After the Drowned Earth series, Aquaman’s fate is revealed in this new series by Kelly Sue DeConnick. This story begins with the amnesia trope as Arthur has washed up on a remote island, called Unspoken Water, and is saved by a beautiful young woman Caillie. He has no memory of his past and is hesitant of the water.  The few island inhabitants are a strange lot and later reveal that Caillie is the daughter of a sea witch that was banished long ago.

The story then moves into a complicated mythology-heavy narrative about revenge. The island inhabitants, not surprisingly, are not what they seem, nor is Caillie. When Caillie and Arthur try to find her mother Namma to end the curse on the island, they get more than they bargained for. Mera had an incredibly small role in this story, and although I assume Arthur has not been missing long, she is being encouraged to remarry as this story has The Odyssey overtones. Later she realizes he is alive, so hopefully, this remarriage nonsense will be put to rest. The end of this volume promises a future battle with Namma, and I would hope it also includes Arthur reclaiming his identity and reuniting with Mera later in this series.

The art was outstanding, with Robson Rocha and Daniel Henriques visualizing DeConnick’s tale in a beautiful way. The water scenes, with waves crashing, made you feel as though you really were surrounded by the ocean. The pages showcasing the ten Gods as they merged between their human form and their godly form included great detail and I spent some time looking up the Gods along with their cultural connections and history. The coloring was vivid and brought the creatures to life as they burst out of the panels.  The only minor issue I had was in Loc’s human portrayal, as it was an unnecessary caricature.

As I’ve been on an Aquaman and Mera kick lately, I was pleased to receive this advance copy of the graphic novel through NetGalley. It is always interesting to see different author’s and artist’s versions of a character, but of course, there are some adaptations that will be more favored. In my case, it was Geoff Johns’ The New 52 that I have liked best, as this story became quite muddled in the middle with the mythology angle. I might look into the aforementioned Drowned Earth series, because all the Aquaman and Mera books I have read have been stand-alone stories, and I want to see them involved in the Justice League as integral members of the team.

-Nancy