Aquaman - Sword of Atlantis #57 - DC

I knew it. I knew a few months ago when Shawn McManus came on board as the penciller. As soon as that happened I knew that it was the beginning of the end. Shawn always comes on board at the end of a series. So yes. What I'm saying is . . . this is the last issue of Aquaman. Did they at least wrap up all the story-lines here? NO! Of course not. They want to leave us with some kind of hope that an Aquaman book may reemerge in the future. But it won't. At least not anytime soon. So Orin is left in his watery state, in his watery grave. Arthur has started to get some answers about his father and his origin, but not enough to wrap it up. But, he will be involved somehow with the Outsiders. Arthur finally meets up with the Lady of the Lake. She fills him in on Orin's transformation. And that he's not . . . . whole. But that's really all he gets out of her. But we know that somehow Koryak is connected to him. Sub-Diego still hasn't been all put back together. And we don't really know what the whole story is with Topo, or the Thorny Crown, or Dyss or even Aqualad yet. There's so many dangling thread lines. So what do they do . . . they cancel the book. The only thing they say in the next issue blurb is "The Sword of Atlantis returns to it's scabbard for now! But our hero's adventures continue in the Outsiders" Our broken hero. Our shallow and empty hero. I'm upset about the cancellation. But, I'm really upset about all the unresolved issues. Really, it's unacceptable.

Aquaman : Sword of Atlantis #56 - DC

Well, we're starting to make a little more sense this issue. But . . . just a little, mind you. Basically our cast of characters have split up, and we're learning bits a pieces of the story from several different fronts. Garth has gone to talk to Leah. He's looking for his wife and child, and he's also trying to figure out what this whole Thorny Crown connection he has is. But instead he finds out that Leah makes regular trips to Viathan, with this huge ship she has. The problem is, Viathan is on a parallel earth. I guess this ship finds the portals between them and navigates them. When Garth touches it, it seems like it wakes up, and the door to it opens for him. He sees this as a chance to find out what happened to his wife and child. Our young Aquaman is at Tri-dent headquarters, with Cyborg, Lorena and Mayor Durham. They're trying to stop this whole "end of the world" scheme that Krusivax and Vandal Savage have going on. Basically they're going to sink most of the cities on the Pacific rim in to the ocean. Our young Aquaman dumps Vandal Savage in the middle of the ocean, and blows up Krusivax in his ship. So of course they do end up stopping them. But there's just so many other things in play right now. We also have 2 of our cast . . . I don't remember their names . . . that have gone to Neos. I guess they're gathering information for Atlantis. They find out that most of the inhabitants here have come from Dyss. Or rather they escaped from there. And they're looking for someone they call Coleoidiform #3157. No idea who that is. And they don't explain much. Instead they send a crustacean, Sergeant Chelo, back with them to help find him. My first guess is that it's Topo. But I bet it might be our young Aquaman. So, if that all sounds confusing to you . . . you're right. Granted it makes more sense than last issue. But . . . I'm still trying to put it all together. If you don't buy this book, I'd probably wait until after the current story-arc. It'll just give you a headache.

Aquaman : Sword of Atlantis #55 - DC

All the story-lines in this book are starting to come together. The problem is, right now, they all seem a bit . . . odd. Before I get to that though, I'd like to welcome Kevin Maguire back to the comic scene. He does the cover for this issue. Does this mean he may be doing some interiors somewhere soon? I hope so. Tad Williams writes this book. But, I hate to blame him for the obtuseness of the story. I really don't think it's his fault. If anything, I think that he's trying to wrap up all these various story-lines that seem to go all the way back to the sinking of San-Diego. If not earlier. As far as the art goes . . I'm a fan of Shawn McManus. However, I notice that when he first takes on a book, his work is kind of . . . thin, I guess would be the best word for it. It's almost like, until he gets in to the book, he doesn't really get in to the art. It looks like he takes some shortcuts. But then . . as he gets in to the story, his work gets much improved. The problem though is, as he gets ready to end his run, his work gets shoddy at the end again. The good news is that his stuff looks pretty good in this issue. So I'm guessing that he's starting to get in to the book . . or the work. Also since it has been improving, I'm guessing that he's going to be here for a while longer. Anyways, overall it is a decent book . . even if it is a little hard to follow all the plot-lines. And they continue to bring in a potpourri of characters. Now Vandal Savage and Krusivax is brought in to the mix. And at the end of this issue, Cyborg becomes involved. I like this book. I just hope this whole thing comes together soon so we can resolve it.

