Atlantis Attacks #1: Fish Out Of Water

Get out your snorkels and your life vest, ’cause you’re about to get drenched!! After thirty-one years of peace (not really), Atlantis is attacking again. Although, this time I really can’t blame them. This new mini-series, written by author Greg Pak is a total departure from the original comic book epic crossover, and that’s actually a really good thing because this story is really pretty good. If you haven’t read the 1989 crossover, don’t worry, as I said this one is totally independent of that. BUT, to get the most out of the story, you might want to check out the previous two volumes of Agents of Atlas. I didn’t, and I still got a lot of enjoyment from this book, but maybe you’ll get even more if you did.

Pak creates a very good reason for Namor and all of Atlantis to be ticketed off at the surface world, and it one city in particular (no, it’s not New York). In fact, I actually felt myself getting upset over the situation going on in this city, so right away Pak has achieved something great: Getting the reader to identify with Namor. How often do you find yourself empathizing with the king of an underwater empire? That’s what I thought. The issue features a natural build to the biggest fight of the issue and ends with a shocking last page, just like a comic book should.

Artist Ario Anindito is a spectacular artist! He does some really impressive work here, not the least of which is depicting Atlantis, it’s people and the undersea creatures that come into play this issue. There’s a lot of heroes that come into play this issue, and none of them are overlooked or glossed over, they’re each given the same attention and care that they deserve. The panels have a great flow to them and the pages look great as a whole, they’re put together fantastically. I can’t wait to see what comes next, because the art is only going to get better.