Aquaman Sword Of Atlantis #48
DC Comics
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Artist: Ricardo Villagran
Cover: Butch Guice
If you thought you knew about the Fisherman, the old grade B Aquaman villain, you were wrong. This issue the Fisherman gets a fresh revisionist origin that ties the old with a new motive that is almost a cliché. The purpose is to make the Fisherman look impressive again. A new Fisherman is on the hunt for Aquaman, after murdering several people on land. Will Aquaman survive this encounter with this deadly villain?
This story is a mix of the CSI genre of stories that the previous team on this book gave us monthly. There is a murder to solve and they succeed in tying everything neatly to the seas. Fans of old Aquaman and Atlantis continuity will be happy to see the map of Atlantis and all the other undersea nations once and for all, making Aquaman’s universe that much more concise. This story offers a flashback into young Arthur’s life as a boy living in a giant scientific aquarium. The story is not bad, but is mostly building up for the next issue.
The artwork looks like modern age Don Heck work. The underwater shots work best though. The surface shots appear weaker and lack support from strong backgrounds. Speaking of backgrounds, in his underwater shots, Villagran uses negative space effectively to tell his story. The main problem with Villagran is that his work would suit another type of comic book than an Aquaman adventure.
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