WHAT: DC’s Aquaman #43

WHO: Art by Daniel Henriques, Robson Rocha
Cover by: Daniel Henriques, Robson Rocha
Variant cover by: Joshua Middleton
Written by: Kelly Sue Deconnick

HOW MUCH: $3.99

WORTH IT? Ummmm, no. 

THE PITCH: Regarding Henry meets the Ex-King of Atlantis.

REVIEW: Our hero washes up on an island of some sort with no memory, this in itself is an tired old trope that doesn’t have much gas- but let’s face it- some of the greatest comics are built on tired old tropes that don’t have much gas. It’s what you do with these well-worn paths that makes a good story, sadly, this is where the comic falters.  Both the art and the writing seem hell bent on giving ominous, foreboding tones that seem to miss their target and the flat dialogue does nothing to help this along. 

             As the story trudges along, I kept waiting for an original twist or new take, but that never seems to happen.  Even the big reveal on the last page had me shrugging for more. While the characters get a decent amount of dedication, the stakes are vague at best and royally under defined.

            The comic forces an overly mysterious character Callie, on us as if she is the most interesting person on the island, but it’s actually an old lady and an old man that steal whatever scenes there are to steal.

             The art in this issue is it’s saving grace, beautifully drawn with drastically different faces and movements, everything feels muted in a very horror film/ cinematic way that lends itself to a mood and tone… but I’m not sure what kind of mood or what that tone is exactly.

            Maybe this story will find it’s feet in future issues, but as an introduction into a new arc, this issue is completely forgettable.

Suggested Playlist to listen along to while reading