It's good it's just not special.
Issue 9 opens with Black Manta attacking The Prisoner in a German mental hospital. Why? Who knows. Overall, the story really flows a lot better than the previous issue though. The visual flow of the action on the page is better too - in the past, the character's movements haven't been as clearly illustrated as in this issue.
There are some revelations about Aquaman's past here that add some real depth to the character, which is a plus. But aside from the primaries - Aquaman, Mera, Shin and Black Manta - all the rest of the characters seem pretty superficial. I have to say, I can't really feel any affinity for any of The Others. The Prisoner (Prisoner of War) seems like a terrible cliche, and all of them seem like cut-rate superheroes. Particularly unbelievable is Ya'wara going from a blood rage over the death of her pet jaguar to hitting on Aquaman in two panels.
In a lot of ways this storyline makes it seem like Aquaman is going to be just another superhero book. That's O.K., I guess, but after 'The Trench' I was hoping for so much more. I don't think I'm going to continue reading after this story arc unless it gets really good really fast.
