Aquaman #2 – Jeremy Adams, Writer; John Timms, Artist; Rex Lokus, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Jeremy Adams has been very good at exploring different genres in his DC work. His Flash was more of a traditional superhero run with a focus on family, and his Green Lantern is an old-school space epic. But he’s never really dove into horror before – until now. This issue gives us a much better idea of what his Aquaman run is going to be like, and it’s nothing like what I expected. Aquaman is in search of his family and his kingdom, which has disappeared leaving only an Omega-shaped gate behind – always an ominous sign. He enters and finds himself in a desolate, muddy landscape, populated only by rampaging sentient reptiles that seem both belligerent and terrified of an unseen master they follow. Aquaman does his best to fight with the little water he has, but is soon overcome and dragged to his fate – where the mysterious Jenny Greenteeth is waiting.
This character reminds me of something out of Vertigo, not main line DC books. She seems to be a creature of the green, but twisted beyond anything we’ve seen. She needs moisture in this dry land, and she gets it any way she can – including from the blood of her enemies. So Aquaman finds himself captured and bled to keep her sustained – along with a fellow prisoner who has been there much longer. The identity of the prisoner and his ties to Atlantis promises to take this title into a realm that Aquaman books rarely go, and his reaction once released also hints at a far more brutal version of the iconic hero. Aquaman is one of those heroes who isn’t truly a superhero – he’s a fantasy hero who just happened to find himself in a superhero universe, and he has a bag full of more brutal tricks he’s ready to pull out when he needs them. The first issue had my attention, but this one has my fascination.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
