mera - Graphic Policy

Tag Archives: mera

Review: Justice League United #11

Posted on July 8, 2015 by

Justice League United was always a strange enough idea. Instead of being the Justice League of America, it set the team in Canada and gave them an odd collection of team members, some of whom made some sense, and other who seemed to come out of left field. It was aided in its odd collection by adding in other new characters, in this case specifically Equinox, the superpowered Cree girl that was drawn into the missions due to her proximity to danger. Those who had been read the series and expecting some change after the Infinitus Saga would have been right, just it is not clear if they might have expected this much change.

Adam Strange is still here, although he has seemingly become a part of the Zeta Beam. So too are Alanna Strange, Stargirl, Animal Man and Equinox, although the other members seem to be gone, at least for the time being. Collected instead is one of the strangest groupings of characters to ever bear the name of Justice League – the demon Etrigan, Mera the mermaid, Swamp Thing and Poison Ivy. They have been grouped together by the remaining team members to battle an unknown threat originating from the waters of Lake Erie, a strange enough location for a superhero team to be focused on but as it stands, evidently a very important one. The team coalesces under these strange circumstances, but things right away don’t go for them how they were expecting as they are forced to deal with a much larger threat than what they had anticipated.

This series is off most people’s radar but the question remains of whether it should be. The creative team is evidently not afraid to take chances, especially with the odd selection of members for this otherwise iconic team. Of course there are likely very few people that would read an ongoing title with this collection of heroes, but the mix here is exactly what is needed for this story arc, or so it would seem as the team is assembled together. As was proven as well with Justice League Dark, those looking for their fix of Justice League need not only look to the main titles but also to the other Justice League titles on the market, because as with the case here, they will sometimes find a gem.

Story: Jeff Parker Art: Travel Foreman
Story: 8.4 Art: 8.4 Overall: 8.4 Recommendation: Read

Review: Aquaman #41

Posted on June 24, 2015 by

Undoubtedly one of the biggest surprises to come out of the new 52 was the resurgence of Aquaman. Although seemingly on the A-List because of his status in the Justice League, the character struggled over his time at DC since his earliest days to find a way to connect with fans on a wider scale. Some found the stories about an underwater hero hard to relate to, others probably never even gave him a chance as he became the butt of many jokes for those that do not even read comics. The new 52 changed that as it made him into a firmer character and one that was bound to certain loyalties chief among them to his wife Mera.

This post-Convergence change of direction throws a wrench into what has come before since the new 52. Although the portrayal of Aquaman has not been as consistent necessarily across other series (Justice League, Aquaman and the Others) the differences are not as drastic as seen here. Some time ago Aquaman witnessed the invasion of a kind of habitation which spreads almost like a disease, forming miniature cities, and whose composition, at least while forming is poisonous to others. After initially facing and destroying such a dwelling underwater, Aquaman dedicates himself to the destruction of the remainder of these cities. The story is told in a non linear fashion as it opens in St. Louis with the introduction of another one of these cities, but crisscrosses back and forth among the timeline from his time as king to what is now him acting more as a renegade.

This is unfortunately not the best turn of events for this series. If part of the problem of the history of the character is a lack of a focus, then it seems to be back here with the new creative team. If another problem has been cliches like Arthur being kicked out of Atlantis for some transgression, or being separated from Mera for whatever reason, then the same problem applies here as well. Cullen Bunn is evidently a talented writer that has produced some amazing stories elsewhere, but in tackling Aquaman it seems as though he might have been better off understanding the characters history before seemingly starting to undo all the good that was done for the character in the past few years.

Story: Cullen Bunn Art: Trevor McCarthy
Story: 6.9 Art: 6.9 Overall: 6.9 Recommendation: Pass

Review: Aquaman #40

Posted on March 25, 2015 by

One of the great successes of the new 52 relaunch by DC Comics was the treatment given to Aquaman. Almost immediately upon his return it was evident that something was going to be done differently, and that the character was going to be treated in a manner that was more deserving of his past. What is potentially worrisome therefore is that DC is launching into another mini-reboot, and it is one which will incorporate in aspects of continuity from before Flashpoint. While this might not be the best news for the character as the company heads into Convergence, it at least provided one more opportunity to tell another great story, and that was to determine the fate of Arthur’s mother, previously assumed to have died. As the events of Maelstrom have been laid out it is evident that she did not die, but this alone was not enough to guarantee the success of this story arc.

