Aquaman #26

Do you remember the stories where a giant monster attacks a city, and a hero is scrambled to go fight with it? The hero has these moves, and the monster seems invulnerable, but he fights anyway? Yeah, of course you do, it was the kind of crap that most comic readers were probably brought up on. My particular trashy heroes were the Power Rangers, and I still, to this day, love them. The show was/is formulaic, cheesy, and overblown, but you know what, they were fun as hell. Every episode, the rangers would get those zords and combine them together to make the Megazord, then just when the time was right, out comes the power sword and goodbye monster, see you next time, Rita. The monsters often had no plan beyond destruction, and conquering, these are easy things to rally against. But, those early years made me into the person I am, as cheesy as it sounds. Power Rangers introduced me to certain devices and concepts that would help me understand the more nuanced stuff as I grew up. It also left me with this crippling addiction to seeing heroes power up, but that is neither here, nor there.

Now, I seem to have gone off on a tangent, but it all relates. Jeff Parker has taken over as writer on Aquaman, and I believe most of the rest of the team has changed too. Admittedly, last time I was reading Aquaman was during John's first 10(or so) issues after the New 52 reboot, with Reiss, and Prado. I loved that book at the time, it was exactly what Aquaman needed: a revitalisation and maybe a bit of legitimizing. I think what the creators are doing with this new direction, might again, be the right next step in keeping Aquaman around.

This issue was a complete shift-change. It is not a reboot, but it could not have less to do with, at least tonally, what came before. An ancient undersea beast is awoken, and Aquaman and Mera must prevent it from causing damage on the surface. Behind-the-scenes the Atlanteans are growing tired with Arthur's allegiances to the Surface-dwellers, and many are unsure if he is fit to be king.

Immediately, the book looks different. Paul Pettelier was a continued presence on the book, but the defined lines of John's grittier run, are absent and probably rightly so. The colours are still superb, just like previously, but they are given more of a focus here, as they stretch the palette a little wider. Much of John's book was about making Aquaman seem dark and edgy. He was brutal, and his surroundings mimicked that. A lot of dark colours, and bright reds for the blood. Here, the colours are varied and alien, befitting of the strange undersea, and almost alien nature of their foe-- think purples, oranges, and beyond. It is beautiful down there, and it is unique in both colour and design.

Back to that introduction, then. What is so surprising, but ultimately genius, is just how much this book has changed. It is weird and quirky; reminiscent of a type of book that is very largely under-represented(at least in what I've seen). It is a kid's book. Or at least, that's how I read it. The concepts are simple, and it evoked my old feelings of watching Power Rangers and cartoons as a kid. There are few complexities, it is mainly action. They even have this gaudily named special move, called 'The Pressure Launch' which made me spit my drink out in laughter.

I want to make an aside here, and tell you what the 'Pressure Launch' is, because it is just tremendous. Okay, you ready? Here we go. The 'Pressure Launch' essentially consists of Mera using her water-maniuplation abilites to launch Aquaman into the air as high as she can, whilst Aquaman positions himself to soar as high and fast as he also can, then arc back down; so that he reaches his peak velocity to apply his hardest punch to date, on his foe. Yup, they have a special move that they presumably coordinated together.

It is all very goofy, but it is pure in a way that I think is completely essential-- especially if Aquaman is to ever to become a hero in the eyes of popular culture. The kids of today, in ten years will have grown up with an Aquaman who is not only heroic, but who with the assistance of his wife coordinates special moves and fight easily recognisable villains. At least, I hope this is what the creators are doing.

John's made Aquaman more than a joke, but Parker is telling the kind of story that he needs to move Aquaman beyond a single man's interpretation. Superman has his share of classic stories that go beyond the tropes of today, and so too do all the characters. Now, we understand the basics of Aquaman, let's see what kind of weird places we can take him to, and with stories like these, that audience might just become more varied than it would have been otherwise.

I don't think this book is perfect. I mean, I'm not even sure I will continue reading; I had my Power Rangers when I grew up, but here is a story that brings a little of what I had in the past, to the present. The dialogue can be a little too cheesy at times, and there are some downright comical facial expressions, but I am so glad this issue exists. Not every story needs to be a complete breakdown of a character, some stories just need to be fleeting and fun.