Aquaman #33 Review

Writer: Dan Abnett

Artists: Riccardo Federici and Rick Leonardi

Colourist: Sunny Gho

Letterer: Steve Wands

I really thought this issue would set things straight. The upcoming miniseries, MERA: QUEEN OF ATLANTIS, had me thinking that Dan Abnett would finally move this series away from the trite and unwelcome King Rath story. Aside from a couple of developments at the end of this issue, Aquaman finds himself in essentially the same place. It's incredibly frustrating as a reader and as a fan of the character.

Abnett wastes an incredible amount of pages in this issue. I'm not sure whether or not he realises this, but most of the characters he's introduced are very forgettable and not at all known to me as memorable characters. Abnett treats this Magister Loke character as someone who may have been in this story since the beginning, but I can't remember for the life of me. He throws these typical "emotional battle scene moments" here and there but they do absolutely nothing. They simply slow down the pace of the story, for whatever that's worth.

Riccardo Federici's pencils over Rick Leonardi's breakdowns, coupled with Sunny Gho's earthy colouring, make for a very gorgeous issue. The action is fantastic and the colouring in particular really makes this work for me.

All in all, I'm not very surprised. I gave the previous issue a 6/10 in anticipation of an eventful story, but I'm spending time with characters I have no connection to. The story makes a genuine detour to set up the upcoming Mera miniseries. I've had it with this story and this series, it's time for a writer change. The one saving grace of this comic is the stellar artwork by the team.