And so ends Dan's run of Aquaman (I think? I believe there's a new writer for main series, after this are crossovers) But it was missing what boosted this series up for me. Stjepan Sejic art. So of course with the new king going a little mad Aquaman has to push his plans up a little more. Murk is sent by the new king to finish off Aquaman but while he's doing that the king is evolving into a monster. No really, he has some dark energy thingy that transforms him into a fishy monster. Come on guys...

Sejic is sorely missed in this arc.World: The art is alright, the art has been phenomenal since Sejic came onboard this series. Before him the art was messy and inconsistent and once he came on there was a sense of calm and groundedness to the series. Atlantis started to make sense with it’s levels, the places and the people within it were more organized and fully fleshed out (I don’t know how much this is Sejic and how much it was Abnett cause before Underworld the series was getting worse and

Well that was dissapointing . since Rebirth , Aquaman was about the political battle between land and the sea kingdoms and then the political maze within the sea world , however the ending to that run came with this volume and it became your regular run of the mill Monster vs Superhero story. Characters simply turned for no reason and characters (Kadaver) disappeared for no reason , it felt very rushed . Even the art style worryingly started as very dodgy but later on came back to the usual best...

After volumes of setup, we finally get to the last battle and the dethroning of King Rath.I got to give credit to Dan Abnett, as he has taken us on a journey worthy of a kingdom storyline. There were times in this run where it really did have that game of thrones vibe to it, not because of the setting and characters really, but because of the writing in terms of multiple plot points moving together as a whole. The story feels very cohesive and logical from start to finish. And sure, this volume

It was a solid ending to the storyline, but nowhere near what I was hoping for.The last two volumes really took things to another level, and this was simply a decent Aquaman story.And without Stjepan Sejic's gorgeous visuals, the lackluster story really suffered.Kingslayer resembled Underworld & The Crown Comes Down, but something was just a bit...off.That is not to say that the art was hideous or anything. It was quite nice, to be honest. It just wasn't Sejic, and I think it would have been bet...

When your solution is 'magic trident', you've lost your way.

I ended up reading this run after getting a few comics of this volume in a grab bag (thanks, Newbury!) .. I've always been a fan of Dan Abnett, so I went back and read the run.It's certainly not unique to focus on Atlantis and the political side of the character (Peter David did it to great effect in the 90s), but Abnett does put a nice twist on it, and spends alot of time on the interaction of Atlantis and the surface, which was really interesting.The times the book drift into superheroics are

A very rushed end to Dan Abnett's run. The latter half of Abnett's run has been about turning Aquaman into a Game of Thrones type book, but here all of the political intrigue is gone. You could definitely feel that Abnett was told to wrap it up. All of the nuance is gone, it's just turn Rath into a monster and then lots of fighting to stop him. It felt like a letdown and just left me hurrying to the end.

[Read as single issues](I'm assuming this is actually #34-38, rather than the quoted #34-40, since that'd be weird, and there's no such thing as Annual #2)The insanity that has gripped Atlantis has gone on far enough. With allies from the Ninth Tride, the Silent School, and even King Rath’s personal guard at his back, Aquaman is ready to reclaim his crown – but to do that, Rath must die. Strangely enough, Rath has a problem with that, and he’s prepared to do whatever it takes to keep the power h...

WOW... been a long time since my jaw dropped with an ending like that...Returning to Atlantis (after the events of Dark Nights: Metal), Aquaman teams up with the rebels to help overthrow Corum Rath. But Rath has been very busy securing his rule.... descending to a deep place in Atlantis, Rath and his companion Kadaver (recently made head of the Silent School, Atlantis' school of magic) are seeking the power of the Abyssal Dark. Seen as the ultimate source of all magic in Atlantis, the Abyssal Da...

This volume ends Abnett's long arc. I was very impressed with this Aquaman arc; it was one of the first story arcs I started in DC to give it a try and it was pretty consistently great. Abnett managed to invest me in a character I knew little about and who kind of beats to his own drum. The art here is once again gorgeous, the story action-packed. I question the role of certain characters (what was the purpose of this Dolphin girl?) but, overall these 6 volumes come to a satisfying conclusion wi...

There's an inevitable problem here in that this is the climax of the current story arc, and there aren't terribly many ways it can go by this point. It starts out well, though, with an issue written from the villain's perspective, and giving some insight into what drives him, even as we see his sanity crumbling. Then he turns into an insane, inhuman, creature, blunting any moral question as to how he should be dealt with. Even so, we do see Aquaman struggling with his conscience for a while, but...

Arthur and his underground resistance makes one last ditch effort to defeat the usurper king Corum Rath, closing out a storyline that started way back in volume 3! The whole series has been epic so far and this book is no different as we focus more on Corum Rath and his motivations behind taking over Atlantis. And I love (view spoiler)[how he goes all Mad King as his dabbling in the forbidden Atlantean magics of the Abyssal Dark begins to poison his mind. (hide spoiler)]This overarching story ha...

The artwork is very disjointed in this graphic novel, and the story has an element which for the "Aquaman" fan is absolutely ludicrous (but which I won't spoil by revealing it) and will probably be dropped (hopefully) faster than Mera's orange Aquawoman costume.

Corum Rath's reign over Atlantis finally comes to an end. Even though I was eager to read this, I felt a bit sad because it seemed a bit rushed. It's good, make no mistake, but it all happened way too fast. After the events of volume 4, "Underworld", I was really expecting a long and epic conclusion and, unfortunately, this wasn't the case. This also seems to be the end of Dan Abnett's run on Aquaman, so I can't wait to see what Kelly DeConnick has in store for our aquatic super-hero.

Strong art and strong overall end to this arc. Strong series. Will miss Abnett's work here.

Unfortunately this seemed to follow the lead of the annual at the end of ‘‘The Crown Comes Down’’, and started off with terrible artwork. And then I’m mainly talking about the first issue. By the second one it began to improve and by the third, luckily Riccardo Federici took over again for the rest of the volume. I’m seriously wondering why they didn’t appoint him for the whole comic. Cause that sure would’ve made it a lot better graphic wise.When it comes to the story development, it was okay b...

A fitting end to the volumes-long civil war that has been raging in Atlantis. This conclusion had magic, action, a romantic reunion between Aquaman and Mera, the villain receiving a fate arguably worst than death... and Atlantis rising to the surface!?!?! What?!?!? I obviously missed something that hinted at this happening (in "Dark Nights: Metal," according to the editor's note in the comic), because that last plot point came out of nowhere for me... but I have to admit that I am beyond curious...

Abnett continues to show he can handle a far wider variety of funny books than Marvel's space guys. A more than solid continuation of the current Aquaman storyline, where Rath has replaced both Arthur and Mera as ruler of Atlantis. Abnett continues to effectively and entertainingly explore the internal workings of Atlantis and the various factions within the DC world's largest, most powerful nation, which is certainly different from any take on Aquaman in recent years, and allows for some fascin...