Aquaman and Dolphin are imprisoned, Vulko just broke out of prison, and Mera’s trying to break back in. Click the jump for a review of Aquaman #27.
(Minor spoilers below.)
I can’t add any new comments about Stjepan Sejic’s art because I still love it, but I’m incredibly biased since I’ve been a fan of his art for years. I heard some comments on an earlier review from people who felt his style was too dark. I’ve always thought his work had a lot of humor in it, and I particularly liked the introduction of Ondine this issue and that thing she did with the gun. I couldn’t have visualized that moment any better if it was live action, and it was hilarious in a nicely grim way.
We also got a tantalizingly quick view of a colorful underwater marketplace, and you know I’m a sucker for an otherworldly marketplace, I hope it shows up again sometime.
As for the story, Aquaman and Dolphin have to deal with Krush now, who’s happy to use Aquaman as leverage, once he’s convinced it really is the former king he’s holding captive. Arthur isn’t interested in convincing him, obviously.
Meanwhile Vulko escapes and comes up with a plan to take down the Crown of Thorns, with the help of the Widowhood Sisters, though the Sisters have ulterior motives, of course. Mera heads to land to talk to the Titans, specifically to Garth (formerly Aqualad, thankfully now Tempest) to ask him for help, and I wonder if she knows what the Sisters’ ulterior motive is. I really don’t know if she’ll approve or not.
We had a lot of exposition dropped on us this issue. I don’t usually like that much explanation at one time, but speaking as someone who hasn’t been keeping up with this series I thought it was all stuff I needed to know, and it was more interesting to get it this way than via wikipedia. And it was balanced out by a couple badass scenes of Arthur once he decides he’s done kidding around. (Also by some hilarious expressions from Dolphin; Stjepan Sejic could draw a whole series of characters who never say a word, we’d always know what they meant.)
I’d love to hear from long-time readers of either this book or related books: what did you think of the exposition? Did it feel wordy to you, or just right?
