King Arthur has too often been the laughing stock of the DCU. Fans have mocked him. Comics have mocked him. Even pop culture (say.....The Big Bang Theory or Family Guy) has mocked him. In the opening salvo of what I hope will be the definitive Aquaman series, even Geoff Johns mocks him; albeit in the form of a brash, rude blogger seeking to elicit some reaction from the calm, reserved King of the Sea.
My hope is that the book sets the tone for a new investigation of a largely under appreciated member of the Justice League. The last time I felt like a writer was going to dig right into Orin's life and peel back the layers like an onion, inviting us to care about the otherwise uninspiring fish-man was when Peter David took the title in the mid '90s. The unique approach that Johns seems focused on providing us with is a fresh perspective on the hero, while directly confronting the popular opinion that he is a weak hero, with ineffective powers.
I'm not surprised that the opening issue reads well, and sets us on a path I'm very interested in exploring, but I am very pleased. The character has long deserved better, and now we have a chance to see him get it. If Johns can bring to this character some of the compelling storylines he has infused into Flash and Green Lantern in the last decade, we may finally see Aquaman for the major hero he deserves to be. That he ranked #147 in a Wizard poll on the greatest super-heroes ever was a travesty.
This book? So far it's an inspiration!
I'll give it an 'A'.
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