Aquaman, Vol. 1: The Drowning

I liked this...but only just liked it. The art is very nice and I'll probably read the next volume that comes out. ~Ashley

This was fascinating as a possibly unintentional allegory about international relations and the ways that people in different nations view the USA.

To recap: we see this story from the perspective of a nation (Atlantis) that has recently entered into normalized relations with the United States after years of antagonism. A US National launches a terrorist attack on that nation's embassy in an attempt to assassinate its head of state. He fails, but ultimately manages to escape custody. The offical US government response is to seize the embassy and arrest that country's king, depriving him of access to legal cousel and diplomatic resources. US special forces then attack an Atlantean military squad, and the White House itself attempts to assassinate the king of Atlantis.

Throughout all this, the American characters act like they're the victims because people who aren't Americans aren't following their rules.

Was Dan Abnett trying to present the USA as a rogue hegemonic state, operating completely outside established rules of diplomacy? I'm not sure. The resulting text is a fascinating look at that, though, whether intentioned or not.

This is my first exposure to aquaman and I am hooked. He's just trying to make the world a better place everyone, my kind of hero