Aquaman : Sword of Atlantis #54 - DC

Ok, this one was more than little confusing. Even Arthur, a couple of times in this book says, "Ok . . I'm totally lost." They give him some explanations about Sub Diego, Progene Tech, and Geist. Again, "I'm not getting any less lost. Anyone want to explain?" Anyways, Arthur already has himself a pretty big cast of characters. There's King Shark, Topo, Tempest, Lorena, Cal the Mayor and his wife, Chief Marley, and a few other stragglers. Oh yeah, and his dad's back this issue also. Basically, they came back to Sub Diego, an issue or 2 ago, I think, and Black Manta was running the city. Well between Arthur and his crew, and King Shark biting off Manta's face, they end up chasing him off. This issue they find out that Manta was actually working for this Progene Tech. And the real reason he took over Sub Diego was to get access to all the DNA samples. He was reporting to them regularly. They also find, in the lab, a large vat of Joker toxin. When they do a little more digging, they find that this Progene Tech has a subsidiary right here in Sub Diego, Tri-dent Industries. Arthur and Lorena decide that they're going to go talk to them. They're met with more than a little resistance. They're both captured, and Arthur is used, by Krusivax, to get his father to do what they wish. That's where the reunion happens. But there's also a little confusion here. Arthur thought that he survived his dad's lab explosion, and that's when he started living in the water. But his dad says he died, " . . . months before the lab was destroyed. I was there . . . I held your hand as you stopped breathing. You can't be Arthur, because my son is dead!" So more confusion in this already confusing story. On top of that, we find out that Progene Tech was actually founded by Vandal Savage. Who has now come to Sub Diego. "I've just escaped from prison, Merman, and I'm in a foul mood. Don't waste time on chatter . . . point me at something I can kill." Like I said very convoluted story-line. They're coming at this one from all angles. I just wish I knew which angle was the right one. And why we haven't heard anything more about Orin's corpse turning to water. "Lucy . . . you got some 'splainin to do!"

Aquaman : Sword of Atlantis #53 - DC

I like this story. I love the character. But right now . . . I gotta say . . . it's a bit confusing. First we have Tempest, who has just recently come back in to the story. He still as his powers, but he can no longer breath underwater. This new Arthur, has gone back to Sub-Diego, my guess is to wrap up this out-standing storyline, and is confronting Black Manta. This is the first time that Manta finds out that Aquaman is actually dead. This other one . . . is something different. Then we have this octopus guy, I forget his name, who is from Dyss and he is always talking about their god, Urlok, who is supposed to come back and rule the world. Mixed up in all of this is the Thorny Crown. They're some kind of priestly order that goes back to the Knights of Tethys, out of Atlantean myth. Meanwhile, in Dyss, is the man (?) who killed Aquaman. He's conflicted about his actions. In this city he's a hero. But he doesn't feel heroic about what he did. In fact he feels guilty, because as he was killing him, Aquaman mentions that he knows him, and who he is. Now back in San-Diego, we have Professor Curry, the current Aquaman's father, and he is being questioned by Krusivax. He is the son of Kordax. And somehow this new Arthur is his key to recovering his stolen heritage, I'm sure as perceived by him, and thereby taking Atlantis. Well the Sub-Diego story-line finishes with the Shark King biting off Manta's face. Thereby sending him scurrying in retreat. And in Atlantis, Mera has discovered that King Orin's body, in the coffin, has turned entirely to water. I'm wondering if this has something to do with the Lady of the Lake thing. You know when his hand was turned to water. Anyways, there's an awful lot of things going on here. And while I know that they're all connected . . . right now . . . they don't feel that way. Which therein lies my confusion. I hope this all starts to come together soon, because I'd hate to see them lose the reader's interest, and like so many other books now, face impending cancellation. So I guess we'll just have to wait to see what happens.

