Review: Aquaman Vol. 3- Crown of Atlantis

Quick Summary

Pros: Each of the stories here is entertaining in its own way. The tone of each story is distinct, creating a diverse and interesting reading experience. The closing story helps build excitement for the next volume. The artwork looks good throughout.

Cons: The first and second stories conflict a bit when it comes to message. The closing story feels rather sudden.

Overall: This is another successful volume for the Aquaman Rebirth comic series. It takes the reader through three separate journeys, each which offer something new and unique into the mix. The end result is a compelling adventure with only a few lackluster moments here and there. Readers who have enjoyed this series thus far, or who simply enjoy Aquaman in general, are likely to enjoy this book.

Story

Aquaman Vol. 3: Crown of Atlantis, by Dan Abnett, features three separate and distinct story arcs that each help create a tremendously entertaining collection. The first is an action-packed battle that allows Aquaman to show off his capabilities as both a leader and a fighter. The second is a tense thriller filled with enough frightening moments to nearly classify it as a horror comic. The final is weaker than the rest in terms of entertainment but succeeds in shaking up the series and building excitement for the next Aquaman saga. All in all, these stories stand well on their own and create a wonderfully diverse reading experience when read together.

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Crown of Atlantis opens with a story that has Aquaman go head to head with a metahuman who can control the minds of civilians. It is a story that tests the King of Atlantis’s physical capabilities and allows him to show off his abilities as a fighter. However, it also highlights his skills as a leader and a genuinely good person. Instead of simply killing or imprisoning his enemy, Aquaman takes the time to find out what is wrong and help him. Stories like this show that Aquaman is more than just a musclebound hero and leader of a nation, he is also a person who cares about the people around him.

The collection’s second story has Aquaman, Mera, and a group of government agents trapped in a compound with a literal monster. The entire situation is a real thrill that has every character at the brink of death at nearly every moment. This suspense is enhanced by the monster’s ability to teleport through water, allowing him to pop up at any moment, and, later, by the discovery that anyone trapped in the compound could also end up turning into a monster. All in all, it is an entertaining story packed with an awesome level of suspense.

The only problem with this particular story arc is that its conclusion seems directly contrary to the preceding story. Aquaman’s decision to detonate the nuke instead of listening to Mera is almost the exact opposite of his decision to save the villain in the previous story. If his decision were given a bit more justification it could have worked but the way it plays out here combined with the contradictory juxtaposition slightly damages this arc.

The final story in Crown of Atlantis is the weakest. It essentially has the ruling class of Atlantis completely revolt and dispel Arthur’s rule. Though tensions in the Atlantean court have been high for the past two volumes, this move to revolution seems incredibly sudden. It also seems ridiculous that the Atlanteans would choose to replace Arthur with someone who has absolutely no ruling experience and who they know almost nothing about. The entire endeavor feels too hasty overall. However, it does place the series in an interesting position that could potentially lead to some compelling future storylines, so it may be a worthwhile gambit.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The visuals in Crown of Atlantis come from a couple of different artists but end up creating a visually pleasing book with a solid level of consistency. Scot Eaton, Philippe Briones, and Brad Walker each do a tremendous job on their individual chapters, presenting Aquaman and his enemies or allies with a great level of detail. There are also portions of this book that feel very creative, particularly when depicting new, underwater worlds. It also helps that the styles used by each of these artists look very similar and allow the collection to maintain some visual consistency between different chapters. Part of this consistency comes from Gabe Eltaeb’s colors, which also allow the tone in this book to range from bright and optimistic to dark and foreboding. There are a few moments where characters or small details look odd but these moments are very rare. As a whole, this is a visually pleasing collection that works well with the story.

Continuity

Aquaman Vol. 3: Crown of Atlantis continues the story from Aquaman Vol. 2: Black Manta Rising (Review).

The story here continues in Aquaman Vol. 4: Underworld (Review).

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

• Dead Water’s previous appearance is mentioned a number of times. His backstory and previous actions are explained in Aquaman Vol. 8: Out of Darkness (Review).
• A number of story elements from Aquaman Vol. 3: Throne of Atlantis (Review) are mentioned here. This includes:
  • The previous war with the surface world.
  • Arthur taking over Orm’s throne.
  • Vulko’s imprisonment.