Aquaman 5: Sea of Storms

Comic Info

Aquaman (5) #27

Reprints Aquaman (5) #26-31, Swamp Thing (5) #32, and Aquaman (5) Annual #2 (February 2014-September 2014).  A man seeking to unite the people of Atlantis with the surface dwellers accidentally unleashes an ancient horror on the Earth.  Now, Aquaman and Wonder Woman must team-up to stop the Giant-Born and return them to their prison before it is too late.  Plus, Atlantis is threatened by a plant-creature, and Aquaman learns Swamp Thing might be the only one who can help him.

Written by Jeff Parker (with Charles Soule writing the Swamp Thing crossover), Aquaman Volume 5:  Sea of Storms is part of DC Comics’ New 52 series.  Following Aquaman Volume 4:  Death of a King, the collection features art by Paul Pelletier, Jesus Saiz, Yvel Guichet, Netho Diaz, and Alvaro Martinez.  The Swamp Thing crossover issues were also collected in Swamp Thing Volume 6:  The Sureen.

Geoff Johns revitalized Aquaman with the New 52 and tried to make him something other than the superhero punch-line.  He largely succeeded in bringing relevance back to the character and making him one of DC’s top characters.  Jeff Parker had the difficult task of following up Johns’ run…and succeeds for the most part.

Aquaman (5) #29

I like Jeff Parker’s style in general.  He has a real grasp of comic book history and has utilized it in series like Agents of Atlas.  This collection of Aquaman feels a little lacking in that sense.  I wish Parker had dove a bit deeper into Aquaman’s past for a storyline to kick off his run and cement his own direction.  Johns was about making Aquaman relevant, and it would have been nice for Parker to show he was always relevant.

Despite this, Parker has a nice fun run.  It takes a few issues to get going, but the collection has a good Wonder Woman team-up and the Swamp Thing storyline feels original since I don’t picture the characters crossing paths much (despite all the vegetation in the ocean).  I also like that Parker made the annual actually worth picking up.  Normally, comic book annuals are big stand-alone stories or part of a bigger event storyline.  Parker used the annual to wrap up the Giant-Born story and forces you to read it.

Aquaman might have a power you might scoff at.  He can swim fast and communicate with fish.  It will always be a struggle for writers to keep this interesting and fun, and I admire writers who can do it.  The best aspects of Aquaman is his dichotomy of being the king of the ocean and someone who is tied to the surface world.  It is the same format with Namor at Marvel Comics, but the characters feel amazingly different despite having similar stories and even storylines.  Aquaman continues to be worth reading.  Aquaman 5:  Sea of Storms was followed by Aquaman 6:  Maelstrom.

Related Links:

Aquaman 1:  The Trench

Aquaman 2:  The Others

Aquaman 3:  Throne of Atlantis

Aquaman 4:  Death of a King

Swamp Thing 6:  The Sureen