Aquaman #48 Review
Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick
Art by Viktor Bogdanovic
Inking by Bogdanovic, Jonathan Glapion, and Daniel Henriques
Colouring by Sunny Gho
Lettering by Clayton Cowles
I've found that the best issues of this new run have been very exposition heavy, with Kelly Sue DeConnick espousing a mythological and historical element to the character of Aquaman that I haven't seen before. Here, Arthur spends some time with Mother Shark, an afterlife deity who informs him of what happened to him after his supposed death.
The first thing that jumped out at me was that this issue was unafraid to let the story be front and centre, to not waste any time in trying to develop uninteresting mysteries. This has the makings of a long-form story, and one that may fundamentally shift or add a whole new layer of myth to the DC universe, and the fact that we're getting answers is pretty satisfying.
Viktor Bogdanovic provides some beautiful, masterful work here. This is a completely fresh setting, with a new character in Mother Shark, and he visualises this new environment perfectly. It's vague and ethereal and the scale of everything compared to Arthur sold the scope of the story being told. Bogdanovic opens the issue with a fairly traditional set of panels for a few pages before letting the pages breathe, letting negative space play into the layouts. A page of Arthur descending into the deep of the ocean in particular was a strong example of Bogdanovic's approach to the plot. Bogdanovic's linework and expressions can't help but be compared to Greg Capullo, which is a criticism of his art that I've seen floating around for the past few years. He's even inked by Capullo's regular inker, Jonathan Glapion. The resemblance is unmistakable, but Bogdanovic makes up for this with an overall different flavour of storytelling. Sunny Gho's colouring is lovely and keeps the transition from regular artist Robson Rocha pretty seamless.
This new arc continues the creative refocusing of Aquaman, and I'm here for it. This was a fascinating and gorgeous read and I can't wait to read more.
Art by Viktor Bogdanovic
Inking by Bogdanovic, Jonathan Glapion, and Daniel Henriques
Colouring by Sunny Gho
Lettering by Clayton Cowles
I've found that the best issues of this new run have been very exposition heavy, with Kelly Sue DeConnick espousing a mythological and historical element to the character of Aquaman that I haven't seen before. Here, Arthur spends some time with Mother Shark, an afterlife deity who informs him of what happened to him after his supposed death.
The first thing that jumped out at me was that this issue was unafraid to let the story be front and centre, to not waste any time in trying to develop uninteresting mysteries. This has the makings of a long-form story, and one that may fundamentally shift or add a whole new layer of myth to the DC universe, and the fact that we're getting answers is pretty satisfying.
Viktor Bogdanovic provides some beautiful, masterful work here. This is a completely fresh setting, with a new character in Mother Shark, and he visualises this new environment perfectly. It's vague and ethereal and the scale of everything compared to Arthur sold the scope of the story being told. Bogdanovic opens the issue with a fairly traditional set of panels for a few pages before letting the pages breathe, letting negative space play into the layouts. A page of Arthur descending into the deep of the ocean in particular was a strong example of Bogdanovic's approach to the plot. Bogdanovic's linework and expressions can't help but be compared to Greg Capullo, which is a criticism of his art that I've seen floating around for the past few years. He's even inked by Capullo's regular inker, Jonathan Glapion. The resemblance is unmistakable, but Bogdanovic makes up for this with an overall different flavour of storytelling. Sunny Gho's colouring is lovely and keeps the transition from regular artist Robson Rocha pretty seamless.
This new arc continues the creative refocusing of Aquaman, and I'm here for it. This was a fascinating and gorgeous read and I can't wait to read more.
A Look Inside