Aquaman : Sword of Atlantis #52 - DC

Ok, I have to admit, I was a little rough on Shawn McManus a few issues ago. Now that I'm seeing more of his work, I'm liking it more. I still say that one issue had some rushed pages. But this one is pretty solid. I have to say though, I'm a little iffy now about Tad Williams story. Admittedly it may not be entirely his fault. When he took over, there was a whole lot of muddy story-lines out there. It seems like we were going in about 4 or 5 different directions. And it seems like Tad is trying to wrap some of them up and still keep everything tied together. I wish him luck. I love this character. And I love that he has such a rich supporting cast, and such a rich history. But sometimes, especially on this book, I think they try to tap in to to much at the same time. And I know that's hard, because Arthur has so many interconnecting story-lines out there. But I'm really hoping that Tad will be able to muck his way through all that in about 3 or 4 issues. This one ends with Dr. Phillip Curry, Arthur's father, still being alive. And . . . Black Manta wanting to kill everyone. What's so unusual about that? Maybe King Shark will show up to save the day. By the way, I'm really diggin' these Kaluta covers. Simply breathtaking.

Aquaman : Sword of Atlantis #51 - DC

First of all, we have to welcome Michael Wm. Kaluta as our new cover artist. The one I have here is just a sketch, unfortunately. But the finished cover is astounding. As is the preview for next months. Anyways, we start out this issue with the JLA visiting Atlantis. Unfortunately they're visiting for Authur's funeral. They finally find out that the Dweller was Authur, and then someone shows up, that looks like a copy almost of our young Arty, but with more fishy features, and kills him. So we got Atlantis ruined from the Spectre's attack, Mera back at the helm but unsure how to rebuild, the land of Dyss who sent the odd looking young man to kill Authur, Topo who keeps talking of "hatches" and this issue finally gets everyone's attention so that he can explain just what they are, Tempest who has lost a year of his life his powers and his wife and son, this young Arty who now has to protect Topo so that the soldiers form Dyss don't attack him and Atlantis loses the use of the "hatches", and when they all get back to Sub-Diego they find out that Black Manta has taken over. Are these guys ever going to get a break. Well Tad Williams is a the creative helm, and Shawn McManus is the new penciller, it seems. I say that because unfortunately he never sticks around for long. We got a lot of plot lines going, I just hope we can keep up on them all without becoming to confused. So far I like it, I'm just wondering where we're going with it all.

Aquaman : Sword of Atlantis #50 - DC

Ok, we're now a year later, and we don't really know a whole lot more about this mystery of Aquaman than we did in the beginning. I think that this issue is the beginning of the whole thing. But to tell you the truth, in my eye's, this one really just muddied up the waters more than they already were. I'm even more confused now. This issue does give us the return of Tempest though. He's not functioning properly, he appears to have been altered, and he has a tattoo of the symbol of the Thorny Crown. But, he is back. We also find out that the Dweller is actually Aquaman. As I've thought all along. But we aren't any closer to finding out how he was changed. We're also introduced to a new mystery, the Deep Church. They have a warrior that they've been training to kill Orin. The name that's been given him by the Church is Issitoq. But I think, somehow, that the Dweller, Authur Curry and now this Issitoq are all parts of Aquaman. I can't really explain it, but it's like they're all him but at different stages in his life. And how they can all exist at the same time is beyond me. Maybe it has something to do with the whole Rip Hunter thing going on over in 52. But I really think that somehow they are all Orin. We also find out this issue that Sub-Diego still exists. Haven't heard from them in a year. But that's where Garth popped up. And the King Shark finally decides that he's had enough of this tour of the ocean. When he finds out that the Dweller is actually Orin, he says that's it, and he's out of there. Creatively, like I said, this issue was confusing. I think it's trying to bring all the players in to place so we can finally start wrapping this up, but . . . it was just confusing. And, even though we're starting to get a picture of everyone involved, I'm willing to bet it's going to be another 12 issues before the puzzle becomes clear enough for us to start putting the pieces together. Also, Shawn McManus does the art this issue. I'm actually a fan of his, but, he has good work and bad. Sometimes his work just seems really rushed. This was one of those issues. There were a few frames that were ok. But overall, in my estimation, a pretty shoddy piece of work. So my guess is, it's a fill-in issue, artistically wise. Hopefully the visuals will improve in the future. And hopefully this unfolding story will become clearer as we move forward. We'll just have to wait and see.

