell ya about
it!
Explain It!
As has been required of Atlantean royalty since time
immemorial, Mera is required to go through undersea finishing school with a
dried up prune wearing a croissant on her head named Mother Cetea. She’s the,
uh, mother of the Tower of the Widowhood, which is this floating tower on a
point that looks absolutely cool as heck. Elder Koah and Mother Cetea remind
Mera of how unworthy she is to marry Aquaman, before inviting her in to learn
about proper place settings and such. Over at Atlantis’ municipal district,
Aquaman has risen early to hang out in the monitoring room, which is sort of
Orwellian if you think about it. He’s just in time for them to detect a
rhythmic sea-quake, south of the city rim, and faithful readers will remember
that it’s being caused by the giant monster created by N.E.M.O. that their new
leader, Black Manta, released last issue!
Aquaman determines to take the fight to the giant,
and it bats him away without much effort. Seasoned veteran Murk comes up with
the brilliant plan to shoot the monster with weapons, which stop it…for a short
time! Its wounds actually heal themselves and it gets up, as strong (or
stronger) than ever! After the beast beats down the Atlantean Guard for a
while, Arthur wakes up and attacks it with his trident, which has no immediate
effect. Back at the Tower of the Widows, Mera is being taught how to extend
one’s pinky whilst drinking tea, and she interrupts Lady Resting Bitch Face to
point out that the emergency horns have sounded, and she should go check out
what’s happening. Madame Liver Lips says that if she leaves, then she will
never be worthy of marrying Aquaman, and plus she’ll be marked absent for the
day.
Back at the city, the rampaging beast has breached
the defenses and is terrorizing the public, despite the fact that they should
ostensibly be able to swim well above its reach. Black Manta is observing
through a sonar screen, and asks Black Jack if it has slowed slightly since
beginning its onslaught. “No,” she replies, “not even slightly.” I normally
wouldn’t mention this scene, except to note that she’s absolutely lying; the
beast was knocked down at least once for about ten or twenty seconds, and it’s
been staggered and routed a few times while batting around the Atlantean Guard.
It’s not like the thing was really hindered too badly, but it was slowed
slightly. Anyway, the Atlantean start bringing out the big guns on this thing,
and dispel enough of its muck exterior to reveal…Shaggy Man! Yes! I never
expected this but it turns out to be the perfect thing! And it turns out
Atlantis isn’t even Shaggy Man’s target—it’s Arthur’s hometown, Amnesty Bay!
Well, this was a pleasant surprise! After being so
lukewarm about Aquaman for the last
several issues, I enjoyed this one from front to back. Mind you, the reveal of
Shaggy Man is likely to have contributed a lot to my good feelings. There was
lots of good action, an interesting conflict presented to Mera that doesn’t
involve her telling Aquaman how little he needs the surface dwellers, and great
artwork. Can’t hope for much more than that. Well, Topo. We could hope for Topo
to come back.
Bits and
Pieces:
8.5/10
In Aquaman's underwater world is there an up or down?
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