Aquaman is one of the bolder OYL shifts, completely replacing the title character (sort of) and adding a new subtitle that angles the book as an undersea fantasy epic.
It’s probably necessary. It seems like Aquaman has always been around, has always had his own book, and yet no one really knows anything about the character. At best he’s a supporting member of the JLA and the star of a third-tier solo title, and at worst he’s one of the more ridiculed and pointless comic book characters around. Everyone knows the basic deal – talks to fish, king of Atlantis – but few could come up with any significant stories about the character from the past decade.
So Kurt Busiek, hot off his run on Conan, throws out all but the most basic concepts and backstory and starts from scratch: A new undersea warrior finds himself adrift in the Atlantic after a storm. A voice in his head leads him to Nanaue the King Shark, a monstrous warrior under attack from unknown warriors. After rescuing Nanaue, the two are led to the Dweller in the Depths, who speaks of prophecies and legends pertaining to the man who can live under the sea. The only problem is that he’s not entirely sure who he’s talking about.
The Dweller is obviously confusing the new “Aquaman” with the old Aquaman, though the structure is confusing to the reader as well. The premise is fairly simple: The new guy obviously looks like Aquaman, has the same powers as Aquaman, and pretty much acts like Aquaman… but he’s not Aquaman. The problem, though, is that someone who doesn’t really know Aquaman – like, for example, the majority of people this book is aimed at – might not know the difference, either. There’s a storm, a guy falls into the sea, and the next thing we see is him swimming through the sea, speaking telepathically to fish-people and fighting off evil fish-people. All things one might expect Aquaman to do, if one weren’t familiar with the intricacies of Aquaman’s origins and abilities.
Busiek doesn’t get around to establishing the identity of the new guy, and stating conclusively that he’s not the old guy, until the final third of the book – after, even, he’s appeared in costume. Of course, it’s not conclusively proven that there isn’t some connection between old Aquaman and new Aquaman; obviously there’s something going on when they share the same name and similar powers, but the new character’s origin feels somewhat artificial and contrived, a mere cover for something else, like Alan Moore’s retcon of Swamp Thing’s origin.
Though the structure of the plot leaves something to be desired, the details come out just right: There’s a distinctly epic feel to the story, a great sense of destiny and heroism; it’s no coincidence Busiek titles the story “Once and Future”, referencing T.B. White’s King Arthur books. And while Aquaman himself is something of a cipher thus far, King Nanuae and the Dweller form the basis of an excellent supporting cast.
And of course you’ve got Butch Guice providing his usual high standard art; it’s genuinely puzzling why he’s not getting more high profile assignments after seeing the work he’s done here and on Warren Ellis’ JLA: Classified arc. Everything is big and bold; he captures the fantasy epic feel Busiek is trying to attain perfectly. He’s also got a nice grasp of the setting: everything is still dark and foreboding, suiting both the mood of the story and the fact that it’s all taking place at the bottom of the sea. The one hitch is Guice and Busiek don’t seem to agree on the new Aquaman’s age: While characters keep referring to him as a boy, Guice is drawing him as a man at least in his mid to late twenties.
Many have tried to make Aquaman interesting and relevant, but there’s been little success. Recent attempts have tried to darken and grit up the character – chop off his hand, replace it with a harpoon, then a mysterious water hand; long hair and a beard – but they’ve met with limited success. Sometimes the best approach to revolutionizing a character is to go back to what worked in the first place; in the case of Aquaman, that means playing up the mythological and magical elements of the character. It’s a bold attempt at separating the character from his superhero brethren – no one was reading Aquaman the Superhero, so is anyone going to bother with Aquaman the Warrior King? Expecting a best-selling Aquaman book may be too much to hope for, but Busiek and Guice at least have the makings of a promising run on the character.