Meanwhile, a heavy dose of worldbuilding helps deepen the history and legacy of Atlantis as a society, something that makes the entire series better. Though the jump between these arcs is slightly mishandled, both plotlines are fantastic on their own. He starts with a chilling horror story detailing the rise of a creature from the deep and then transitions into a story about an ancient mystery stemming back to the royal family of Atlantis. 6: Maelstrom, writer Jeff Parker brings the quality of the Aquaman series back to its pinnacle, all while adding his own twist to things.

Fans of Aquaman, Atlantis, Mera, or just comic books in general should make sure to give this book a try. The story is entertaining and thrilling right up to the end with only a minor bump along the way. Here readers see Aquaman go head to head with a horrific monster while also uncovering the secret history of his royal ancestors. Overall: This is a book that no Aquaman fan will want to miss out on.

The book looks great artistically.Ĭons: The transition between the two storylines is somewhat jarring. The worldbuilding here is well done and appreciated. The mish-mash of fill-in pencillers also detracts from the coherence of the series.Įxtras are meagre – five variant covers, three of which ( Scribblenauts, Mad and Robot Chicken) are so irrelevant to the title’s tone that they come across as intrusions, rather than enhancements.Pros: The book is very diverse, with the first arc feeling like horror and the second arc feeling like mystery. None of this is bad, so much as ordinary, and we’ve been rather spoiled by this point to expect a little more than just the competent. A strand where Mera, without Aquaman, joins forces with Wonder Woman is also pleasing the antagonists are the usual spawn of Giants, (mythological kind), but at least the interaction between the two women is well-written and holds the attention. One of the much-needed respites to the above is a sequence where Aquaman, or Arthur, and his spouse Mera attend his High School Reunion. The understated, observation-based gentle humour is a pleasing contrast to the ho-hum carnage throughout most of the volume. While it’s all perfectly competent, it’s also all kind of generic, with very little to separate it from any other ‘hero twats giant monsters’ story strand. The primary big bads this time are an exhumed and deranged Hercules and the Swamp Thing, in separate storylines, not teamed up. Instead he constantly brings the grim, with monsters, murders, and mutilations. New primary writer Jeff Parker has done much good work elsewhere, but he’s noted for his lightness of touch, which, with the exception of a few segments, is absent here. After a long unbroken streak of quality, by the time this volume comes around, we’re brought a large serving of… lesser quality.

Aquaman, Volume 5 by Jeff Parker