CC2K Review: Aquaman 20

Written by: Laura Hong-Tuason, CC2K Comics Editor

The Throne of Atlantis event is over. The repercussions have begun. And in issue #20, The Others are back!

Writer: John Ostrander
Illustrator: Manuel Garcia

Aquaman #20 takes a breather from everything that’s happened up until now and focuses solely on the members of The Others: The Operative, Ya’wara, and Prisoner of War. As for Aquaman himself? He plays a very minor role.

Since the events of Throne of Atlantis, Aquaman has been keeping himself busy as the new king by ordering his soldiers to retrieve all the Atlantean weapons left behind after the attack on Boston. It is found that an opportunist calling himself the Scavenger is recovering these weapons and selling them on the black market to people who definitely shouldn’t have them. While Aquaman can handle the Scavenger on his own, he calls for the aid of The Others to retrieve an Atlantean power glove in Arizona, a hot desert area that Atlanteans prefer not to tread in.

This is all very swell, except The Others get somewhat sidetracked when their plane is forced to land due to the unusual presence of lightning. They then meet a girl by the name of Sky, who possesses special abilities of her own and requests their help in something even bigger and more important than the power glove.

Overall, Aquaman #20 is a filler issue. Nothing of significance really occurs. There is some character development with Ya’Wara, but not enough to make an impact on the reader. With any luck her background story will be explored deeper down the line. There is also more to Sky than it appears, being a possible new addition to The Others. She has the potential to grow into an interesting character. I understand this issue is written by John Ostrander, but I hope Geoff Johns has better things in store for The Others.

The art by Manuel Garcia was a nice change of pace. Ever since Ivan Reis’ departure, Aquaman hasn’t had the same visual appeal. It’s not that Paul Pelletier’s art is bad. It’s decent, but it lacks facial details and expressions. Garcia does a much better job bringing Aquaman and The Others to life, especially alongside Peter Pantazis’ vibrant colors.

As outlined this issue of Aquaman was a miss, and because it’s a filler you can do without it. With that being said, catch King Arthur back in action in Aquaman #21.