As the previous issue demonstrated, Aquaman was able to find his mother, but also that she refused to believe his lineage. As was hinted at this was due to her desire to refuse to believe, in order to not revisit her past, but as a plot device it was fairly weak. This carries on this issue as well, as she continues to struggle with this aspect of her past. It is an unfortunate development, as it takes away from what would otherwise be a strong character and a strong premise. Evidently there are plans somewhere down the road for the reintroduction of this character, but this reintroduction was not as strong as it could be as the writing of the character let her down a bit. Although it was in the interest of setting up a battle, it likely could have been handled in another way, unless there is a desperate need for this angle in a future story. Hindsight may prove to be more insightful, but at the moment, this let this story down, at least partially.

Aquaman thus heads into Convergence with one of its weaker stories behind it. It is unlikely to have a dire effect on the character or the series as it is already plotted to return in June after the crossover, but this story arc left an unfortunate impression on the series before heading into hiatus. As DC brings back the old Aquaman for a bit, this story arc was one which was more representative of the older Aquaman’s failures. It will be interesting to see how Convergence changes the character as the success of this character is interesting to note, especially that there will be an Aquaman movie at some point. For the time being Aquaman fans will have to be happy for the previous 40 issues, even if the end was a bit mediocre.

Story: Jeff Parker Art: Paul Pelletier
Story: 7.7 Art: 7.7 Overall: 7.7 Recommendation: Read

Review: Aquaman #38

Posted on January 28, 2015 by

So far the story in Maelstrom has been that of uncommon villains in the attempt to find his mother. First there was the Martian Manhunter, driven to craziness by the superstructure that is the Atlantean mind, and then there was Gorilla Grodd who was found on the other side of an Atlantean portal. In the search for Arthur’s mother, what there has been little of is focus solely on the two main heroes of this series and that finally comes here. This renewed focus surprisingly doesn’t work to the benefit of this issue though, as this one falls a little flat compared to the other two that preceded it in this story arc.

What the previous two were able to do was to make the guest characters relevant in a way to Aquaman which did not seem too much of a stretch. The hive mind that infected J’onn was well conceived and well written, as was the ancient connection of Atlanteans to Gorilla City. This issue on the other hand is full of somewhat random action sequences which lead up to the furthering of the plot. Instead of some real bad guy in this story, another trip through the portals finds Arthur and Mera in the South Pacific, to which they quickly find the final teleportation seal. This was a bit of a stretch in itself, but the generic monsters that appear to stop the two of them from advancing takes some away from the story. It feels as though it would have been better just to move on with the plot than to waste time with a generic fight

This is still not a bad issue, only that it is more focused on action than needs to be. Of course the readers are more interested in finding the fate of Arthur’s mother, and this issue helps to drag out the story arc by an extra issue. There may have been a better story to be told here, but this nonetheless fits in with the remainder of the story arc thus far, only that it is the weakest entry of the three. With the revelation at the end of the issue, it would seem as though the story arc is going to hit high gear in the next issue, but for the mean time this was a long interlude to get there.

Story: Jeff Parker Art: Paul Pelletier
Story: 7.7 Art: 7.7 Overall: 7.7 Recommendation: Read

Review: Aquaman #36

Posted on November 26, 2014 by

One of the strengths of this series since the new 52 is the ability of its creative teams to see the big picture and small picture at the same time. As with any comic series, new concepts and characters are introduced, often times only to make a particular story possible. Only the most engaging of these might later become canon for the superheroes headlining the series, and all too often they are mostly forgotten. This series thus far has proven that it is possible to create in the short-term but to have a long term goal for those ideas as well. In this issue Aquaman has enlisted the help of the Martian Manhunter to help find out what could have happened to his mother. This ties in the pseudo-scientific concept behind Atlantis, that it contains the psychic energy of everyone that passed before, and they are hoping to unlock some clues to find where they need to search.

As the stories unfolds, there is a somewhat typical superhero versus superhero fight, but unlike the more often cases of this occurring, the battle here follows logically from what has transpired thus far in the previous issues and in the story here. So too does the resolution of this battle, which while it is a bit of a distraction from the main story, it still serves as a fun escape and doesn’t really feel out of place. The battle also helps to move the story along a little, and once again Arthur finds himself faced with the secrets of his own past, those of his family and those of the underwater city.

Overall the issue does what it needs to do. It is by no means a stand out issue, but it would seem that the creative team here has something much bigger in mind for the Maelstrom story arc, and the seeds of this potential are visible here. As the story unfolds there are certain to be an abundance of surprises as is common with this series, and this issue fits as one of the pieces, albeit a slightly distracted one.

Story: Jeff Parker Art: Paul Pelletier
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy