Meeting Arthur Curry Again In Aquaman #48

[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]

Andy (Aquaman) wants to know who he really is, and the old gods of the Village of Unspoken Waters want to help. They perform a ritual that seemingly freezes everyone around Andy, and he feels called to go into the sea. There, he finds Mother Shark, and ancient god that oversees the Sunken Forest. There, Andy can access his memories in the corral. There, Andy can finally find out who he is.

Aquaman #48 finally brings “Andy” into collision with the man he once was. With the help of Mother Shark, Andy can become Aquaman again–or so it seems.

There is more to the story than even the longtime Aquaman reader knows. After Drowned Earth, Aquaman did effectively die, but he was brought back to life for a reason. Mother Shark knows that there is a reason, but she is unsure of the specifics.

Mera, of course, will continue to play a major role in Aquaman’s life, but it may not be the role we expect.

The character of Mother Shark is actually pretty cool. She’s a cryptic-yet-knowing divine figure, but she’s also an immense creature whom we never see the entirety of at one time. We only see shadows or parts of her, and that is an excellent artistic choice on the parts of Kelly Sue Deconnick and Viktor Bogdanovic which adds to the mystique of the character.

Beyond all this, Aquaman #48 retells the major parts of Aquaman’s origin and some of his history as a superhero. It’s a nice recap for those who may not know everything, and it breezes by quickly enough as to not become boring for those who do know the story of Arthur Curry.

Bogdanovic’s artwork is damn good throughout. He imbues a lot of visual personality into Aquaman and a mystical quality to everything that surrounds our hero. The parts of Mother Shark we do see look frightening yet awe-inspiring. The color work of Sunny Gho keeps things similarly mysterious yet vibrant.

Aquaman #48 is an intriguing recap of Arthur Curry’s life while foreshadowing danger to come. It’s an issue that’s low on action but manages to keep the reader engaged with its skilled use of mystery and divinity as well as the great work of the art team. This one easily earns a recommendation. Check it out.

Also, is it just me, or does Caille look a lot like an ersatz Blue Devil?

Aquaman #48 comes to us from writer Kelly Sue Deconnick, artist Viktor Bogdanovic with additional inks from Jonathan Glapion and Daniel Henriques, color artist Sunny Gho, letterer Clayton Cowles, cover artist Robson Rocha with Daniel Henriques and Alex Sinclair, and variant cover artist Joshua Middleton.