Superman #1 by George Perez and Jesus Merino - this is by far the most disappointing book that I read in the new 52. It wasn't that bad in every stretch of the imagination... it's just that I expected more from George Perez story and dialogue-wise. Having a young Superman / Clark Kent deal with the demolishing of the old Daily Planet and seeing the new office building and its new management is nice, but there was nothing new here. I mean, reporters, the Daily Planet, and Superman saving the day from a flaming alien is all the same to me - except that Supes here is a little brash and quips lines like Green Arrow.
The final pages showing Clark sucking it up and being a loser once again didn't help either, just like Perez' shallow storytelling that made me think that he was having a hard time finding the right words to describe all the action.
Merino's art wasn't that impressive but it was nice, with that old-school vibe to it as influenced by Perez' layouts, but I wish they could get somebody else better to draw Supes.
Still, I'm going to read the 2nd issue just to see if they could bounce back. But right now, this is almost forgettable to me. Thank God we still have Action.
Aquaman #1 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis - "How does it feel to be nobody's favorite superhero?"
I mean let's face it - nobody likes Aquaman because he's a guy who only has powers when he is in the water and because we have this belief that HE FUCKING TALKS TO FISH. Who wants to have that kind of hero?
But damn, Geoff Johns' nails it by poking fun at Aquaman himself, using all the jokes that undermined the character all over the years. He gives Aquaman an almost Superman calm attitude with an almost cold demeanor, and this makes the character a sympathetic one at that. Right from the opening scene where Aquaman saves the day by taking down some robbers in a truck, we immediately see Aquaman making that i-dont-know-anything-about-that face when asked by the police if he needs water - which is illustrated right on the spot by Ivan Reis - sets up the whole tone of the story.
Johns' continues his funny jokes even when Aquaman enters a seafood restaurant and gets backhanded compliments from people, and in the process, Aquaman becomes more of just a laughingstock - but a real superhero who knows exactly what people outside of his kingdom think of him and thinks that he deserves more than what people is crediting him for.
Flashbacks showing a young Aquaman with his father sitting on a nearby shore together and introducing his beautiful wife Mera gives us the more sentimental and softer side of this hero, and the ending with those ugly looking water monsters gives me more reasons to read the next issue.
Ivan Reis gives us his trademark detailed illustrations that trudges beautifully through all the action, horror, and the more serene moments. Very well done by my favorite Green Lantern artist.
To sum it up: Geoff Johns just made me a true believer . And that's that.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
