Is it me or does this storyline feel like its taking forever? My difficulty here is that I like the idea of the storyline. Getting to know these different characters and see a team that Arthur used to be a part of is really cool, and the fight with Black Manta has been really interesting. With this issue, however, we sort of take a step back from the action to find Black Manta’s ultimate motivation. To me, it seems a bit late in the game to have such a big reveal, and I wonder how Johns and company will wrap up the storyline next issue without making it too packed. There’s also this trouble with Arthur being a dick the WHOLE time. These other characters have done nothing to earn such treatment from him, and if anything, they’ve proven both their loyalty and capabilities as heroes. It turns me off a bit from the character when he’s acting this way. Besides Arthur’s characterization, I found this issue’s story to be pretty good…just a few issues too late.

On the art side of things, Ivan Reis continues to draw a gorgeous book. Unlike last issue’s slug fest, there wasn’t a “wow” moment, but what’s here is really solid, and the storytelling is of a high caliber.

I think next issue will prove to be a payoff. I trust that Johns will tell a good story here because it’s not often he doesn’t do a great job. If anything, it should have some awesome action scenes for Reis to blow out of the water.