Aquaman by Geoff Johns Omnibus

DC Comics

Writer: Geoff Johns

Artist: Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Pete Woods, Pere Pérez, Paul Pelletier

I know what you’re probably thinking. Aquaman? The guy that talks to fish? Why would he get an omnibus? He’s a joke character. A lot of the general public thinks this way. They just see him as the freaky fish guy from the Justice League. How could he be interesting to anyone? Here though, in this fantastic New 52 series we get a perfect example of why Aquaman is so compelling.

Geoff Johns has made a career out of breathing new life into niche characters. Stargirl, Hawkman, The Justice Society, Booster Gold, and Hal Jordan are excellent examples. All had either been unknown or largely forgotten before Johns breathed new life into them. In this series Geoff attempts to do the same with Arthur Curry, king of Atlantis, and the superhero called Aquaman. Between the writing and the stunning artwork from Ivan Reis I’d have to call it a success.

Right from the start Johns embraces the negative reputation his main character has with the general public. People openly mock Aquaman in the streets, they assume he lives in a lighthouse and treats him like he’s useless. Geoff uses it not only for humour but to develop sympathy for Aquaman. Through his facial expressions and his discussions with his partner Mera we see how insecure he feels about the situation. There’s a line early on where Arthur is told that Aquaman is no one’s favourite superhero that really breaks your heart. Fortunately, as the story goes on the people and the reader sees the qualities that make Aquaman a real hero.

I don’t want people to get the wrong idea here though. This isn’t just some sappy story about how a self-conscious superhero learns to accept himself. That may be a major part of the character development but it’s not the entire series. This is a full-on, blood and guts action epic with political intrigue, twists and turns and amazing writing throughout. This is easily one of the best books I’ve read all year. The overall quality is incredible.

Let’s start with the characters. As I’ve said, Aquaman is incredibly sympathetic but at the same time he has so many layers to him. He’s not just the insecure hero, he also has his political responsibilities to Atlantis. This becomes a key part of the Justice League crossover in the middle of the book and it’s the best part of it. We also see a violent side to him too, a side that’ll kill when necessary. Then, as if to contrast this there’s the loving partner in him on display through his interactions with Mera.

Speaking of Mera, she’s brilliant here. Johns consistently portrays her as being every bit the badass that Aquaman is. She’s actually the star of my favourite issue of this run as she ventures out to buy dog food. I won’t go into too much detail but if I ever have a daughter this will be something I show them when I’m teaching them how to respond to sexual harassment. I honestly believe that the message behind issue 6 of this series is something all women need to understand.

The villains get a great showing in this series too. Throughout the omnibus we see a number of old and new villains. Black Manta and Ocean Master are the classics and I feel that Johns does the best job with them. Both get entire story arcs devoted to them along with each receiving a special tying into the “Forever Evil” crossover. Manta goes from a guy with a harpoon gun and a UFO for a head to a serious threat. His stories give legitimate reason and depth to his feud with Aquaman and make you feel sympathy for the villain. They also show a darker side to Arthur Curry, the kind you don’t often see in a comic book superhero. Ocean Master on the other hand is where a lot of the political intrigue comes in. His role within Atlantis and relationship to Aquaman are a key part of his story here. Despite all the violent acts he commits he comes across as a tragic villain. It’s easy to feel pity for him, especially after the “Forever Evil” tie-in.

Admittedly not all the villains are great. The newer villains featured in this omnibus are a bit of a disappointment. The first ones appear early in the series and they’re the easiest to forgive. They’re not so much villains as much as a threat to land-dwellers. It’s a situation Aquaman and Mera have to deal with but these villains don’t have much character of their own. The storyline is still good but it’s more reliant on building the other characters for its entertainment value.  The other is more disappointing. There’s a villain towards the end who’s built up all throughout this series. The idea of him is brilliant but Johns doesn’t explore him enough. He appears in what feels like it’ll be an epic story and we’re given his backstory. It’s tragic and relatable but then Geoff suddenly rushes to the finish. I’m not sure if this was an editorial decision or not. Maybe Johns had to finish quickly to move onto another project but it’s still a massive disappointment.

What isn’t a disappointment here though is the art. Ivan Reis’ work throughout this series is breathtaking. I was in awe throughout this omnibus and often found myself simply ogling his work. The underwater panels in particular are mesmerizing. The way he draws the sea creatures and the underwater locales with such detail are amazing. You can even make out the scales on fish swimming in the background of a page. This is one of those books that would be worth buying based on the art alone.

The special features are basic. We get some variant covers and some sketches. They’re fun to look at but they’re nothing that’ll blow you away. The build quality is decent too. There’s a sewn binding that helps the book stay open as you read. It’s not the best I’ve seen since there is still a slight gutter loss. This isn’t a big book. There are around 700 pages so it’s smaller than an average omnibus but the binding and the gutter loss are more what I’d expect of a book at around 1000 pages. It does the job, I just feel DC could’ve done better in this regard.

Overall though, this book is incredible. It has flaws. There’s a lot of stuff that gets mentioned and isn’t explained until later. That may be off-putting to people looking for a jumping-on point but the explanations are usually well-done. My biggest issues with the book were just how rushed it felt at the end. Some storylines get dropped suddenly which is a bit annoying after following them. There’s also a cliffhanger that only seems to exist to give Jeff Parker a starting point for his run. Maybe there’ll be an omnibus of the Parker run on Aquaman but I doubt it. That might be off-putting if you’re a completionist and want to collect this whole series. Still, despite the flaws this is a great book. It’s easily the best of the New 52 omnibuses and it’s well worth a read. If none of these flaws are major issues to you then I highly recommend picking up a copy.