Aquaman Vol. 4: Death of a King

Solid Ending to One Arc and Beginning of the Real Adventure

This is a great ending to Geoff Johns' run on Aquaman and the finale for the first half of New 52 Aquaman. The story uses threads from the previous three volumes to give Aquaman one final antagonist, a former king of Atlantis, and it questions everything we thought we knew about Aquaman's lineage. To build more to Aquaman's story, Johns has to tear down a few things as well. But it's an intriguing wrinkle in the Aquaman backstory that only adds more fuel for more storytelling to come. Johns also adds in more backstory for Mera too, to finally explain in the New 52 Run the circumstances by which she actually came to be by Aquaman's side. In the same way that Aquaman's past was messy in Volume 2, Mera's past is anything but clear cut, and gives her more depth and a role in the story in the present. This volume is a complete story all on its own but does end with a bit of a tease of future conflict. In essence, it's a great end to the first set of four TPBs by Johns, and they all operate like a solid Aquaman starter kit and a great jumping off point for more adventures. Read more