Review: Aquaman Vol. 6- Kingslayer

Quick Summary

Pros: The opening chapter helps establish Corum Rath as a worthwhile villain. The following chapters detail an intense and exciting battle for the fate of Atlantis. The artwork looks good in most places and does a solid job in reflecting the tone of the story.

Cons: The pacing is a bit rapid, which takes some of the impact away from the volume’s conclusion.

Overall: After several volumes of anticipation, the final showdown for the fate of Atlantis ends up being the exciting and action-packed conclusion fans were hoping for. This volume has interesting villains, fun battles, beautiful artwork, and enough surprises along the way to make sure the story never gets boring. There are a few problems with pacing but not enough to distract from the volume’s positives. Anyone who has read the past few Aquaman volumes should read this book, and anyone who hasn’t should consider going back a few volumes so that they can read this book.

Story

Aquaman Vol. 6: Kingslayer, by Dan Abnett, is a solid conclusion to a number of ongoing story arcs. It has all of the action and drama one would expect from a battle between a former king and a mad tyrant. Plus, some unexpected twists take place along the way and ensure the reader is in for a treat throughout the reading experience. The downside here is that the pacing is somewhat rapid, especially toward the volume’s conclusion. However, as a whole, this is still a very worthwhile collection and a solid beginning to the next chapter in Aquaman’s journey.

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Kingslayer starts out by providing some very worthwhile background for Corum Rath. The information exposed here adds a lot to his character and gives him the depth he had been lacking up to this point. In addition, his decision to partner with a literal demon justifies his status as this saga’s villain, giving more credibility to Aquaman’s fight against him.

From here, the book places the majority of its focus on the battle between Aquaman’s allies and Corum Rath’s underlings. These opposing forces clash on a couple of separate occasions, with each confrontation changing the balance of war just enough to keep things interesting. It helps create a war that starts out strong and only manages to get better as it approaches its conclusion.

However, the best part about this battle is the unexpected nature of the storytelling. Corum Rath’s alliance with a demon and transformation into a powerful sea creature were unexpected but ended up only being the first in a series of surprises. From here, Rath turns on his former supporters, nearly kills Murk, and even manages to destroy Aquaman’s trident. All of these surprise advances from the volume’s villain helped prime the book for Mera’s arrival, straight from the pages of Mera: Queen of Atlantis (Review), which was a surprise advance for the heroes and was easily my favorite moment in this entire saga. All in all, the unexpected nature of this read keeps readers on their toes and makes this collection more fun to experience.

The biggest problem with Kingslayer is the pacing, which ends up being too rapid. This volume represents the direct conclusion to three and a half volumes of storylines and a total upheaval of the Atlantean government. However, it goes by so quickly that the impact and importance of this event is diluted. Plus, the conclusion gives readers almost no time to reflect on what has happened before moving right along to the next story arc. Though this upcoming arc looks incredibly interesting, I would have preferred to have a moment to catch my breath between two massive Aquaman events.

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Art

Kingslayer starts out with a single chapter from Kelley Jones. This chapter is a creepy tale of dark magic and corruption, both of which Jones is able to capture perfectly. The use of intense lines, shadows, and generally eerie character depictions help give this story the dark atmosphere it needs. The only problem with this chapter is that it doesn’t do a great job in reflecting the underwater environment, as everything is so grounded that the comic feels as if it could be taking place on dry land.

From here, most of the collection contains artwork from Riccardo Federici. These chapters trade creepy ambiance for a dynamic sense of action, a changeup that serves as a nice complement to the story’s change in tone. Federici’s detailed character work is consistently impressive and places the reader’s focus firmly on the action taking place between the heroes and villains. Plus, Sunny Gho’s alternating usage of soft and vibrant colors ends up being a visual treat. The only problem here is that the backgrounds are pretty lackluster and are not typically that impressive. Luckily, the visual positives far outweigh the negatives and ensure that this book looks good in most places.

Continuity

Aquaman Vol. 6: Kingslayer continues the story from Aquaman Vol. 5: The Crown Comes Down (Review) and also continues story elements from Mera: Queen of Atlantis (Review).

The main story here continues in Aquaman/Suicide Squad: Sink Atlantis (Review).

This volume also references the stories from other comic books, detailed below:

• The backstory behind Mera’s condition is explained in Mera: Queen of Atlantis (Review).
• The conclusion of this collection directly reference’s Aquaman’s role in the conclusion of Dark Nights: Metal (Review) (Reading Order).