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Of Embassies and Origins - Justice League International Part 2 (Eaglemoss Collection v77)

  Review: Since we are doing a series of reviews focusing on Booster Gold over his nearly 40-year history, we include this one as a collection of some of his earliest appearances, dating to late 1987. That places the original publish date of these tales while his original solo series was still going strong.  This book is a beautiful, glossy hard-cover with smooth and heavy-stock paper inside, although the sometimes-low print reproduction quality leads to blurred and hard to read word balloons on occasion. It is also a rare book here in North America, as Eaglemoss Collections targeted UK fans with this series. At this point in the history of the 1987-rebooted Justice League, they have gained official United Nations recognition and sanction. To ensure their reach truly is global, they rebrand as Justice League International (as does the title of the series!) and they open new headquarters buildings around the world: New York, Paris and Moscow are included here. As this is a product of 19
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"I Don't Talk to Fish" - Aquaman volume 1 The Trench (New 52)

 

Cover of Aquaman volume 1 (New 52) TPB


Review:

Geoff Johns brings to Aquaman his creative ability to reboot and re-interpret well-known, historically rich characters. He has also applied those skills to the Justice League as a whole, to Green Lantern, Teen Titans, Justice Society of America, Booster Gold and more.

It all kicks off with Issue #1, the first chapter in this collection, and it could well be his showcase issue among all his reboots. The way Johns addresses long-standing stereotypes and cliches - he talks to fish, he needs water to survive, he is the least-popular and least0interesting super-hero - the work is brilliant, inspiring and occasionally laugh out loud funny.

Bookending this collection is a similar reboot of Mera. Her tale is set in a simple, everyday errand of buying food for her dog, but through Johns' genius we learn of her true powers, her ferocity, and the complexity of this character and her history. Another absolutely delightful chapter.

Between these two truly awesome parts is a more prosaic battle with razor-toothed humanoid monsters from the Atlantic Trench. These titular sections do have pearls hidden in their depths, but pale in comparison to the stunning other chapters.

Penciller Ivan Reis and inker Joe Prado give us a handsome, dashing young Arthur Curry, and a simmering red-headed beauty in Mera. Their seashore sunrises are also breath-taking. The toothy monsters and array of sea creatures are less inspired, flatter. Everything is laid out in rectangular, standard shaped panels, but they refuse to be bound by standard sizes, stretching some top to bottom in thin vertical slices. Perfect for evoking a deep, deep dive into an oceanic trench.

This is a solid new beginning, an outstanding character reset.


Description:

Aquaman is back to challenge his status as a second-tier superhero. Maligned for years as the man who talks to fish, Arthur Curry stakes his claim as one of the most powerful heroes in the DC Universe in Aquaman Vol. 1: The Trench. As the King of the Seven Seas, Aquaman has sworn to protect his ocean home and there’s been no greater threat to date than what’s to come.

They are called the Trench. And they are hungry.

As thousands of carnivorous beasts emerge from the ocean’s depths, can Aquaman protect his people from this deadly new threat? And also the surface world that he now calls home?

This is Aquaman’s renaissance—a cutting-edge revival of the King of the Seven Seas featuring the creative team behind New York Times best-selling graphic novels Blackest Night and Justice League: Throne of Atlantis!

Collects: Aquaman (2011) #1-6

Authors: Geoff Johns
Artists: Ivan Reis, Joe Prado
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: May 21 2013
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 9781401237103
Pages: 144 pages


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