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‘Aquaman #42’ (review)

Written by Dan Abnett
Illustrated by Lan Medina 
Published by DC Comics

 

“This is your journey son. It’s time to grow up.
Be the seafarer I know you can be.”

This month’s issue of Aquaman picks up smack dab in the middle this November’s Justice League Drowned Earth event, to deal with what exactly happens after Poseidon skewers Arthur on his trident in what could only be a mortal blow, in Justice League #11.

But this is a mortal blow struck by a God of Olympus, in a mytho-conceptual realm of his own divine Afterlife.

It’s not too surprising then, (even if Wonder Woman’s a little slow on the uptake), to find ourselves transported with Aquaman to yet another Afterlife.

One particularly suited to the world’s greatest water-themed hero, in the very midst of the world’s greatest water-themed crisis: a vast, blood-red, Dead Sea.

Clever.

And yes, maybe just a little convoluted. But more on that later.

Here and now, this is a story, appropriately, about Arthur Curry. And as the final issue of a successful, solid, and well-crafted run on the title by writer Dan Abnett, it’s a pretty good swan song.

Like any good hero story, Arthur seeks to return to his tribe with treasure and salvation. Like any good hero story, that requires a testing. For a hero who has been stripped of kingdom, love, power, and life, it’s not surprising then that the core challenge before our hero is to find his way back to the true source of his own personal power, not just as a hero, but as a man.

All of which is a perfect set up for Abnett to tell a tale that gets to the very core of Arthur Curry’s soul, complete with a brief phantasmagorical review of his greatest adversaries, both old and new, and his greatest love.

Scott Snyder launching the Drowned Earth event with a glimpse into the boyhood of Arthur, has been one of my favorite moments of this series. It humanizes Aquaman, makes Arthur more relatable as a character, and it serves to anchor him a bit more solidly to his human heritage above the waves. Something similar is ahead for the franchise in December, with DC’s Aquaman movie, so the nod is timely.

Abnett takes that cue and starts us off on the Dead Sea with more of young Arthur, in his new archetypal role as Mariner, navigating a skiff with his father, proving to him, proving to himself as well – and significantly, perhaps proving to Life itself – that he has learned the necessary Mastery to sail from unknown and challenging seas, to the calm waters of his own, truest safe harbor.

Sure, that metaphor is a little heavy. OK, it’s a lot heavy. Heck, we’re pretty much swimming in metaphors by the end. The sequence works nonetheless. In large part because Abnett keeps it both charming and straightforward. And heroic. And – let’s face it – he had fun with it too.

So, spoiler, does Aquaman pass the test and surge back to life? Sure. Does he come back with the treasure he went to the Graveyard of the Gods to regain? Not… exactly.

I mean, yes, sort of. Arthur Curry, the man, did. That’s important.

But how about Aquaman, the hero? The one who’s trying to get back his powers and his connection to the waters of Life running throughout all of earth’s oceans?

Well, for that story you’ll have to dive back in with Justice League #12. Because things are never that easy anymore.

Never mind. This issue is as much about Dan Abnett saying good-bye, as it was about whatever happens to Aquaman from here-on out. He takes full advantage of the opportunity.

And why not? As swan songs go, it’s hard to ask for a better set-up. Hard to say whether he’ll ever be blessed with such a sweet send-off opportunity again.

Though I’ll just go ahead and assume that with the end of this 50-issue run of Aquaman, DC already has something else in mind for Mr. Abnett’s talents. Something beyond what he’s doing already with Titans and Silencer, that is.

Maybe another team book.

Maybe he’ll figure out a way to end one of those runs with as much storytelling panache, as he’s got here. After another good, long, and successful run of great comic storytelling that is.

Hey, we can hope.

After all. Hope springs eternal.

Next Issue: New creative team! And a new chapter for Aquaman. As Arthur Curry washes ashore from the waters of Lethe…

 

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