Review: Mera- Queen of Atlantis

Quick Summary

Pros: The main storyline is fun and interesting. Mera works well as a main character. The collection does a lot to expand upon story elements from previous comic books. The artwork looks good and is a solid complement to the story.

Cons: Newer readers may miss out on the positives presented by this book’s connection to previous works. There are a few storytelling flaws.

Overall: This Mera miniseries has a lot to offer and has only a few small problems holding it back. The main storyline is compelling, the characters are great, and the artwork looks good all around. Plus, the book returns to past comic storylines and expands upon them in ways that longtime fans are sure to appreciate. This is a pretty good book if you are just looking for something starring Mera but becomes far more attractive if you are familiar with the post-Flashpoint history of Aquaman comics.

Story

Mera: Queen of Atlantis, by Dan Abnett, is a solid story on its own and a greatly appreciated expansion of the overall Atlantean mythos. This comic starts out with great characters, uses these characters to develop excitement, and then uses both elements to dig into the emotions present throughout these characters’ journeys. Meanwhile, aspects of previous stories are brought up in ways that dedicated readers will really appreciate, even if they mean nothing to newer readers. In the end, there are a few storytelling flaws that prevent this from being a truly stellar book but not enough to prevent it from being easily worthwhile.

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The central storyline in Mera: Queen of Atlantis is immediately attractive. It brings multiple dynamic comic elements together in a way that allows for some intense situations. These situations then lead to some emotional moments for almost every character involved. The story also relies less on flash and cheap action than other comics, allowing it to flow in a more logical and consistent manner. These factors together help create a book that is entertaining from start to finish.

It also helps that Mera works incredibly well as a main character. While the past few volumes of the Aquaman series have placed a significant focus on Aquaman and have shied away from Mera, this volume changes up the dynamic and allows Mera to shine in the lead role. Her unique powers, often overlooked personal history, and current role in the world all become topics of interest and are all great contributions to the narrative.

However, the best aspect of Mera: Queen of Atlantis is the way it expands upon elements of the greater Atlantean story. In this book, Orm’s journey, which hasn’t even been mentioned in years, is finally brought back up again. Plus, Mera’s contributions to Aquaman’s success and the role she is currently playing in the battle for the crown become more significant than they are in the mainstream Aquaman comic. In general, this comic provides a huge expansion to the greater mythos of these characters and opens up the narrative to even more possibilities.

The only downside to this focus on expanding the past is that it may alienate newer readers. Though this comic is advertised as a standalone book, many of its positives require prior Aquaman reading to fully grasp. The book is still entertaining without prior reading but is not nearly as instantly attractive.

Another element holding this collection back is a few minor problems with the storytelling. The volume starts out with Mera agonizing over Aquaman, which, at first, is a solid emotional hook for the story. However, this point is repeated over and over again to the point where it feels almost annoying. Problems like this happen later on as well, when plot points that have already happened are brought up over and over again. Near the end of the book, a lot of the narration was simply explaining ideas or concepts that I had already learned about earlier in the book. The story, on its own, is still interesting but the way it is told could use some work.

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Art

The artwork in Mera: Queen of Atlantis is attractive all the way through and is a solid complement to the story. Lan Medina’s work here is creative, making the undersea worlds look as wonderous as they should, and detailed, making the characters stand out in regal ways. The structure of the book also works in most places, which makes the action flow better. All of this helps ensure the visuals have their own appeal while also managing to complement the story. The only element of the artwork that I was turned off by was the depiction of water jets around characters mouths when they are speaking in an intense way. Every time this was done it ended up looking strange and slightly took away from the moment. Otherwise, the visual appeal of this collection is high and helps make this a more worthwhile book.

Continuity

Mera: Queen of Atlantis is technically a standalone comic miniseries. However, it immediately follows the events of Aquaman Vol. 5: The Crown Comes Down (Review) and makes many references to that specific storyline.

This miniseries ends with this volume. However, the story here continues on in Aquaman Vol. 6: Kingslayer (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• Aquaman’s proposal happened by in DC Universe: Rebirth (Review).
• Mera’s history with Xebel and her first meeting with Aquaman is detailed in the Brightest Day series.
• Mera mentions working with the Justice League recently. This started in Justice League Vol. 4: Endless (Review).
• Orm’s war against the surface world and subsequent imprisonment occurred in Aquaman: Throne of Atlantis (Review) (Reading Order).
• Orm’s new life and family were originally introduced in Aquaman 23.2: Ocean Master, currently collected in the Aquaman by Geoff Johns Omnibus.