Comic Info
Comic Name: Aquaman and the Others/Aquaman (Volume 5)
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Dan Jurgens/John Ostrander
Artist: Lan Medina/Manuel Garcia/Geraldo Borges/Netho Diaz
# of Issues: 7
Release Date: 2015
Aquaman and the Others #2
Reprints Aquaman (5) #20, Aquaman (5) Annual #1, and Aquaman and the Others #1-5 (July 2013-October 2014). Before Aquaman was a member of the Justice League, he lead a team called the Others. The Others were bound by a collection of Atlantean artifacts which gave them their powers. When artifacts appear to be losing power and someone is targeting the Others, Aquaman and the Others must once again unite to stop the threat…which could be as old as Atlantis itself!
Written by Dan Jurgens (Aquaman and the Others #1-5) and John Ostrander (Aquaman (5) #20 and Aquaman (5) Annual #1), Aquaman and the Others Volume 1: Legacy of Gold is part of DC Comics’ New 52 relaunch of the DC Universe. The collection features art by Lan Medina, Manuel Garcia, Geraldo Borges, and Netho Diaz.
The Others premiered in Aquaman (5) #7 (May 2012) and were an early “change” to classic Aquaman history created by Geoff Johns. The Others first appearance was reprinted in Aquaman Volume 2: The Others, but this collection does contain a few of their other pre-series appearance. The new Aquaman series was fun…Aquaman and the Others was a little tedious.
Aquaman and the Others #5
The big problem with this series is the Others. While Aquaman is a dynamic character and one I always felt was underrated, the Others fall into the ’80s/’90s generic team trap. The Others feel like the Outsiders or an Image team. None of the characters jump out as that interesting. I could argue that Ya’wara is kind of interesting, but she could easily have been replaced with Vixen or Rima the Jungle Girl (which DC took from Green Mansions in the ’70s). In the new world of the New 52, it didn’t seem necessary to create a new team…just use some of DC’s existing characters.
The storyline for the first five issues also follows this pattern by creating a very generic supervillain in Legacy (and his descendant sidekicks Darya and Anton). The series was already a gamble since Aquaman often can’t carry his own series, and Ostrander should have utilized a bigger villain to get more initial readers. A lackluster story arc doesn’t leave me really wanting to return for another volume.
Aquaman and the Others 1: Legacy of Gold is a rather bland series that feels unnecessary. The comic market is flooded and you wonder why some of these titles are greenlit since they doen’t really seem to add anything. If the series was helmed by a hot artist or writer and more experimental, I could see Aquaman and the Others making more sense, but here, it just feels unnecessary. Aquaman and the Others 1: Legacy of Gold was followed by Aquaman and the Others 2: Alignment Earth.
Related Links:
