Aquaman #36 Review and **SPOILERS**

“New Look” Corum Rath

Writer: Dan Abnett 

Artist: Riccardo Federici 

Colorist: Sonny Gho 

Letterer: Steve Wands 

Cover: Stjepan Sejic 

Assistant Editor: Andrea Shea

Editor: Alex Antore 

Group Editor: Brian Cunningham 

Cover Price: $3.99 

On Sale Date: May 16, 2018

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Here we are, at week 338 of the Ninth Trides Uprising! Though the solicit for this issue called it the Atlantean Civil War…and I could swear Corum Rath called it the Taint Blood Revolution at some point. Guess it depends on your vantage point, huh? Find out my vantage point in my review of Aquaman #36, right here!

Explain It!

We like to imagine that political uprisings are spontaneous, that revolutions happen overnight, that the sheer exuberance of freedom-seeking people is all we need to change the world in an instant. It’s not true. Most large-scale actions require careful planning and resource allocation before they can be enacted. The French Revolution didn’t happen out of nowhere; things had been building and dissent was being fomented for years before folks stormed the Bastille. So the slow burn to Aquaman usurping Corum Rath for the throne of Atlantis is somewhat warranted.

But this…this is just fucking ridiculous now. It has been nearly a year since we began this storyline, and it has ambled and circled around its conclusion every month, sapping more dollars from the readers’ pockets, without anything approaching satisfaction. Here we have the cataclysmic meeting between Corum Rath and Aquaman—to be continued next issue! Goddammit! Meanwhile, Vulko, Nadine, and Mother Cetea argue over what type of magic they can find to defeat Corum Rath and his horde of taint blood-killing zombies. And it is just. So. BORING.

Corum Rath is all deformed and monstrous-looking, which is a nice turn of events from a visual standpoint, but it really comes to nothing. He’s able to subdue Murk and almost eliminates him with some kind of electric power, but that’s when Aquaman shows up and starts a-tusslin’ with his trident. And that’s it, the end of the book. Again, we more or less stand in place for the privilege of paying four bucks. Dolphin figures out what magic they need to use to fight Rath, but since we learn nothing about it, there’s no palpable effect. The only saving grace of this issue, and for the series primarily, is the amazing artwork and storytelling by the art team. For three bucks, that might be worthwhile along. For four bucks, you’re getting ripped off.

Bits and Pieces:

This title jogs in place for yet another issue, as the Most Sustained and Boring Revolution continues. By this point, I'd expect anyone displeased with Atlantis would have left by now. I know I would have left this comic, were I not reviewing it. Continued reading of this series is an exercise in being ripped-off.

4.5/10