Aquaman : Sword of Atlantis #49 - DC

This is one of those stories that's . . . well . . . interesting, but . . . I also question it's purpose. We find out this issue, the true origin of the Fisherman. Somebody that Aquaman has fought in the past, but has always been a third or forth string villain at best. Anyways, he's actually an alien life-form. I assume from another dimension. Although it's masters, whom we only see in the shadows with their eyes blazing, do seem to resemble the outline of Black Manta. But, that's a mystery for another time, I guess. Anyways, this alien life form attaches itself to a host, and then goes out in to the world looking for something, but it doesn't know the specifics, for it's master. The problem, with the character and the story, is conveying the characters actions. Everything is in dream form. Since the alien is attached to a host, I'm sure the lucidity of each goes back and forth. So the awareness of it's surroundings and actions, are cloudy at best because they're all mixed together with the alien's dreams and the host's dreams. Which obviously confuses and torments the Fisherman. But also makes for a very confusing, and sometimes pointless, story. Of course Aquaman defeats the Fisherman. But what he doesn't know is that all he's actually done is release the alien, who is now free to swim among the ocean life. We don't learn anything new about the new Aquaman, the Dweller or the King Shark this issue. The latter 2, really, may as well have not even been there. And as I said earlier, what is the point of this story? Other than establishing the Gate of Shadows, and the alien swimming around the ocean obviously looking for another host, we learned nothing this issue. Oh, I take that back . . . we learned about the Fisherman. Who cares? Well next issue, #50, we are getting a new creative team, so maybe this one was just a fill in. Anyways, it really has nothing to do with the story that we want to see.

Aquaman : Sword of Atlantis #48 - DC

We're exploring the history of a few people in this series. The most recent one being the Fisherman. He's been around for a while, but they're just now noticing that he changes. This Fisherman, happens to be a 22yr old from Florida. The mystery is in the helmet or hood. It appears to be a xenoform. They contain it, but these these have a way of coming back to bite you in the keister. We also look a little in to the past of the new, younger, Aurthur. It's a story of when he was 9 in Avalon Cay. We also see a little of Aurthur's talent, as the Dweller is trying to take him around to build his cred. King Shark is along for the ride, but I really think it's only for self interest. He says he's willing to help young Aurthur, and to train him, but I think it's more of an observation, or fact finding mission. Meanwhile, six months ago, this xenoform broke out of it's containment cell, and it looks like it took over the security guard that was watching the room. But, we don't really know, because it looks like no ones seen or heard from it since. Then, we also have the mystery of the dweller. Obviously he's Aquaman, the original I mean, but why, and how did he get that way. I think the Fisherman and the xenoform have something to do with it, but we've only seen the tip of the iceberg so far. Kurt Busiek is doing a great job with this story. He's keeping us in suspense, but it doesn't seem like he dragging it. My only concern is, where is Butch Guice? He does the cover, but he's not on the inside. Hopefully this is only a fill-in. Overall a good book though. Lots of mysteries going on.

Aquaman : Sword of Atlantis #47 - DC

We haven't been given that much information yet on this book, since One Year Later, but we getting an awful lot of hints. Right now we're in the middle of a flashback story. Kind of from Aquaman's point of view, but also from King Sharks point of view. It's about Aurthur and Mera inspecting an outpost of Atlantis, along the Great Barrier Reef. A couple of things which may have something to do with the One Year Later Aquaman is, Ptero the man who runs the outpost, The Order of the Thorny Crown which has a prophecy that's supposed to change everything in their world, and then there's the little girl of the reef "When thorned crown lies shattered, she comes. Born of corral, of life-in-death, of long prayer. Shake the sea floor with her power, shall she, shake the destiny of all beneath the waves . . . .". Or so the prophecy goes. We get a glimpse of her at the end, but nobody really knows about her yet. So I'm not sure what her involvement in all of this will be. But, it has to be someone powerful, because we got this new Authur Curry, and this Dweller who seems to be our old Aquaman. But he's terribly misshapen, and very heavy into the mystic arts. My guess is, they're both sides of the same person. And somehow they were separated. But Kurt Busiek and Karl Kesel are doing a fantastic job with this book. Now it looks as if Phil Winslade may be coming in to take over on the scripting chores. He's coming in gradually, but my guess is that in a few issues he'll be the new scribe. And as always, Buth Guice's pencils are incredible. Of course the coloring of Pete Pantazis really help. Since they're on the Great Barrier Reef, I guess they decided to make the colors more vibrant. Well, they did that and then some. The colors in this issue are off the hook.

