Pen-Elayne For Your Thoughts: AQUAMAN #14
Elayne Wechsler-Chaput
found. Brings a tear to me eye, it does.]
AQUAMAN #14
Writer - Peter David
Penciller - Marty Egeland
Inker - Howard Shum
Letterer - Dan Nakrosis
Colorist - Tom McCraw
Assoc. Ed. - Eddie Berganza
Head Honcho - Kevin Dooley
Here's what I thought:
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
P
A
C
E
Just when I think Peter no longer has the power to knock the hell out of
me with his writing, he does it again. This makes me smile a lot. :)
And he Made Major Disaster Scary. Big whoa. The whole concept is very,
very well done.
Don't care for the art - don't know if I'll *ever* care for an Aquaman
artist - and the inking is a bit heavy for my tastes, but the coloring is
gorgeous. :) And at least Egeland *does* draw a decent child's face.
Mera's still not ringing true to me, but she's been through a lot, I'll
cut her some slack.
Great diversionary tactic - and it serves Thanatos right.
Good foreshadowing re: the eventual battle, in the Astounding Years to
Come, between AJ and Koryak. Also some interesting revelations in the
tunnels tying in with the ATLANTIS CHRONICLES, which makes me a happy
camper. Interesting, and telling, comment by Vulko re: Koryak and his
predecessor in power, Shalako.
Like the knuckle cracking bit. :)
So, what did y'all think?
- Elayne
--
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Randy Lander
Wechsler-Chaput) wrote:
I didn't like this one. I can't put my finger on why. Maybe it's because I
saw the whole Thanatos is going to die instead of Aquaman coming at the
beginning of the book. Maybe it's my unfamiliarity with Major Disaster, so
I didn't get the tragedy that others have spoken of. But I just felt like
it was another crossover issue, nothing special.
> Good foreshadowing re: the eventual battle, in the Astounding Years to
> Come, between AJ and Koryak. Also some interesting revelations in the
> tunnels tying in with the ATLANTIS CHRONICLES, which makes me a happy
> camper. Interesting, and telling, comment by Vulko re: Koryak and his
> predecessor in power, Shalako.
Boy, do I wish I could find the Atlantis Chronicles. If someone had told
me when it was coming out that I would ever care what happened to Aquaman,
I would have told them they were nuts and still skipped the series. As it
is, I just plain missed it. And now I can't find it anywhere.
--
rwla...@io.com <*> | "When villains want to scare each other, they
Highly Recommended: | tell Joker stories."
Books of Magic, | -James Jesse, aka The Trickster, Underworld
Legion of Superheroes | Unleashed #1
David Oakes
> S
> P
> O
> I
> L
> E
> R
>
> S
> P
> A
> C
> E
>
> Just when I think Peter no longer has the power to knock the hell out of
> me with his writing, he does it again. This makes me smile a lot. :)
> And he Made Major Disaster Scary. Big whoa. The whole concept is very,
> very well done.
yes, he did - though maybe we should call him "minor disaster" now? funny
thing is, all we lose untying this from UU is why attack aquaman (like neron
is such a good reason), and the implication that there are some fates worse
than giving up your soul. all of the characterization can be kept, and even
built upon to explain why he was such a goof (the comedian stereotype,
laughing on the outside, crying on the inside).
> Don't care for the art - don't know if I'll *ever* care for an Aquaman
> artist - and the inking is a bit heavy for my tastes, but the coloring is
> gorgeous. :) And at least Egeland *does* draw a decent child's face.
i can recognize all the characters, and i dont look at the anatomy and go
"ouch" - qualifies as good art for me.
> Mera's still not ringing true to me, but she's been through a lot, I'll
> cut her some slack.
true from what? being dead? last we saw she was a total raving psycho.
> Like the knuckle cracking bit. :)
i hope arthur will reconsider the hook now...
> So, what did y'all think?
i think i am actually going to buy a single issue of a comic that doesnt
crossover with a regular title of mine, or even to an "event" i am getting
(since i wont be getting UU, except maybe oracle and "sentinel").
dave "for want of a nail..." oakes
Peter_...@cup.portal.com
your retailer that you would be interested in a trade paperback of same.
