This was not a book I was expecting to enjoy this much or even read when the New 52 launched.  But I must thank Geoff Johns for delivering another great comic book and making me a fan of the industries most underrated Super Hero.

This story manages to do that no other has ever done, is make me relate to a Super Hero.  Sure you have characters like Batman, but those are more of those badass’ that you want to be but never will be.  Aquaman is constantly made fun of int his story, which was funny at first but when I thought about it I realized…… this guy is me!

I was one of those guys who was shunned in school, made fun of and the butt of everyone’s joke and the same thing happens to Aquaman.  Despite proving himself to be just as good as any of the other heroes, people make fun of him because they dont understand him.  It is also realistic that on a team of super star heroes, there will always be one that would be singled out as the useless one.

I really felt sorry for Aquaman and I could relate to his troubles.  He had just left Atlantis with his wife Mera to build a life for himself.  Obviously this doesn’t turn out so well and the people in the town they live in only make things harder.  One online blogger told Aquaman to his face how does it feel like to be no one’s favourite super hero? Or when a shopkeeper was hitting on Mera and he wouldn’t stop until she grew a mermaid tail and she was forced to break his arm,

Its stuff like this that really reminded me that…. humans are bastards, and Mera is us in the story. She’s the one frustrated at humans, she doesn’t understand why they should risk there lives saving a bunch of ungrateful POS when they’ll just keep making fun and never accept the outcasts.  She quickly learns that not all people are like that and becomes a much calmer person.

Aquaman on the other hand is the true hero.  He doesn’t think about the media poking fun at him when there are peoples live on the line and he’s not afraid to risk his own life to save people.  In the end of this story he is rewarded when a young boy comes up to him and tells him he is his favorite super hero.

Most of the main story in these six issues deals with monsters from the Trench, they attack and murder people for food and Aquaman cant talk to them.  They are an intelligent race but none of the other characters can understand them and their actions just make them out to be mindless beasts.

It turns out later that the species is dying. They’re inbreeding, devolving and are attacking the town to feed the queen, if she dies the whole race is doomed. In the end I felt sorry for these guys, due to simple miscommunication. There whole species was whiped out when something could have been arranged.

Ivan Reis brings his A game on this book. His style is very similar to Jim Lee and I am so excited to hear that hes going to take over for Jim Lee once he ends his run on JLA.  His characters are highly detailed and the battle between Aquaman, Mera and the Trench monsters is bloody, gory and brutal. It is awesome!

If there is a flaw in this story, it is that the last two issues are just setup for the next story. In issue 5 Aquaman gets stuck in the desert and we get more of his backstory.  But it doesn’t fit in with the Trench because in issue 4 they are destroyed.  Issue 6 is a story to mature Mera and this is where I could relate most to the troubled character.

Despite some small pacing issues at the end, Aquaman Vol. 1 The Trench is a amazing comic book, easily one of the top 5 of the new 52.

Grade: A-

 

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