Aquaman Sword of Atlantis #50
DC Comics
Writer: Tad Williams
Pencils: Shawn McManus
Finishes: Walden Wong
Cover: Mario Alberti
This issue is the first from writer Tad Williams and artist Shawn McManus on Aquaman. After a series of new directions and false starts, this series inherits another team that thinks it can make Aquaman work. Here the secret church that previous writer Busiek had hinted at during his run, makes a clear entry in the Aquaman backstory. Their goal is to kill Orin, the old Aquaman, as he is the only man who can stop their god.
The tone of the story is lighter than Busiek making it easy to read and get captivated. Some of the characters, like King Shark seems to have gained a new personality, as he is much more prone to killing and biting off opponents. Some readers may object to the comic relief aspects of the new characters, but so far it works. But a little more than that and it would have been Justice League International material. The intrigue is not complicated and plays well with all elements of Aquaman’s recent history. It’s a huge task to clean so much, but so far so good.
McManus takes some time to adjust to. His work is more comedy relief than super hero action. Although his characters look good underwater, the scenery of the destroyed city of Atlantis, lacks charm and architecture. When I think of the grandeur of Atlantis and its people, I am reminded of the Atlantis Chronicles and the tough characters of Patrick Gleason. McManus gives us weird looking Altanteans instead. Only time can tell if this new spin on Aquaman will work.
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