Art by: Christian Ward
Colors by: Christian Ward
Letters by: Aditya Bidikar
Cover art by: Christian Ward
Cover price: $6.99
Aquaman: Andromeda #3 ends the arc with a story about stories that are remembered and stories that are forgotten, and if you don't let your stories or the stories of others drive you mad, you better run to escape the story before the story consumes you and wipes the memory of you from the rest of the story.
Is It Good?
Yes, it's just like that. Aquaman: Andromeda #3 is a story about stories. Ram V created this 3-issue arc to explore the symbolic idea of stories and how they shape our past, guide our future, and inform our decisions at every turn. It's high-concept stuff, but unfortunately, it's incredibly tedious reading.
This last issue in the series focuses on the story of the alien craft's origins, the stories of each crew member of Andromeda that led them to this moment in time, and how those stories eventually lead to a destructive outcome that claims lives before the final page is done.
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
The alien ship isn't an alien ship. It's a prison created by ancient Atlanteans to banish a dangerous being of magic from the Earth, a being who drives people mad by showing them their worst fears. If that plot sounds familiar, it's the same premise as the film Sphere (1998). Why or how the ship eventually crashes back to Earth is never addressed. How ancient Atlanteans managed to trap such a powerful being in a ship and launch it into space is never explained.
What follows is a series of panicked people making poor decisions until the only play left is to blow up the ship using Andromeda's engine to create a mini-black hole. Once the plan is set, it's a race between military forces above, Black Manta's force blow to steal whatever he can on the "alien" ship, and the Andromeda crew to destroy what cannot be controlled.
Through it all, the reading becomes incredibly tedious with Ram V's flowery, pretentious, and ultimately pointless soliloquies about the nature of stories. What makes the reading more ponderous is the lack of Aquaman in his own story. Arthur Curry is a side character - almost a plot device - in his own title, so the weight of interest falls on new, human characters who aren't particularly interesting and come with loads of emotional baggage. This title would be more accurate if it was renamed - Andromeda, guest-starring Aquaman.
Christian Ward's art is fit for purpose in this issue. Some scenes look convoluted and muddy. Other scenes, ones where Aquaman is fighting in his full armor, are visually impactful. However, Ward deserves credit for giving the issue a cinematic feel in the panel compositions and the dramatic use of camera angles.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Bits and Pieces:
Aquaman: Andromeda #3 ends the mini-series with a story about stories that create stories. Filled with over-narration, and exposition, the arc boils down to a DC Comics version of the movie Sphere (1998). Just watch the film instead.
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