Writer: Dan Abnett
Penciller: Lan Medina
Inker: Norm Rapmund
Lettering: Simon Bowland
Colors: Veronica Gandini
Cover: Nicola Scott
Publisher: DC Comics
Spoilers
Underwater trips are always intoxicating, especially when there’s magic swirling through the waves creating gravity and such vibrant colors. I love that Mera is the star, and I highly appreciate the way she’s drawn most of the time in this series; visually she appears to be strong, durable, and queenly, even if she doesn’t always speak as such. Although I like the story well enough, the stakes don’t seem super believable. Still, it’s a stormy swim alongside an ambitious hero and I enjoyed flipping through the pages of this fifth issue.
Some of the dialogue was better than others. At the beginning, I was unsure about all of the narration, which seemed to be way too much telling in a comic book for my liking. I realize this is a staple of a lot of older comics, and I’m used to it enough from Conan and Red Sonja, so I’ll give that a pass. The errors, however, I cannot. Come on, DC, you’re not convincing me you cannot hire better proofreaders. At such a level, it is unforgivable to repeatedly display missing words and incorrect grammar on the pages of your books.
The art was lovely throughout most of the issue, though there were a couple panels where the perspective was off enough for me to notice. The layouts consisted of a multitude of long, narrow panels, which got a little repetitive, so it would be nicer to see some more creativity in that respect. Even so, the angles that were drawn were varied, adding interest and movement in otherwise static scenes of conversation. The splash pages were the most dynamic. I wouldn’t have expected otherwise in a book set undersea.
Ultimately, Mera: Queen of Atlantis has been keeping me reading, and I of course, will be with her at the end of this arc. I hope to see her in a more engrossing tale hereafter, but for now, this will do.
Overall: 7/10
Tee LaFrance Todd writes, edits, reads, explores, and creates whenever she can find the time. When she’s not engaged in some form of storytelling, you can find Tee traversing the world with her husband and her dog, making things, reading tarot cards, and generally striving to live a life beyond anything she can imagine.
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