DC has been deluged with letters from fans to that effect, but then they
poll the retailers and the retailers--obliviously--say there's no audience
and they won't order an AC collection. And the series, which I'm still
very fond of, remains inaccessible.
PAD
Vicki Holmes
>AQUAMAN #14
>
>Here's what I thought:
>
>S
>P
>O
>I
>L
>E
>R
>
>S
>P
>A
>C
>E
>
>Just when I think Peter no longer has the power to knock the hell out of
>me with his writing, he does it again. This makes me smile a lot. :)
>
>And he Made Major Disaster Scary. Big whoa. The whole concept is very,
>very well done.
>
>Don't care for the art - don't know if I'll *ever* care for an Aquaman
>artist - and the inking is a bit heavy for my tastes, but the coloring is
>gorgeous. :) And at least Egeland *does* draw a decent child's face.
>
>Mera's still not ringing true to me, but she's been through a lot, I'll
>cut her some slack.
This was the part of your review I'd like to comment on, since I had
exactly the same reaction. In fact, at times when you read the issue
(and the one before it) the speech patterns of Mera, Dolphin and "Orin"
are so similar as to be indistinguishable. I really hate it when writers
decide that all of their characters are going to have the same "cutesy"
sarcastic dialogue, especially when some of them are long-standing
characters who never spoke that way before. Don't get me wrong: I enjoy
Peter's writing and it's likely the only reason I buy AQUAMAN and HULK,
but between Betty and Bruce and the characters here, there's almost no
difference in the way they speak. I don't know Peter, so I don't know if
he's writing them with his own voice or not, but it certainly seems that
way. I'm really getting sick of writers completely changing established
characters' personalities (growth is one thing, complete revision is
another). (Aside: I've just read Mark Waid's first two CAPTAIN AMERICA
issues, and altho I haven't followed that title in probably seven or eight
years, the Sharon Carter I remember spoke and acted NOTHING like the one
he's currently writing.)
>Great diversionary tactic - and it serves Thanatos right.
Comes with the title these days, it seems...
>Good foreshadowing re: the eventual battle, in the Astounding Years to
>Come, between AJ and Koryak. Also some interesting revelations in the
>tunnels tying in with the ATLANTIS CHRONICLES, which makes me a happy
>camper. Interesting, and telling, comment by Vulko re: Koryak and his
>predecessor in power, Shalako.
>
>Like the knuckle cracking bit. :)
Yes, that scene made me laugh, too, but again seemed completely out of
character.
>So, what did y'all think?
I enjoyed your review.
Matt
Matthew Gabriel
>In article <42p9n5$b...@panix.com>, fire...@panix.com (Elayne
>Wechsler-Chaput) wrote:
>I didn't like this one. I can't put my finger on why. Maybe it's because I
>saw the whole Thanatos is going to die instead of Aquaman coming at the
>beginning of the book. Maybe it's my unfamiliarity with Major Disaster, so
>I didn't get the tragedy that others have spoken of. But I just felt like
>it was another crossover issue, nothing special.
The whole point of the Underwolrd schtick is to take your average
DC looser villain, and then pump him/her up with god-like power and
unleash them on the Hero-du-jour.
The Aquaman tie-in, in typical Peter David style, was full of
quirks and absurdities that just have to make you grin. Here's Major
Disaster, granted with near omnicience and omnipotence. A very
frightening and powerful force to be reckoned with, thanks to Neron.
And, for all that, he still managed to botch the job. He killed
the wrong Aquaman. B) (Once a looser...always a looser. Gotta love him.)
SoupIsGood Food
Elayne Wechsler-Chaput
: rwla...@io.com (Randy Lander) writes:
: >In article <42p9n5$b...@panix.com>, fire...@panix.com (Elayne
: >Wechsler-Chaput) wrote:
: >I didn't like this one...
Watch your attributions, Matt. Randy said the above, not me. You should
have deleted the line that said "fire...@panix.com wrote..."