A review by unladylike
Aquaman Vol. 1: Unspoken Water by Kelly Sue DeConnick

5.0

Whoa. With this comic, Kelly Sue DeConnick has entered the realm of myth maker. This is far and away the best Aquaman story I've ever read - not that there are many great Aquaman stories out there, lezbehonest, but ... Geoff Johns and Jason Momoa, eat your heart out. And the ART! It's rare that I find myself just staring at the pages and panels of a comic in awe of what they've created visually, but Robson Rocha et al have designed and delivered some of the best original "gods and monsters" (thanks Lana del Rey) I've seen in any book. That's a lot of superlatives coming out of me, and I am *quite* averse to superlatives! Really though, this is visually stunning and masterful storytelling in a neat package. It stands on its own as a single volume - I didn't feel the need to know how Aquaman ended up being puked up half-dead from the ocean, onto a mysterious unnamed island, with complete amnesia. DeConnick manages to avoid pretty much all of the tropes I've come to expect with Aquaman, while maintaining his iconic accouterments and demeanor. Here, he is simply called "Andy" for the most part. There's no dramatic Atlantean political upheaval, no scheming by Black Manta, and not even any silly invitations to make fun of him for having the super-power of talking to fish.