If you’re life leads you with questions/
Seek advice from under the sea/
Dear Aquaman, Dear Aquaman/
Send your advice to me, Aquaman!

Here’s another confession for me this week: I know very little about Aquaman. Yes I’ve watched Justice League cartoons, I’ve listened to Tom Katers, and I’ve read the Morrison JLA issues. But when it gets right down to it I just know nothing about the guy. Maybe it’s because he has had more reboots then Hawkman which is a good start. But here’s another big problem with the guy: He’s silly. This is a guy I could never get around too because he’s been a big joke for so long. Everyone’s tried to make him relevant over the years but with no success. So now DC needs to bring their expert when it comes to making things relevant once again. Enter Geoff Johns.

It’s as much as a surprise for me as it is to you but: This was my pick of the week. Let me explain if no one agrees with this sentiment (which I’m sure will happen). I loved this opening issue because Johns immediately goes for his ultimate problem of being silly and lame. Heck we even get a character saying point blank why no one likes the guy. This type of meta writing works for me in this case because it tells me Johns knows of the criticism and is ready to make it all go away. The people think he’s silly, the criminals think he’s silly, hell even the cops are embarrassed to admit he helped them. But what makes it work for me is how Arthur is trying real hard not to get angry at these criticisms. I love the scene of Aquaman coming in to have a bite to eat, fish no less, but he gets asked a million questions. It feels real that a superhero of his caliber would be egged on. Johns balances the issue with these creatures coming out to land which I must admit are pretty creepy. I have a feeling Johns is going to make this an uncomfortable opening arc once Aquaman starts fighting these things.

I didn’t even get to the better part of the issue which is Ivan Reis drawing this. He has been a mainstay for DC for a long time and if you haven’t loved his art before then you must be crazy. I believe this is the first time that he is being inked by Joe Pardo (but don’t quote me on that). The inking definitely stands out as these pages, while you can easily tell it’s Reis, does look slightly different. Again it’s only slight, but Reis pencils look a bit looser cause of the inks….kinda has a Neal Adams feel to it. But there is such great detail in these panels it’s amazing to think he can do this monthly. Not sure if I wanna see more of these creatures because how disturbing they are, but I doubt this won’t happen.

It’s a shock to me how much I love this issue because of Geoff Johns recent track record. His events have been pretty dull lately and his first issue of Green Lantern this month was pretty poor. But Geoff Johns keeps this simple by giving us a meta intro for the character. Tell us flat out why this character doesn’t work in principal is the first start to change him. I have no doubt Johns will have some ridiculous big event tied to Aquaman in the future. But for now he ignores the really big picture and is going to give us a strong start to make Aquaman relevant again. It certainly doesn’t hurt to have Ivan Reis gorgeous artwork to make it all the more better to read. Considered me prepared to be a full time Aquaman fan for the future.