I approached Aquaman with an open mind, but never expected to love it – or to rank it among the top titles of the New 52.

I want to be clear. I don’t find it as innovative or daring as other titles that I also put at the top of that list (such as Animal Man, All-Star Western, or Batwoman).

Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado clearly didn’t set out to redefine the character or to come up with a new way to tell a comic book story. It seems that their objective was to tell a well-written, well-illustrated, exciting super-hero story – and they succeeded beautifully!

It seems that one of the points of debate with this title is the acknowledgement within the story itself that while everyone knows Aquaman and many people like him, that he suffers from few really loving him and many considering him downright silly.

I think it was a brilliant move on Geoff John’s part. By acknowledging this criticisms, it allows the story to disarm them, makes Aquaman an underdog and an outsider, puts you in his corner, and leaves you rooting for him.

In the final analysis, I put Aquaman in the company of Action Comics, Batman, Batwoman, Flash, and Green Lantern as the kind of great super-hero that you love to read and re-read and remember fondly for years to come.