Aquaman #64 Review

 

Same Old Song and Dance

Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick

Artist: Miguel Mendonca, Romulo Fajardo Jr. and Clayton Cowles

Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: October 21, 2020

If you have been enjoying Aquaman, I am sure you couldn't wait to get back to the wedding!  While I enjoyed Jordan Clark's two-part Jackson Hyde spotlight, it also had me chomping at the bit waiting to see what Kelly Sue had in store when she returned.  Unfortunatley, it felt like parts of the story were left behind to focus on Aquaman vs. Ocean Master.  Let's get into it...

The last we saw of the wedding, things were not going great...for anyone!  The shit had hit the underwater fan, and it felt like a battle royale was breaking out between the Seven Kingdoms.  We start with that here, but it soon devolves into a shouting match between Arthur and Orm while Mera gets held back by Lernaea.  

Orm has set this all up, but as his Daigon forces breach and invade Atlantis, there is a big disconnect between the big stuff going on to Atlantis and the big stuff Deconnick wants to deal with.  Yea, we get a little scene of evacuation and also Vulko freeing Mother Cetea, but after all the setup, this is only about Aquaman and Ocean Master.  I guess that's fine, but it seems to always end up like this, and I thought this time would be different.  There is still hope, but for now, we spend a significant chunk of the issue watching Arthur trash talk Orm and then challenge him to a Monarchial Battle.  It doesn't even feel right after everything that lead to this moment.  

We continue with an extended average fight that ended with a cliffhanger that might have been more shocking if this run didn't start with a dead Aquaman.  Again, there may be surprises coming our way, but I guess we will see some sea gods and Mother Shark shortly.

This issue was a disappointment.  After all of the setup and recent two-month wait, I expected so much more.  Kelly Sue has a couple of issues left of her run, and I hope it ends more substantial than this.

I did like Miguel Mendonca's art, which did a great job of showing the emotions of the characters and giving a clear perspective of the action.

Bits and Pieces:

I have been looking forward to this issue for months, and maybe I expected too much because I was disappointed.  Most of the wedding setup and the Seven Kingdoms disappeared to get to an Aquaman vs. Ocean Master fight like so many other stories.  While there is still time to turn it around, this issue felt uninspired.

6.0/10