Bottom of the Pile: August 17th, 2016
Week two up. Aquaman The problem I'm having with Aquaman lately is that it's not capable of staying focused like it should. It's trying to spin three different plates with different groups of characters in the air, and that's before you get to the other villain group. Well, that and my other problem which is simply that this book still feels very by the numbers. Atlantis joining up with the surface-dwellers could've been a fascinating story with interesting long-term ramifications that could've been explored for dozens of issues, but instead that was immediately shoved to the side so Aquaman can continue dealing with strife in his kingdom (a story unto itself), and Black Manta can become second-fiddle in a villain group we've never heard of. Batman Without question, the one character the writer has the best grasp of is Alfred. And in this issue, Alfred absolutely gets the best scene. Aside from that, the secret of Gotham is kind of ...