In the village of Unspoken Water, the once king of Atlantis struggles to uncover not only his memory, but also his purpose. When old and ancient gods are involved, can any purpose he serves be clear? Find out in AQUAMAN #44 from DC Comics, on shelves now.

AQUAMAN #44 REVIEW

Writer: Kelly Sue DeConnick
Pencils: Robson Rocha
Inks: Daniel Henriques
Colors: Sunny Gho
Cover: Robson Rocha, Daniel Henriques, Sunny Gho
Publisher:  DC Comics
Release Date: January 23rd, 2019
Cover Price: $3.99

Previously in AQUAMAN: Aquaman has been through much in the past year, battling against the ancient evil which caused his banishment as an Atlantian royal, to struggling against a fore which threatened the whole of the world, to losing his love. Now he finds himself on an island surrounded by a strange ocean living in a village inhabited by strange people. He has forgotten himself, and near-forgotten gods have taken a hand in his fate. Now it seems as if there is a way for him to remember, but he must first perform a quest, one of which his survival is uncertain.

HER HEART COULD FEEL THE OCEAN RISE…

In Atlantis under the sea, Queen Mera stands longing for her lost love. But her duty calls, and she is reminded that her court awaits. Lady Elena reminds her that, waiting for her arrival, are her prospective suitors, some of the finest the seven seas has to offer. But even as she goes to meet them, she longs for the return of her true love.

Elsewhere, on an island surrounded by the mysterious ocean, in the village of Unspoken Water, the man known as Andy is searching for answers. Before, the old woman Wee revealed she knew how to return his memories, and caused him to remember a beautiful red-haired mermaid. Now he seeks more answers from her, but she tells him that they are not hers to give. She has no knowledge of who he really is, his past identity, or what he was. She knows only that the ocean brought him to the island for a purpose, and they believe that purpose is to take the mysterious young woman Caille back to her mother Namma, exiled to a distant island for raging against the sea that had brought them. The ocean is in pain, hurt and Namma may be the cause. The people of the village believe there is a chance that reuniting mother with daughter could heal the sea, but none of them are strong enough to attempt it. Andy is.

Andy goes to see Caille and discuss what he has been asked to do. She is reluctant to allow Arausio, her name for Andy, to take her away. She has different opinions. She does not see how Andy/Arausio, who is afraid of water, can help. He explains that he needs to do it to discover the truth about himself, and asks her to reconsider.

That night, on the beach, the residents of Unspoken Waters gather around a bonfire, awaiting the arrival of Andy and Caille, and a chance for not only Andy to discover who he is, but to heal the ocean. Secrets are revealed and power is shown, but will the outcome be what everyone wants?

AND HER EYES SAW THE HORRIBLE FURY…

Writer Kelley Sue DeConnick (Pretty Deadly, Captain Marvel) is a veteran comic author with years of experience sculpting unique stories by taking well-known characters to places you had not considered. Her current run on Aquaman with the “Unspoken Water” storyline is no exception. While previous writer Dan Abnett took Aquaman and gave him an almost high fantasy setting, DeConnick has, in my opinion, gone in a different fantasy genre with an almost fairy-tale like story. You have a lost king, a powerful queen, a mysterious island, ancient and terrible gods, an almost tabula rasa hero hiding greatness, a powerful darkness. She gives all the trappings of a classic fairy tales, but turns the narrative up a level and transcends them. She has a dialogue style that is smooth and flowing and the characters voices feel just right. Is it perfect? To be honest, just shy of it, but it is among the best writing and plotting I have had the pleasure of reading in the past year.

Penciller  Robson Rocha (Green Lanterns, Earth 2: World’s End), inker Daniel Henriques (Supergirl, Justice League of America) and colorist Sunny Gho (Powergirl, The Savage Hawkman) combine to bring Deconnick’s words to life. There is a great level of detail throughout and their interpretation of the inhabitants of Unspoken Water, and the island itself, gives you a feeling of desperation and solitude. Once the ritual begins in the third act of the book, the images have a power that surprises you and makes the rising narrative even more satisfying when the final splash page it reached.

BOTTOM LINE: UNIQUE, LYRICAL AND ENCHANTING

I am so glad Aquaman has finally found a unique voice in his latest run of writers. As a character, he has seemed to occasionally miss his potential, but wonderful writers like DeConnick seem willing to go beyond what has been done before and forge a new narrative path. This storyline, with her exploration of the aquatic gods and legends, is one of the most satisfying Aquaman tales I have read. I strongly recommend it.

AQUAMAN #44 shows a hero who is as good as his story, and his story here is one that draws you into the depths of its tale.

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