DCU Comic Book Reviews

AQUAMAN:  SWORD OF ATLANTIS #48

Gate Of Shadow, Part One:  Here Be Monsters

March 2007

Written by Kurt Busiek

Pencils by Ricardo Villagrán

Inks by Ricardo Villagrán

Cover by Butch Guice

Synopsis

One Year ago...In Gotham City, during the autopsy of The Fisherman, the squid on his head seemingly comes alive.  Six months ago...the squid breaks free of its container and attacks a security guard.  In the Atlantic Ocean, Aquaman, King Shark, and the Dweller continue their path to return civilization and justice to the undersea.  First, Aquaman must prove he is a hero.  The venture to a small village, which has been plagued by a monster.  Aquaman is led to is lair and the shadowed gate.  Along the way, black tentacles reach out an ensnare both King Hsark and the Dweller, leaving Aquaman alone in the water.  Six weeks ago....in Gotham City, the new Fisherman is loose and leaves a message that he will find his prey in the sea.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

Overall, this was a very good issue.  There were some very solid character-building moments with the new Aquaman and a new origin story for a new version of an old villain.  The flashback bits to the Fisherman didn’t exactly...uhm, hook me, but I am intrigued by the possibility that Aquaman will need to fight the Fisherman without any hope of getting help from either the Dweller or King Shark. 

It is not often that a comic book will take the time to slow the action down and explore the character or the powers that they possess.  In many cases, a character’s powers come to them in the heat of battle and from that point on they know how to use those powers.  While reading this issue I was immensely pleased to see Busiek taking the time to explore Aquaman’s ability to speak to fish.  Naturally, this power manifested in times of action, but unlike most books, Busiek is content to explore how it happened and to give his characters the chance to study and examine it rather than just giving them the power.  I think it is a cheat when a character suddenly learns how to do something and then has full control over those powers.  It should not happen so fast; things like that take time.  In this case, Aquaman is going to learn how and I like that Busiek is showing us that process. 

I also liked the flashback to the time when he was a kid.  It really helped to illuminate his personality, the impetuous nature he has as well as the reluctance to allow himself to give hope to others.  He knows that it is not his to give. 

This issue made me realize how much Busiek is going to be missed.  I really think he had a great idea with the new Aquaman and I think he had long-term plan with the character.  But with the arrival of a new writer in a couple of issues, a lot of that planning is going to fall by the wayside.  That is not to say the new writer is going to be bad or good, it is just not going to be Busiek’s vision, which I happen to think is fairly strong for this book. 

ïPREVIOUS	Main		Page	NEXTð

Home ●  Blog ● Who Are We? ● Site News
Alive and Well since April 16, 2006

 DC Universe Reviews.  All Rights Reserved
  Characters, trademarks, brands are property of DC Comics

For problems or questions regarding this website, please contact our kindly webmaster.
Last updated: 08/06/11.