“Yeah, I’m as surprised as anyone. But honestly, of the half dozen titles I’ve read from DC’s relaunch, this one has been the best. By quite a margin, in fact.
For one thing, it’s a pretty comprehensive relaunch. You don’t have to know much about Aquaman to read it, and what you don’t know can be picked up through the information-delivery vehicle the writers found, which is the ignorance of the general population when it comes to all things Aquaman. Which is in full force because, let’s face it, no one respects Aquaman.
Perhaps in a world devoid of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman (although it was a little puzzling that people seemed so fixated on Aquaman’s orange shirt when Batman and Superman wear underpants outside their pants and Wonder Woman is parading around in what appears to be a woman’s one-piece bathing suit) Aquaman would seem more special. But because he is in a world with not only a Superman, a Batman, AND a Wonder Woman, but also a Flash, a Green Lantern, a Captain Boomerang…I could go on.
What makes this a good read is that you still get your comic book elements, your fight against the bad guys and all that, but this book also does a nice job with the human side of things, which is something that I think suffers in a lot of DC’s books, if I can make an unfair and sweeping generalization.
The beauty of Marvel, to me, is that the characters are usually somewhat powerful, but for the most part they are still fairly human. Spider-Man is the prime example, of course, because Amazing Spider-Man has always been just as much about a guy being Peter Parker as it has been about a guy with super powers.
I think that feeling gets lost in a lot of DC books. The characters are just too powerful. And the human side is often very weak as a result. Does anyone give a shit about Clark Kent? Is there ever any question about which side is dominant, Barry Allen or the Flash?
Part of the reason that Batman has been such a success, to me anyway, is that he’s one of the few characters where the repression of the human side is a part of the story. He’s more human than most of the other characters, but he’s ACTIVELY pushing that part of himself away. DC managed to turn the flaw in many of their characters to their advantage, and it was a great idea.
Aquaman, from the new 52 books I’ve read so far, is the only one I cared about as a guy. Deathstroke had a son that I couldn’t care less about. The characters in Suicide Squad were flat. Batman, though enjoyable, went on a hallucinogenic trip within the first few issues, which is always a problem for me.
Aquaman is a real guy. He has to deal with idiotic questions all day because people think they’re hilarious. His wife gets into a conflict when she goes out to buy dog food. They have a laugh about a childhood picture of Aquaman on skis.
This is what’s so great about comics. With some good writing and relieved of the burden of past continuity, just about anything can be a great read. Even Aquaman.”