Mera: Queen of Atlantis (2018) #1

Mera: Queen of Atlantis

by Dan Abnett, Veronica Gandini (Illustrator), Nicola Scott (Illustrator)

From the pages of AQUAMAN comes a brand-new adventure starring Mera, in her own title for the first time ever!
As the brutal Atlantean Civil War rages, Mera must keep the peace between the surface world and Atlantis as its newly anointed queen in exile. But when Aquaman’s brother Orm, a.k.a. Ocean Master, learns of his homeland’s fate, he’ll stop at nothing to return to Atlantis as its king and savior!

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Comic Book

32 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 28, 2018

Reviews

[Gabs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mera has just found herself Queen in Exile. With Rath taking the Atlantean throne by force, he has ousted Arthur and Mera, and begun a civil war. While the Justice League hasn’t heard from Aquaman in a while, he’s leading the revolt to take back his throne.

Mera has been wounded in battle by magic, and is trying to recover on land. This magic was so powerful that it made her weak, helpless and unable to breathe underwater. Now with the help of Tula she must begin healing on land, before she can even think about healing her torn homeland.

I absolutely love how bright the comic is. The water is a crystal blue, the villains are bright and lively, even Mera carries herself as a dignified queen in vivid color by Vero Gandini. I’m quite partial to clean lines in my comics, which only made me love the work by Lan Medina and Richard Friend even more.

I’m the biggest fan of the writing by regular Aquaman scribe Dan Abnett. Even though Mera is in a tough spot, she isn’t letting it get her down. She’s tired of doing what life chose for her, and she is ready to start fighting for her spot, and exactly how she wants her future to go.

I’ve never really gotten to experience Mera as a titular character, so this was my first real glimpse into how she is. One of the biggest reasons I was excited to review this issue was because it was all about her, I wanted to really get to know her as a character. She isn’t having the greatest time, but I think this issue is a great example of how she handles strife and conflict. She’s strong, and even though she feels like she’s drowning, she’s pretty much still in control. She has a plan of attack, and she knows exactly how she is going to achieve it!

I would definitely recommend this issue to anyone wanting to learn more about Mera, or someone who is interested in the universe of Aquaman, or just wants to read another comic with a female lead.

The Verdict: 8.0/10

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is solid and the story-telling is good. I haven't had a chance to read much of recent Aquaman and Co. in the Rebirth line and for a jumping on point, this did a decent job of explaining previous events while establishing its own right as an arc. I thought the cameos with Superman and Wonder Woman were handled well (sometimes cameos are just there to be cameos, and that was not the case here) and it was nice to see a talk between nations work so diplomatically. In each case, Abnett tied the events neatly into the storytelling so they were worth reading, as opposed to being clunky plot-devices.

I'm not emotionally connected to any of the characters yet, but the potential is creeping in.

There was twice when DC threw an ad in the middle of a scene. I get that this is where the money comes in, but when I'm scowling around a commercial to keep reading the story, you know I'm not going to like what you're selling out of spite, right? :/

(27.5/50)

[Ezekiel McAdams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVE that Mera FINALLY got her own series, while Dan Abnett is one of my fav comic writers currently and he does a great job setting up this arc, I wish that a creative team of women writers and artists did this instead, just to get their perspective and allow for more opportunities in the male dominated industry.

Rant aside, this was great, I loved the story and the art and I'm excited to see where this goes.

[Bryan Frazier · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable first issue !! ( This is also the first time that Mera has had a solo book !! ) I am not crazy about the Ocean Master being in the story . He is an obvious choice for the villain . ( Or troublemaker , since Orm is not the villain of the story !! )

[Ashlight Grayson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now Orm has my attention. Why does he feel an obligation to go back to Atlantis. I'm glad he's been able to form a life on the surface world and I hope he isn't returning to stir up any trouble. Maybe he'll help Arthur out? Who knows...

[Steven Shinder · Rating 2 out of 5]

Saw that this series was in the Earth Day collection and figured I'd try it out since it's short. It actually takes place after Aquaman #30, during a Civil War in Atlantis. So it was kind of confusing hearing all the background stuff.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan the Man!!

Mera has her own series so YAYYYYYYYY!!!!

[Marisa Carpico · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wordy and perhaps heavy-handed start, but one that makes me optimistic about what Abnett has planned. I don’t really need an
Orm subplot in a book about Mera, though.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Queen In Exile!

[20hrsinamerica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly I'm a little confused, probably because I'm not up to date (at all) on Rebirth Aquaman. But I am obsessed with Mera's hair and the Orm subplot is interesting.

[Jess Hennessey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm enjoying the story and the artwork is beautiful.

[indy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

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