Written by Dan Abnett
Illustrated by Riccardo Federici
Published by DC Comics
The opening full page picture that opens this issue is King Rath holding up Aquaman by the neck! He has broken Aquaman’s unbreakable trident! He tells Aquaman that all hope is lost! And it very well might be!
Dan Abnett ratchets up the drama from the very beginning and doesn’t let go! This storyline has been pretty damn good and this is a hell of a conclusion to it that ends on a crazy note!
My biggest complaint about this issue is that dramatically it moves very fast. It’s a very good issue but it should have had more pages to breathe.
So, it goes like this: Aquaman looks to be meeting his maker as this issue begins. Then, Mera shows up and fights King Rath.
It’s a hell of a fight. I won’t say who wins but it is pretty spectacular. It also has a shocker of an ending which made me jump and think “how the hell are they going to handle this?”
That’s a credit to the strong writing of Dan Abnett.
I think though it’s better to read this storyline as a whole or as a graphic novel when it comes out. It’s well done but may work better with the whole thing read together, rather than in pieces.
The art by Federici is wonderful. He gives Aquaman a strong visual identity and paces the book nicely. He is just what this series needs. This book has been on the upswing this last year and this is another issue that fits perfectly in that trend.
RATING: B+
