Review: AQUAMAN #29

I am not usually not a big fan of Aquaman.

Don“t get me wrong, there is something really amazing about the character. When I was a little kid, my parents rented a shore house every summer. As soon as I ran into the salty, green Atlantic waves, I was Aquaman! Even after that crab disobeyed my telepathic command to pinch my brother“s foot instead of mine, I was the king of the ocean. Until the jelly fish fights started…

However, as many times as I started to read Aquaman, I quickly lost interest. It seems that there is really one story that gets told again and again. Aquaman becomes King of Atlantis. People of Atlantis grumble that the King wants them to play nice with the surface people. Ocean Master (or whoever) promises to be a King who will let them beat up surfers and fishermen. People overthrow Aquaman. Ocean Master (or whoever) turns out to be a crappy King. People (or Aqualad or whatever god is really his father this time) beg him to take the throne back and story start again.

For the record, Namor has the same problem, but with a worse haircut.

So here we are:

Aquaman deposed. Check.
People don“t dig the new King. Check.
Aqualad/Tempest, Mera and Vulko are hard at work to set Aquaman up to be King again. Check.
Aquaman is ready to become King again”¦

Maybe not.

It looks like Dan Abnett and Stjepan Sejic have decided to find a way out of the loop. Dolphin is presenting a new path to Arthur. If he can find a way out of the slums of Atlantis and meet up with his friends, that is. Then he only has to change all of Atlantean society.

I“ll be willing to keep on following Aquaman if they can hold him to this new way. If they can break Arthur out of the continuing repeating story; if they can find a new path for Aquaman to follow; If Aquaman can be Atlantis“ inspiration instead of it“s king, then maybe it will lead to more kids diving into the ocean again.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Writer: Dan Abnett
Artist: Stjepan Sejic
Letterer: Steve Wands

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Andy Hall

Sent from the future by our Robot Ape overlords to preserve the timeline. Reading and writing about comics until the revolution comes. All hail the Orangutan Android Solar King!