Aquaman #11: Held Up in Hot Water

Aquaman #11, written by Jeremy Adams (Green Lantern), serves as the series tie-in to the ongoing DC K.O. event (as seen in DC K.O. #1 by Scott Snyder). So far, Adams’ tenure on the title has been widely praised for its revitalization of the character, bringing new powers, new allies, and giving new life to old foes for one of DC Comics’ most underrated heroes, Arthur Curry, a.k.a. Aquaman.

This month’s issue follows Aquaman and the Justice League Blue as they work under and above the waves to thwart evil at every turn, and who could be more of a threat to Earth and its seven seas than Darkseid himself? The issue’s main focus is to tie their story to the events of DC K.O. and to give them a problem to contend with in upcoming issues while their king fights in the bracket for the sake of the universe. The shining beacon in this issue, or rather the pearl in the water, is present-day Mera, who we’ve only seen for a handful of pages or so since her separation from Arthur during the events of Aquaman #1 back in January. Another important element worth mentioning of Aquaman #11 is Arthur’s characterization that, while strong, is much more focused on his new powers as the avatar of The Blue and his mysterious connection to Darkseid, leaving many questions unanswered by the end of the issue.

Nimit Malavia’s (New Gods) art is excellent but is a rather stark departure from the fantastic work of John Timms on the previous ten issues. Malavia’s artwork feels unfamiliar and leads to a reliance on Rex Lokus’s (Injustice 2) colors to maintain a sense of continuity with previous issues. On that note, Dave Sharpe’s (Action Comics) letters continue to be as great as they have been. He’s able to blend the dialogue well in scenes with multiple speakers in a way that avoids confusion and clutter.