By: Ian Churchill (writer/art/colors), Alex Sollazzo (colors), Richard Starkings, Jimmy Betancourt & JG Roshell (lettering & design)
The Story: Marineman’s origin and the Big-Bad are both revealed.
What’s Good: Beautiful comic. The coloring, art and design of this issue are top-notch and are like nothing else on my pretty long pull list. If you’re into art and the visual aspect of comic books, you’re going to want to check this series out. The first thing that lunges out at you about this issue is how well the colors and lighting capture being underwater. Light is very different underwater because you do still have direct light from the sun, but there is also this incredible diffraction of light and the art team just nails that look. A few of the underwater panels are just GORGEOUS! Even the panels on dry land maintain a marine feel by coloring the panel borders appropriately (e.g. yellow on a beach to remind us of sand).
As for the story itself, there are some positive things too. In this issue we learn a little about the origin of Steve Ocean. Not surprisingly, he is a bit of a man of mystery and I have a feeling that his origin and the Big-Bad guy will have some kind of connection. Learning who Steve is and the loss of his mother are important aspects of this story.
What’s Not So Good: The story of this series isn’t quite keeping up with the art. I LOVE the art, but the story is (honestly) just kinda okay so far. It’s not a bad story, but it hasn’t hooked me at all. The problem is that we’re now 3 issues in and we still don’t really know what the central struggle is going to be. I get that Steve Ocean is a nice guy with Aquaman powers and that there is some sinister dude under the ocean who is doing something and that somehow the US military is involved, but there isn’t enough danger to any character that I really care about to get too worked up. The story just needs more drama; or at least the promise of more drama.
I think this is a 6-issue miniseries, so there’s still time for the story to round itself out and it could all be fine in the eventual collected edition, but when you publish a comic in single issues, it needs to move a little bit faster.
Conclusion: One of the most visually distinct comic on the shelves right now. Unfortunately, the story isn’t quite keeping up. It isn’t bad, but I sorely want the story to be the equal of the art and it just hasn’t hit that mark yet.
Grade: B-
-Dean Stell
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Conclusion