Weird Science DC Comics: Aquaman #3 Review

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Is Aquaman #3 Good?

Recap

When we last left the King of Atlantis in Aquaman #2, Arthur Curry found himself in a wasteland of shipwrecks and dry terrain after stepping through a portal shaped like an Omega symbol. Arthur was accosted by a group of troll-like beings intent on capturing Arthur by orders of their hag-like Queen, Jenny Greenteeth. Arthur easily beat the trolls and ventured into the Queen’s castle, but he was quickly captured by the Queen’s magical vines and sent to the dungeons to be bled dry for the precious water in his blood.

Arthur discovered the other prisoner in the dungeon was the fabled first mage of Atlantis, Arion, who encourages Arthur to use his recently-acquired hydrokinetic powers to turn the nearby pool of blood into a weapon that frees himself, his allies and removes the dark parasite infecting the Queen.

In Aquaman #3, Arthur’s quest to find Mera and his people continues. Arion and Vivienne (formerly Jenny Greentooth) lead Arthur through the dry wastes until they reach a gigantic ice wall. When they scale the icy cliff, they arrive at a lake with a magic anvil Arion and Vivienne need to forge a weapon Arthur can use to kill Dagon. Why? Dagon cut off the Blue from the universe to hoard its power for himself. Dagon stole the people of Atlantis because they had a piece of that power. If Arthur wants his people back, he must fulfill his role within a prophecy as the Dark Tide and destroy Dagon to free the Blue.

While Arion and Vivienne wield deep magic to forge a special weapon, Arthur waits outside their protected shield because he won’t survive the powerful magic within. Suddenly, a nearby portal in the shape of an Alpha opened. Lori Lemoris, a mermaid and former girlfriend of Superman, emerges with her allies. She stabs Arthur with a blade that freezes Arthur and carts him away for delivery to their master – Dagon.

Regal, mythic, and legendary. Writer Jeremy Adams continues his fanciful version of Arthurian legend by putting Aquaman in the middle of an epic tale that mixes Lovecraft and Medieval Lore for a wholly unexpected fantasy tale.

How’s the Art?

Jeremy Adams surprises and delights with a wholly original take on Aquaman that puts the hero at the center of an epic-styled poem of a tale fit for a King. Adams’s clever twists on everything from the Lady of the Lake to DC mythology to classic tales evoking knights and wizards is an unexpected treat.

What’s not great about Aquaman #3?

Much of the story and Aquaman’s place in it hinges on a prophecy concerning the Dark Tide. Arion gives Arthur an inkling about the Dark Tide’s purpose, but the details of the prophecy are never provided, which makes the prophecy more confusing when Dagon mentions a very different understanding of the Dark Tide. It would help to get more clarity about the prophecy sooner rather than drag it out.