Aquaman (1994) #53
Title: Strange Visitors
Cover Title: Who's Busier? Aquaman or Superman?
Cover Date: Mar 1999
Writer: Erik Larsen
Pencils: Eric Battle
Inks: Danny Miki and Norm Rapmund
Colors: Richard and Tanya Horie
Lettering: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Kevin Dooley
Asst. Editor: Alisande Morales
Cover: Eric Battle and Norm Rapmund
Cover Price: $1.99
OVERVIEW:
Aquaman, Noble and Mera defeat the Lava Lord by using his own powers against him.
The Landlovers get geared up for a surface visit.
The Poseidonians start beating up on outsiders, and Aquaman learns of illicit drug trade and corrupt guards.
Aquaman investigates a sinking oil tanker, only to meet up with Superman and the villain Shrapnel.
COMMENTS:
Ug. If you at all enjoy Eric Battle's art, do not read further. If you enjoy Erik Larsen's writing and have a thin skin, stop reading now.
The cover is almost ok, ugly, yes, but at least you can tell what's going on (except... Aquaman is clearly under water, but is Superman too?). Unfortunately, the interior art is not as good. From the splash page to the end, the book is filled with ugly artwork that doesn't tell a story so much as it shows off Eric Battle's utter incompetence.
Start on page two and try to follow the action solely by looking at the artwork. It's impossible, because the artwork does not tell the story. In fact it detracts from what little plot there is. I'd like someone, preferably Battle himself, to explain just what he was trying (and failing) to portray at the bottom of that page? The dialogue indicates one thing, but the art certainly doesn't show it. Aquaman attacks the Lava Lord, then says at the bottom "You take him." Why? What went wrong? Battle didn't show any problem happening to Aquaman, just a column of Lava barf (and not even that is shown clearly).
Look on page three, the third panel. Does Aquaman have two black eyes, or did he just join KISS? And page four, the second panel. Mera's power is controlled by her HANDS, not her breasts. And why, exactly, does she need saving? I assume the Lava Lord barfed at her, but the art, again, never shows any danger.
I figured out from the dialogue that Aquaman, Mera, and Noble manipulated the Lava Lord into destabilizing the roof of his cave and burying himself, but the art, again, doesn't show this. It has them hitting him, then water (not the lava barf) hitting a rock that crashes down. What exactly happened was unclear, though the intent of Aquaman and friends was obvious.
There's also a bit of re-use of art. On three occassions, Battle repeats panels with minor changes. This can be effective if used sparingly. Three times in one book is not sparingly, and the method isn't terribly effective where he used it, either.
The dialogue, though much more clear than the art, is rather insipid. It reads like a second-rate pulp magazine. It's almost as bad as Fanthorpe. There is no wit, no intelligence. It's simply telling the story as plainly as possible. If it weren't crucial to understanding the story thanks to the crappy art, it would be boring beyond belief.
The story is confused and jumps from plotline to plotline. One moment Aquaman and friends are escaping Lava Twit, the next we're seeing the Trio o' Lubbers testing out their gear, then we're into another plotline about intolerance in Poseidonis (in which the Poseidonians are drawn so badly they look more like freaks than the people they are persecuting), and then to the surface for the required Superman appearance. The story might flow better with an artist who knows how to draw, but I doubt it.
For once I found the Landlovers a relief, if only because they seemed to be drawn and colored better than the rest of the book. Blubber has a cousin named Guido? Er, ok.
I'm much less pleased with the developments in Poseidonis. The corruption, greed and intolerance are all par for the course, but Tempest would NOT have not noticed and not acted on it. Hello!? Is there an editor on this book? Garth is a SUPERHERO, not a teenage boy. If Larsen had explained that Garth was off and busy with his Titan engagements, no problem. But having him simply ignore and dismiss the problem is just plain wrong.
One last nitpick, then I'll conclude. The cover to the issue makes a big deal of the Superman appearance. Last issue's Next Issue box incorrectly indicated that Superman would be helping out with the defeat of Lava Lord. Instead, Superman's appearance is little more than a cameo and an excuse for yet another fight.
The best thing about this issue was the Bob Kane memorial. It and the letter column were the only readable parts.
CONCLUSION:
This book is utter crap. It's the worst effort I've seen DC put out in years. It's by far the worst DC book I've ever actually paid money for, and after reading it, I wished I hadn't. It was pointless, almost unreadable, and not worth ten cents, much less two dollars. My favorite character has gone from one of the best books on the market to this juvenile nonsense that would be better drawn by a three year old.