The past. Young Arthur Curry and his father are looking out on a storm.
The raging tempest blows the beacon, putting sailors’ lives in danger – but perhaps father and son can work together to bodge a solution…
…. in the present day, the adult Arthur could do with a beacon to help him find his family. Wife Mera, daughter Andi and the other people of Poseidonis have vanished from Earth and their trail has brought Arthur to another realm, one with links to Darkseid. His guides in this magical place are the ancient Atlantean wizard-king Arion, and Vivienne, an earlier Arthur’s Lady of the Lake. Having climbed an icy mountain – the recently frozen home of Vivienne – the mystics give Arthur some background.
The takeaway is that a devil called Dagon has taken over this place, and having gained control of The Blue – the life that flows through everyone and everything, where magic meets Hope – he could soon reshape reality as he sees fit.
Arthur, though, has the qualities to become the vessel for a god who could defeat Dagon. But which god?
The clue’s on this issue’s cover by John Timms. Darkseid doesn’t appear in Aquaman #3 but his threat looms over all.
Writer Jeremy Adams is really amping up the ambition as this series goes on. We began with a simple spot of monster fighting in Florida in the first issue and now Arthur is in what seems to be DC’s Absolute universe, ready to risk becoming one with the dark god of Apokolips. The classic DC lore of Order vs Chaos is evoked, with links to Swamp Thing’s Green, the Blue Lanterns and the current Green Lantern set-up of untethered energies running rampant.
Amidst all the cosmic grandeur, though, the most affecting scene is the framing sequence, showing the incident from Arthur’s boyhood. Partly this is because it looks so darn good thanks to the talents of illustrator Timms and colour artist Rex Lokus.
The light piercing the black sky, the imposing rocks, the crashing waves… I’ve rarely seen such a gorgeous, convincing establishing shot. And the dialogue between Arthur and Dad Tom on the following pages is just lovely. I’d happily read a whole issue of Curry Sr and Jr going about their daily life in Amnesty Bay.
Meanwhile, the talents of Timms and Lokus are perfectly suited to the magical mayhem all around Arthur – the eerie landscapes, magical creatures and Dagon himself. Arthur looks formidable, and suitably pensive as he realises the responsibility he’s taking on.
There’s a very clever credits spread which sees Aquaman and friends climbing an ice sheet but composition and colours makes it look for all the world like they’re swimming.
Dave Sharpe more than earns his keep this very wordy issue, ensuring the more expository pages don’t look scary. A word of praise, too, to editors Marquis Draper and Paul Kaminski, because this is shaping up to be a surprising, fun run.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
I am done with this series but I really enjoy your reviews so I’ll keep reading them. That said, DC lore that Chaos is eeeevil and Order is good has never set right with me. I’ve always preferred it the other way and thought like Pratchett before I even read his books. Life is chaotic and death is the ultimate in order.
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To be fair, the chaos and order that is touched on in this issue feels very much diminished in its importance. It didn’t come across nearly as strongly as it did when they were using those concepts in the eighties and nineties. Which is as I prefer it. Lords of Chaos and Order are fine (just like the Speed Force) in very very small doses.
To me, the way that Adams lays things out is taking little bits and pieces of all the forces at play in the DC universe and sprinkling it throughout the story. At least I hope that’s the intent. I’m far more interested in the characters and the story than in the building blocks of those stories.
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Oh, I like that idea. DC does tend to go back and forth with whether or not Order and Chaos actually equate to Good and Bad.
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I just read the first three issues of Aquaman on DCUI, and I think I’ll let it rest for a while. (Or I might not, as they’re functionally free.) This book, with its grand mythology of The Blue and Dagon and such-and-such, doesn’t feel like it’s for me. It hardly feels like Aquaman, to be honest. I like a guy who swims fast and talks to fish, and I’m not seeing a lot of that here.
This is an old problem with Aquaman, as he started veering away from his core concepts pretty much as soon as he got his Showcase tryouts and then his regular book — adding in aliens, time travel, etc. Reading the DC Finest: Aquaman might have made me the world’s only Aquaman purist.
I do agree it looks nice, though.
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I’m with you on Aquaman, and this week’s issue was the worst yet… the last run I really enjoyed was the Jeff Parker/Paul Pelletier one – good, clean Aquaman fun.
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Parker and Pelletier… that’s a heck of a good team!
Let Aquaman Be Aquaman!
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I bet they’re blaming the cancellations on readers disliking the classic set up when it’s been about it being used badly most times. Me, I just dislike Aquaman no matter what.
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Poor old Aquaman, so there’s no version of the character, no run of strips, you’ve ever liked?
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I loved Peter David’s asshole Arthur, hook hand and all. And remember how badly written and drawn Mera was after their son was killed? That left a bad taste for Mera as well and stuck with me so I can’t get into that character either.
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Go back and see some cracking Cardy or adorable Aparo Mera, they might cure you.
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