Aquaman Annual #1

Like in their previous appearance, this was a tiny bit of a fill-in, but sometimes it's refreshing to get an entire story in one sitting and not have to wonder “What happens next?” There's a slightly contrived romantic subplot but over all this was a straightforward but still entertaining story with good dialogue and characterization and the art is quite appealing. All in all, it's well above average. Read Full Review

DC, if you read this, I urge you to let Ostrander write an Others ongoing. These are great characters with strong personalities and an interesting team dynamic, plus they have a myriad of potential stories to go off of. Ostrander is the perfect writer for this, and it'd be a shame not to see the teases here go somewhere. Aside from a good chunk of clunky dialogue, average art, and generic villainy, this is an excellent way to cap off a month. Again DC executives, make an Others ongoing happen. Read Full Review

Artists Geraldo Borges and Netho Diaz tell the story with straight forward page composition and paneling techniques that present the story in a clear but unimaginative way. They also create some great looking characters that embrace the off-kilter style of the Others, although more than a few times the heroes can be caught with dead eyes devoid of emotion. The artwork is similar to the story in that it gets the job done, but it won't impress you along the way. Read Full Review

Sometimes annuals miss the point of what they should be doing. Instead of continuing an ongoing story it should be a stand alone that is friendly to new readers while adding new material for longtime readers. While some of the story ideas aren't the freshest,Aquaman Annual #1manages to fill out both of those categories. Read Full Review

"Aquaman Annual" #1 ultimately gives me hope that if there is a title starring the Others, that Ostrander will be on board and continue to build and flesh out these characters. If it does happen, though, can someone come up with a better name for these characters and their potential comic? The Outsiders would fit quite well. Hopefully between now and then, someone will find one that sings. At any rate, this comic isn't bad, but I did find myself wishing that it was a little better. Read Full Review

This could have been a great issue. In fact, John Ostrander would have done well to tie-in this issue with the ongoing Forever Evil and tell what The Others are doing while Aquaman is missing, presumed dead. That would have been a far better approach since the story could have been left genuinely open-ended. The way things end here, its just disappointing. Read Full Review

Overall this was a disappointing read. As someone excited to seeing John Ostrander reunite the Others, against a foe with close ties to Vostok, this issue failed to deliver the story I expected. What follows rather is a fairly uninspired storyline, which rushes to a sudden conclusion to get things wrapped up. And that never is a sign of a great comic, yet alone story. Read Full Review

The Others was one of the best concepts to come out of the new adventures of Aquaman, but each time Ostrander works with them, he saps away a good deal of your interest. Some advice to the DC bigwigs: find someone with tighter writing skills and a bigger vision to do the Others, lest you ruin their already damaged potential. Read Full Review

Aquaman Annual #1 is a missed opportunity.  What could have been a cool issue featuring The Outsiders, ended up being a sub par effort that lead to me to hoping Arthur's former team will get retired for good.  Aquaman fans deserve so much better. Read Full Review

This is a boring, generic issue that does nothing to enhance the Aquaman mythos. At the $4.99 price point, its definitely not something worth grabbing. If this is the quality of work that Ostrander is going to bring to the title, Aquaman fans have reason to fret. Read Full Review

the green death

Nov 01, 2013

I'm behind on Aquaman but usually enjoy Ostrander but was left cold by both the story and art here. Boring villain, no real depth to the characters, this was a missed opportunity.