Tag Archives: Ivan Reis

DC New 52 Reviews Round-Up…

The New 52 is no longer “new”  as we scoot into October and DC Comics starts doling out their #2’s.  It was a wild month, to be sure, and though I didn’t read anywhere NEAR all 52 #1 issues,  but I think I read a fairly respectable chunk of the new titles that the relaunch had to offer. I could potentially go back and read other #1’s, so I’ll edit this accordingly as this happens.

Since my blog ain’t super great with the archivin’ and whatnot, I’ve decided to go ahead and round up all my “New 52” reviews right here. So without further ado, here are links to all my reviews in descending order from the issues I really loved to the ones I loved… not so much:

AQUAMAN #1 (GEOFF JOHNS, IVAN REIS) 5/5*”

BATWING #1 (JUDD WINICK, BEN OLIVER)

CAPTAIN ATOM #1 (JT KRUL, FREDDIE WILLIAMS II)

VOODOO #1 (RON MARZ, SAMI BASRI) 4/5*”

JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 (GEOFF JOHNS, JIM LEE)

SUICIDE SQUAD #1 (ADAM GLASS, FEDERICO BALLOCCHIO)

MEN OF WAR #1 (IVAN BRANDON, TOM DERENICK) 3/5*”

THE FLASH #1 (FRANCIS MANAPUL, BRIAN BUCCELLATO)

GREEN ARROW #1 (JT KRUL, DAN JURGENS) 2/5*”

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COMICS!!! Review: Aquaman #1

Geoff Johns has a bone to pick in Aquaman #1.  It’s all too clear that Johns has taken all the name-calling and ignorant hate for Arthur Curry as an affront to his comic book manhood (if such a thing exists).

At least that’s the impression that’s left after reading the King of Atlantis’ debut in the DC “New 52”; that Geoff Johns wanted to make Aquaman’s book the most badass possible and one that would turn reader’s scorn into praise. While the latter point is hard to gauge at this point, Aquaman #1 is IN FACT… the most badass debut possible and quite possibly the best single issue in DCnU.

  • THE GOOD

Geoff Johns does such an amazing job of weaving exposition and background into the smallest of spaces. The comic ostensibly uses three or so pages early on with very little in the way of dialogue just to establish the initial encounter with Aquaman and a group of crooks. It seems like it’s just a filler scene to introduce our hero, but Johns does so much with it. He establishes people don’t think too fondly about Aquaman, we see Aquaman’s strength, his resilience, and we get a myth about him dispelled. All of that in a single scene. Then Johns puts Aquaman at a seafood restaurant and does it again. This skill allows the writer to create fun and interesting scenarios that don’t feel like they’re wasting time or saddled with exposition dumpage. It’s a skill that Johns has mastered and it makes Aquaman #1 an unfettered and fantastic read.

Ivan Reis brings that script to life with fantastic artwork. His style is distinct in just how clean and contemporary all of it feels. His Aquaman is iconic, and Reis actually changes things up into a softer style when showing some of Aquaman’s memories and flashbacks. The small amount of action (and violence) here is done with such effortless aplomb that it’s easy to just discount, but this is just a beautifully illustrated book.

  • THE BAD

Bad? This issue knows not the meaning of the word.

  • THE VERDICT

Aquaman #1 does just about everything correctly, and does some things so exceptionally, I still haven’t grasped it all. If you have any pre-existing prejudices about the character, lead them at the door. This is what the “New 52” is all about.

5/5*

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