This was a bad week for DC Comics. Still, if I had anything new to say about Superman, The Flash or Justice League, those words would be accompanied by three star ratings. Three stars is still an improvement when compared to 23 miserable years of post-Crisis awfulness.
The Navy discovers a noisy Atlantean artifact from the wreck that Aquaman uncovered in the Trench last issue. This issue Aquaman investigates and discovers some clues as to why Atlantis sank.
Holowarning
Though not a bad chapter in Aquaman's new lease on life, it's small potatoes when compared to the excitement unleashed by the Piranha Men. The story acts as a slow build to something, with a smidgeon of action and a vision in the desert.
Ghost Dad
Geoff Johns comes up with a good way to isolate Aquaman in arid conditions, and I like that the Navy are the ones who rescue him. The Naval Forces appear to be establishing a rapport with the former Sea King. It's also interesting how Aquaman's telepathy gives weight to the traditional, mumbo-jumbo goal of vision quests.
Ivan Reis makes even nothing happening look beautiful, and he, Prado, Ferriera and Rod Reis bequeath power and dignity to the hero even when the rest of the world insists he has neither.
Hide the Booby
This ham-fisted attempt at censorship is the worst thing about Aquaman #5. Mera's naked and hasn't any hangups about nudity. If that's supposed to be a sheet covering Mera's breast, it's badly illustrated and just smacks of last minute anti-titilation. What's really the point of that? Protect us from nipples if you want, but don't insult my intelligence. Why not simply simply cut the panel here?
The Nudity's There if You want It
Ray Tate's first online work appeared in 1994 for Knotted. He has had a short story, "Spider Without a Web," published in 1995 for the magazine evernight and earned a degree in Biology from the University of Pittsburgh. Since 1995, Ray self-published The Pick of the Brown Bag on various usenet groups, where he reviewed comic books, Doctor Who novels, movies and occasionally music. Circa 2000, he contributed his reviews to Silver Bullet Comic Books (later Comics Bulletin) and became its senior reviewer. Ray Tate would like to think that he's young at heart. Of course, we all know better.