As the brutal Atlantean Civil War rages, Mera must keep the peace between the surface world and Atlantis as its newly anointed queen in exile. But when Aquaman’s brother Orm, a.k.a. Ocean Master, learns of his homeland’s fate, he’ll stop at nothing to return to Atlantis as its king and savior!

If you haven’t been reading Aquaman, you’ve been missing out one of the best comics DC is publishing. The series has mixed action with political maneuvering. Currently there’s been a change in leadership with Aquaman no leading a resistance against the despotic ruler and Mera is cut off from her people and now anointed queen.

In Mera: Queen of Atlantis #1 she’s recovering from some injuries as well as trying to figure out what to do next. That not only includes defending herself from an assassination attempt but also doing a little politicking. With his run on Aquaman, writer Dan Abnett consistently delivers comics that mix entertainment with politics and we see that continue here. Mera recovers, fights, and has to deal with the United States’ State Department in hopes of preventing the nation from intervening in the affairs of Atlantis. It’s a mix of the fantastical and the grounded and it’s never boring. Abnett also delivers a comic that’s easily picked up by a new reader. What they need to know is explained and laid out in a way that moves the story along as well. The flow of the comic is great.

The art by Lan Medina, ink by Richard Friend, and color by Veronica Gandini is fantastic with a style that’s fantastic to look at. But, most importantly the comic never makes Mera look like a sex object. She looks great, regal, strong, and vulnerable. The comic looks fantastic and doesn’t attempt to mimic the very distinct style currently running in Aquaman. The issue has to balance action and the more mundane scenes and it does that and then some. And being able to help deliver those shifts in emotion is the lettering by Simon Bowland which helps set the tone.

If you haven’t been reading Aquaman, you’re missing out and you might not appreciate this mini-series. What’s great though is to see Mera get the spotlight and it not being some blow off mini-series. Instead it’s a comic series that’s as important as the main one it spun out of and seems like it’ll be a must for those reading Aquaman.

Story: Dan Abnett Art: Lan Medina Cover: Nicola Scott and Romulo Fajardo
Ink: Richard Friend Color: Veronica Gandini Lettering: Simon Bowland
Group Editor: Brian Cunningham: Editor: Alex Anton
Associate Editor: Brittany Holzherr Assistant Editor: Andrea Shea
Story: 8.35 Art: 8.35 Overall: 8.35 Recommendation: Buy

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review