Aquaman Volume 1: The Trench - TPB Review

Title:	Aquaman Volume 1: The Trench
Contributors:	Geoff Johns Ivan Reis Joe Prado
Publisher:	DC
Issue #:	1 - 6
Year:	2012
Pages:	144 Pages
Age Rating:	10+ (Violence)
Story Grade:	A
Art Grade:	A

Aquaman is easily one of the most underrated characters in the comic universe. I think it is safe to say that Aquaman is easily one of the most targeted characters in pop culture and without ever reading one his books it is easy to assume the anti-Aquaman hype is probably right. This book shows a great deal of respect to a character that has been nothing but disrespect for far too long.

Aquaman, when in the hands of a good writer, has always been a strong character. But like any other character, when in the hands of a less gifted writer, he can fall short. In the case of the New 52 Aquaman, Geoff Johns has done Aquaman some real justice.

As a younger reader of comics, Aquaman was one of favorite reads. But as I got older Aquaman fell out of my reading graces, mainly due to different writers and then I left reading the big two altogether; well almost.

It was by chance that I got this trade paperback. My wife has been looking for a comic to get into for a long time, but she wanted something specific. She wanted to get into something that others weren't into; she's into supporting the underdog. And since Aquaman has been boohooed and hissed about for as long as we can both remember, and is publically made fun of, she naturally gravitated towards him. Once she read the book she handed it over to me and said,"I think you're going to like this."

She was right.

She usually is.

Thank God she doesn't read this blog and therefore will never see the above public admission.

Geoff Johns tackles some great topics in this book, breaking the third wall in a way while doing so. Not that any of the characters talk to the reader like Deadpool does, but that John's addresses many of the issues Aquaman faces in the real world; mainly being considered a lame-duck superhero and being publicly ridiculed for it. I think this is done in part to acknowledge that the public considers Aquaman character lame, but at the same time I think it goes a little deeper than that as well.

Characters in the book are often asking Aquaman what he thinks of being made fun of, like when SNL made fun of him. Many of the bad guys ask him stupid questions, like they are trying to intimidate him, such as, "You're a little far inland aren't you?" a blatant reference to the common idea in the real world that Aquaman is a useless Superhero out of the water.

Aquaman's response is to kick their ass, disarm them, hand them over to the cops, and move on. Aquaman doesn't generally gloat, boast or show off, he just does his job and moves on. This is how John's is writing Aquaman; as a superior hero and it is working.

What I find interesting is how John's allows the incessant teasing to play on Aquaman's emotions, which show's more in the artistic renderings than in dialog for the most part, but does come through in some of his responses, or dialog with other character after the fact, but only occasionally. And this is where the book goes a little deeper. It shows that the ongoing disrespect does affect him; it hurts him. But in the end what it does is it makes him work harder to change public's mind. It is a great lesson people to take with them and it is written and drawn in such a way to not be preachy, but rather is buried in subtext. It sits there, a planted seed, for a while, and then the seed takes root. By the end of the book, a few hearts and minds of the characters in the book are won over. And I would bet a few readers are won over as well.

Overall the story is a refreshing spin on Aquaman's character. It paints a picture of his desire to follow in his father's footsteps, to protect the shoreline, rather than his follow in his mother's, and protect the sea. This story arc alone makes Aquaman a very strong character to follow, but it is the sheer brutality of his strength in combat balanced with his willingness to forgive the unrelenting unkindness of men that truly makes him a true superhero. John's did a great job rebooting this character and shutting up any nay-sayers that would be willing to pick up the book.

Ivan Reis and Joe Prado have done a superb job on the artwork in this series. Many of the panels of the book are huge, which allows for beautiful, large, complex scenes to be drawn. And they did a great job of not over filling those scenes making them cluttered with unnecessary elements.

The use of colors was done well throughout the book, using different styles to differentiate between current time and flashback scenes was well done.

All in all, I grade this book a solid A for both story and art. If you aren't a fan of Aquaman, this book might just turn the tide for you.

Until next time... rethink before you order the shrimp scampi.