DCU Comic Book Reviews

AQUAMAN:  SWORD OF ATLANTIS #40

Once And Future

May 2006

Written by Kurt Busiek

Pencils by Butch Guice

Inks by Butch Guice

Covers by Butch Guice & Ian Churchill

Synopsis

One year later…there was a mighty storm in the world above that sends a young man into the oceans.  A strange voice calls out and asks for his name.  It is Arthur Curry.  The voice tells Arthur to come to him.  First, Arthur is lead to Nanaue, the King Shark, who is in the middle of a battle with Aurati Raiders.  Reluctantly, Arthur helps the King Shark and the two escape and find their way to the Dweller In The Depths.  The Dweller believes Arthur is Aquaman.  Arthur tells him, no, he is just a boy who was born to 3 months premature.  To save him, his father used a serum as mutative catalyst.  Over time Arthur grew gills and his body adapted to the water.  He lived in water tank, which must’ve burst during the storm.  The Dweller is confused; he thought he had found Aquaman. He tells Arthur of his prophecy, of Arthur being king, teaming with super heroes, and of pain and exile.  What the Dweller says apparently has not happened, but to him it rings true, as if he had been there himself…

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

I am torn with this issue.  I liked it, but at the same time I was more than slightly miffed that I was reading another origin story.  I mean, how many times have they’ve done Aquaman, how many times have they tried to re-do his character in the hopes he will catch on again.  And now DC is doing it again.  Everything the writers had been building on before the Crisis has been tossed aside for the new Aquaman.  I tell myself, however, that this is not really a complete re-do.  The old Aquaman is still there, if the last panel means what I think it means.  That suggests somewhere down the line the real Aquaman will come back.  But in the meantime, we’ve got this new Aquaman.  Part of me is interested to see where this goes and to see how the sword (which makes only a brief appearance) will play a role.  I am of the opinion that if you’re going to re-do a character, you might as well make significant changes, and this idea of a sword is striking enough to keep me interested.

Also of interest are King Shark and the Dweller, who will play the part of mentor to guide his new ward.  The Dweller is confused and uncertain, but he feels strongly Arthur is a hero and thus will push him in that direction.  King Shark is not confused and angry and will provide good counter to whatever else is going on in the story.  Thus, given the three main characters, I sense a good dynamic that will keep the stories interesting and fresh for some time.  King Shark’s cynical, bitter view of being hero will contrast nicely with the Dweller’s hard-line view of heroism.  And stuck in the middle will be Arthur Curry.

The art was just fantastic.  Normally this type of art distracts and bothers me, but in the underwater setting, I thought it worked perfectly.  The world looked dark and murky and mysterious and adds to the air of uncertainty surrounding the Arthur Curry.  The lettering and the word bubbles also worked wonders, suggesting everything was spoken underwater and thus would not reverberate the same as if spoken in the air.

I also liked King Shark’s reaction to seeing Arthur in the Aquaman outfit.  It is obvious Arthur is not the real Aquaman because King Shark is upset they put him in the outfit.

 

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