Aquaman Annual #2 Review
Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick, Vita Ayala
Artist: Victor Ibanez
Publisher: DC Comics
Dude, where’s my dog? That seems to be the premise to this second annual. While this is a Year of the Villain tie-in it’s very loosely connected to the event.
I have to say I love Aquaman but this story was a little to pedestrian for me. The title was also very misleading as it leads to a possible mystery or secret of Amnesty Bay but really the main elements of the story all revolved around finding Salty, Aquaman’s dog. While this story focuses a lot more on the town and Aquaman’s relationships with the people living there, there was almost too much of a camp factor here. A lot of the dialogue was a bit over the top and silly, same as some of the confrontations between certain characters. The overall arcing narrative has a positive message, but I found that by the time you get to it, you are so over loaded with camp that it doesn’t have the desired effect as the writers intended.
The artwork here is what really shines and saves the issue. It has elements of camp but still brings a lot of drama and seriousness when it needs too. Though I’m not a fan of Aquaman in the comics becoming a blonde version of his movie counterpart, Victor Ibanez really does a great job at marrying the two together. Tattoo’s in comics are also sometimes hard to keep consistent when they are extensive, but Ibanez does a great job at this as will.
Overall if you want a fun campy story with some exceptional art then definitely pick this one up. While it’s not groundbreaking in any way, it was still a fun read.
Artist: Victor Ibanez
Publisher: DC Comics
Dude, where’s my dog? That seems to be the premise to this second annual. While this is a Year of the Villain tie-in it’s very loosely connected to the event.
I have to say I love Aquaman but this story was a little to pedestrian for me. The title was also very misleading as it leads to a possible mystery or secret of Amnesty Bay but really the main elements of the story all revolved around finding Salty, Aquaman’s dog. While this story focuses a lot more on the town and Aquaman’s relationships with the people living there, there was almost too much of a camp factor here. A lot of the dialogue was a bit over the top and silly, same as some of the confrontations between certain characters. The overall arcing narrative has a positive message, but I found that by the time you get to it, you are so over loaded with camp that it doesn’t have the desired effect as the writers intended.
The artwork here is what really shines and saves the issue. It has elements of camp but still brings a lot of drama and seriousness when it needs too. Though I’m not a fan of Aquaman in the comics becoming a blonde version of his movie counterpart, Victor Ibanez really does a great job at marrying the two together. Tattoo’s in comics are also sometimes hard to keep consistent when they are extensive, but Ibanez does a great job at this as will.
Overall if you want a fun campy story with some exceptional art then definitely pick this one up. While it’s not groundbreaking in any way, it was still a fun read.
A Look Inside