Aquaman : Sword of Atlantis #46 - DC

Ok, I like this book. But, this one illustrates the problem with the "52" concept. We jumped into the future 1 year, with the "1 Year Later" story lines. And then, from what I understand, is that the "52" series is supposed to fill in most of the blanks. But, that series is up to the 30's, and we haven't even heard anything about Aquaman yet. So this storyline, has to slow down a little, in my opinion, so that it doesn't get to far out ahead of the "1 Year Later". If they get to far ahead, nobody will care anymore, because we've moved past that. But if they take it too slow, things will start to get sluggish. They kind of have the same problem over in Outsiders, in that, again, "52" is in the 30's and we still haven't heard what happened to Boomerang or how he ended up with the Outsiders. Now don't get me wrong, I still think that all in all they're good concepts. But this book, I feel, is having to deal with the downside of the experiment. Like I said, I still like this book. And don't mind reading a flashback story every now and then. Even if it is just a filler. But I'm just wondering how "52" is going to catch up to this. I'm not really criticizing either series. It's just an observation.

Aquaman : Sword of Atlantis #45 - DC

I like this book. I like the creative team. And I like the direction that they're taking this character. But, they are really keeping it close to the vest on just where exactly this guy came from. I mean, his origin is so close to Arthur's, but it's just a little skewed. And his powers are so close to Arthur's too, but they're just not quite there. And this Dweller? I think that he's actually the original Aquaman. But what happened to him? How did he get like this? And did he somehow bring about this new boy to be Aquaman? Like I said, they're keeping it pretty close to the vest, because we're a couple of months into this now, and we know nothing. But, in the meantime, we're getting some great action packed stories, and Mera and Vulko are back. And how did King Shark become like his closest companion? Man there's a lot of unanswered questions with this book. But, I guess that's good, because I keep coming back for more. Incredible story, by Kurt Busiek and Butch Guice. Keep up the good work.

Aquaman : Sword of Atlantis #44 - DC

Young Authur Curry, as oposed to the "old" Authur Curry, is having a heck of a time adapting to his proposed role in life. The "Dweller in the Depths" recently found him, and started telling him about his destiny. So with him, and his new travelling companion, King Shark, he has been exploring the depths, and trying to figure out where he fits in the grand scheme of things. He has also hooked up with the Sea Devils, because they are investigating a slave operation that involves the people of Atlantis. A race called the Aurati are working the citizens of Atlantis as slaves to ore a mineral that is not even usefull to an underwater race. So this band has determined that it is probably the work of some surface organization. They don't make much progress figuring out who, until the run upon the Ocean Master, who clearly is in charge of this whole operation. He is just as suprised to meet the young Aurthur, as Aurthur is to meet the Ocean Master, whom he claims to have no knowledge or recollection of. Mera is also set aback a bit by the new Aurthur. I think though, that somehow this "Dweller of the Depths", is actually our Aquaman. We don't know that for sure, but that is my educated guess. But we still don't know where this younger Aurthur Curry came from, or how he also seems to be Aquaman. But with Kurt Busiek and Butch Guice at the helm, it's going to be a interesting and thrilling ride, as we find out.

Aquaman : Sword of Atlantis #43 - DC

DC has really taken Aquaman in a different direction. I like it. Over the course of the last year, the original Aquaman has disappeared. Atlantis has been destroyed by the Spectre. And a new younger Aquaman has emerged, Authur Curry. Yes I know that was the original Aquaman's human name, but I really think this one is different. King Orin was raised by this Authur Curry's great uncle. His father was Thomas Curry's brother. This Authur Curry was raised in a tank in Maine while he was growing up. He father was recently killed in a storm, which also set Authur free from the tank. Now, while he is trying to figure out who he is and what's going on, he is conversing with Vulko. You thought Vulko was dead? Well, as it turns out, he is. Somehow his spirit has stayed in contact with Atlantis and now he has decided his mission is to help this Authur sort out his mystery. Oh by the way, this new Arthur's best friend is King Shark. He's also come in contact with some deep sea dweller that says he know's Arthur's future, and that he will become a king and a hero, marry someone from the surface, and lose a child. Sound familiar? It does to everyone else too. But in just adds to the mystery. Kurt Busiek and Butch Guice are at the helm of this title, and we couldn't ask for a better team. This book is getting better and better, and we all have to stick around because we want to know what happened to Aquaman, Garth, Dolphin, Cerdian and Koryak. Oh yeah the last one's dead. But the rest, who knows.