Aquaman and the whole Aqua-clan join forces to fight Black Manta and his army of Atlantean exiles.

Aquaman and the new Aqualad are joined by Mera and Aquagirl to stop an invasion led by Black Manta and Mera's sister, Siren. This issue focuses entirely on the "Aquawar" with the Aquafamily putting aside their doubts and soundly routing the bad guys. There are some impressive scenes like Mera doing King Canute one better and Aquaman summoning an army of undead fish.

Perhaps it is the overuse of giant one or two-page panels or the brisk pace of the action but the story seems incredibly short. Moreover, although this issue ends the whole "Aquaman" subplot in the BRIGHTEST DAY series, it leaves too many loose threads, like why Black Manta and his pregnant wife were kidnapped by Siren's sister and how Mera got involved with them. Maybe DC Comics expects to give us the details in a forthcoming AQUAMAN comic but those of us who have been following this series so far can't help feeling cheated.

Still, we do get a lot of inspiring scenes, of Aquaman being regally formidable and forgiving, of Mera showing great strength and of Aquagirl being both tough and funny. The artists seem to have taken special pains to give Aquagirl her own unique face and this kind of care really shows.

The art is of acceptable quality but some portions seem rather rushed. Perhaps the inking was too heavy, so that it left the title looking a bit 'muddy." The art is still good but Ivan Reis could do better.