Note: If you haven't read JUSTICE LEAGUE 15, then stop reading this right this second. This is part two to the Throne of Atlantis storyline and part one takes place in JL 15, which was also released 12/26.
Seriously, go read JL15 if you haven't yet. Here's G-Man's review.
The Good
AQUAMAN 15 is one fantastic issue. After the Atlantians flooded Gotham, and a few other cities, Aquaman and Batman try their best, with the help of Mera, to save the people in the city.
Aquaman is at a bit of a crossroads in this issue. He's half-human, half-Atlantian, so this war between Atlantis and the surface has Aquaman a bit confused on which side to take, which we get a bit of in this issue, especially during his talk with Batman. I love what Geoff Johns is doing with Aquaman here. He's struggling to find his place in the world, and now both sides of his heritage are at war with each other. Aquaman's internal struggle is just as interesting as the war itself.
Mera is a lot more powerful than any of us realized before. She has a fantastic scene in this issue where she uses her powers to try and save the city. We truly get a grasp of how immense her power. She's not just Aquaman's wife, she his partner, capable of just as much as he is.
We also learn that all Atlantians are pretty powerful beings, as Vulko gets a pretty good hit on Superman, and Vulko was already in a weakened state. If Vulko could hit Superman that hard, can the JLA fight off an entire army of them?
What an amazing final page to this issue. It really raises the bar for the story as a whole. It's much more than the JLA vs Atlantis, which is what the vast majority of us thought this was pretty much going to be. This story is going to be a lot more complicated and deeper than that, and the final splash page of the issue shows that.
The Bad
I had a few small problems with penciler Paul Pelletier's work. Towards the end of the issue, we get a ton of medium shots, and it gets a tad stale before the lead up to that amazing final page.
If you're not currently reading JUSTICE LEAGUE, this book will make sense, but you will really have to read JL to get a full grasp of what is going on. Sure, it's a bit of a bummer that you have to pick up another book, but it will be well worth it.
The Verdict
I was a little weary coming into this story on whether or not a JL/AQUAMAN crossover story would or could even work. After reading both this and JL, I know it now does because this is a great start to this new story. There's a lot at stake here for the surface world, the JL, and Aquaman, which really adds to the overall book.
Aquaman has a lot of tough decisions to make, and it's going to come down to him having to choose a side, and we get to see how he deals with all of that mainly in this issue. Mera and Vulko both show that Atlantians are not to be messed with, and I love the overall direction that Johns has taken this book.
On the down side of things, you have to be reading JLA to truly appreciate this book as a whole, and I had a few small problems with panciler Pellitier overusing medium shots in panels.
Overall, I highly recommend this issue and JUSTICE LEAGUE 15.
