Aquaman #49 Review

Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick / Artists: Viktor Bogdanovic, Jonathan Glapion, Daniel Henriques, Ryan Winn, and Sunny Gho / DC Comics Nothing like a reliably entertaining, monthly comic to make me set aside all life’s burdens for a few moments. And reliably entertaining is exactly what DeConnick and her army of artists is delivering in Aquaman. Issue #48 introduced Mother Shark, a kind of oceanic ancestral memory keeper. Now Issue #49 has her giving Arthur what he’s been searching for: the truth about his past. Mother Shark, Part II First off, I have to give praise to the letterer, Clayton Cowles. They do a subtle, but effective job of differentiating Mother Shark’s words from all the others in each panel, giving a “wave effect” throughout. It looks simple, but I’m sure it wasn’t simple when they did the work. It communicates the underwater world without being corny. Well done Clayton! Second, the rest of the artist staff. They balance the emotions, the action, and the romance in this issue well. I’m not crazy about the faces and expressions, but that’s less important here than the general feel. That is effective. It isn’t a fight-filled issue, but it does move, the story weaving across the pages in interesting ways. While this is all exposition, it didn’t feel dull or drawn out. Presumably long-time readers already know this history, but they tell it in such a way that old or new readers can engage with it.

You know it is a great book when DeConnick’s plot is the THIRD thing o…