Aquaman #46 Review and **SPOILERS**

The Gods Must Be Lazy

Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick

Penciller: Robson Rocha

Inker: Daniel Henriques

Colorist: Sunny Gho

Letterer: Clayton Cowles

Cover: Rocha, Henriques & Fco Plascencia

Variant Cover: Esteban Maroto

Assistant Editor: Andrea Shea

Editor: Alex Antone

Group Editor: Brian Cunningham

Cover Price: $3.99

On Sale Date: March 20, 2019

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Here it is, the penultimate issue of Kelly Sue Deconnick and Robson Rocha’s first arc (and Henriques, Gho, and Cowles, come to think of it…I believe it’s been the same team every issue) on Aquaman. It’s been good. Not great, but interesting, and it makes me want to read more. In fact, let’s do that right now and then check out my review of Aquaman #46, appearing below!

Explain It!

That Kelly Sue Deconnick, she’s a clever one. My main complaint of this arc, particularly its first two issues, is that we were thrown into a tense, supposedly dire situation that we didn’t fully understand. The pertinent information for this story is being told in reverse, in a way, so that our questions are being answered as the story progresses—which is actually how normal stories work. It’s really only in comics, where we expect familiar trappings and for characters to behave a certain way that we get annoyed when information isn’t dispensed up front. How can we determine that the creative team is wrong when we can’t definitively say what is happening?

I am now enjoying this story, and I think it will read very well as a collected edition. I am still dubious about the stakes involved—Namma wants to turn the world into salt, but somehow I don’t think that will happen. When Aquaman and Caillie arrive on her island, however, she does reveal that Caillie was merely a vessel for Namma’s missing piece, with which her power will be ultimate. This means Caillie will die in the process, which doesn’t bother Namma, but at which Aquaman takes great offense. He fusses with Namma enough to annoy her into leaving Caillie alive with some power—enough to make her look like a sexy lady Blue Devil—then cruises off to kill everything.

And while this happens, the newly re-established water gods convene to decide whether they should help or not. These lesser gods treat Namma like a stern mother, as well they should, and fear confronting her—again, as well they should, since they did kill her husband long ago. But these scenes do slow things down, particularly since you know they’re going to agree to help by the end. Still, Robson Rocha and co. make these scenes look very cool with some great angles, giving the entire thing a cinematic feel.

My other complaint is that during some of the action between Aquaman and Namma, the storytelling gets a little too loose and it’s tough to tell exactly what is happening. You get the basic idea, though, and these scenes are very dynamic and captivating, against the salty, spiked landscape of Namma’s island. I am now officially enjoying this story, and I expect it will conclude strongly with the next issue. It’s a pretty good opening salvo from this creative team and will likely be remembered well. But the monthly grind brings other expectations, and I can’t be faulted for expecting the sun to rise again after so many successive years of daylight.

Bits and Pieces:

Things fall into place as Aquaman and Caillie confront Namma, revealing a secret that I’m pretty sure we already knew. Now that all the characters introduced feel relevant, the story has become more compelling, which I guess is a pretty neat trick in comics today.

8/10