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Aero #1

Before the Storm

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Catch the wave with two breakout stars of WAR OF THE REALMS: NEW AGENTS OF ATLAS! It's the English-language debut of the first appearance of Aero, the high-flying Chinese super heroine! When she's not fighting monsters with her wind powers, Aero is the Shanghai based architect Lei Ling, who sometimes just wants to have dinner with her boyfriend in peace. But when that boyfriend springs a surprise, Ling discovers that civilian life might be every bit as perilous as her costumed career!

COLLECTING: AERO 1-6 (A Stories)

136 pages, Paperback

First published February 25, 2020

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63 people want to read

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Zhou Liefen

17 books3 followers

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5 stars
19 (12%)
4 stars
39 (24%)
3 stars
66 (41%)
2 stars
29 (18%)
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5 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
Profile Image for Rylan.
402 reviews15 followers
February 19, 2021
This was pretty good, I will admit I was mostly interested in this because of Aero’s design. I like Aero as a character I think she’s really interesting and I’m interested to see where her character goes. The art in here is absolutely stunning it works great for the character and her powers. It’s also nice to see a Marvel hero who doesn’t operate in New York City or even the U.S for that matter. I’m interested to see where this story and character goes.
Profile Image for Dimitris Papastergiou.
2,524 reviews86 followers
April 26, 2021
Excited to see something like this come out from Marvel, fresh and new and manga style and all that good shit.

Unfortunately this is what you'll find on this one:

A girl with the power of manipulating air, saying "I love Shanghai" more time than you can count. Another hundred times saying how much she loves that city and how much she loves her people, and how much she needs to protect that city and its people. WE. GET. IT.

I'm telling you it was super annoying and frustrating to read on every 2 pages how she loves Shanghai and the people and her family and her boyfriend and how she's the hero of this city and what her powers are and what she can do on every single issue.

Other than that, the main story was forgettable and mediocre. The artwork was really good, along with some amazing coloring, but it couldn't save what was bad or even make it tolerable.
Profile Image for MajesticalLion.
677 reviews59 followers
January 1, 2021
I would've given this a higher rating, but the Wave stories in every issue were just so bad. I can only hope that now that the Wave story is over, future volumes will be comprised of just the normal issues of Aero without any side quests.
Profile Image for diana.
1,192 reviews54 followers
September 28, 2021
so. the read-every-comic-in-my-library is still going super well, as you can see.

i'm kidding. i'm being facetious. mostly.

i know my rating seems quite low, but i did enjoy this. at the very least, it was a big step-up from ABERRANT, at least in terms of the art style and how much i was willing to ignore the complete lack of character development (in terms of just...defining the characters versus their growing or changing, i mean).

Aero (the comic) looks very, very good. it's got a sleek style, and the wind powers lend super well to a great sense of motion and impact. which is good, considering that this is less story and stretching the limits of the superhero comic and more just one big, long action scene. if that's what you're here for, you'll probably really like this.

however, there just isn't that much depth. there's some great tension that promises a ton of action and intrigue in the future, but that often feels like it's happening outside of the action. outside of being aero, ling's character feels quite flimsy, and it's hard to pin down her motivations. we get told that she's a career woman who isn't yet looking to be tied down to a man, but like...shouldn't she be externalizing this? rather than leaving her boyfriend in the dark? we never see their relationship develop in the slightest, so seeing her dick him around like this makes her seem like inconsiderate and callous rather than someone stuck between a rock and a hard place in terms of choosing her career over love. (which is a bullshit dichotomy anyway.)

sad to say i didn't yet finally find the superhero story that speaks to me, but i offer it to anyone looking for some pretty fight sequences.

2.5/5 stars

my reading-all-the-comics-from-my-library series thus far:
1: ABERRANT vol. 1
2: Aero, Vol. 1: Before the Storm
405 reviews2 followers
July 18, 2021
I first "met" Aero through the War of the Realms tie-in issues of Agents of Atlas. I admit I liked the idea of a team that consisted of Asian superheroes inside the Marvel Comic Universe, and decided to give to one of the series that came after that, a try. My choice between Aero and the other series, Sword Master, was based almost exclusively on the cover design.

Now let's start with the first volume of the series (I have read the separate issues, not the TP). The story-telling is quite poor in the main story. Too much blubbing and little actual story. The word "Shanghai" appears more often than the word "and", especially in the first two issues - I got tired after a while reading about how much Aero loves Shanghai. Also, up until this point in the story, Madame Huang hasn't yet convinced me that she is a decent villain.

There's a side story, too, with a team-up between Aero and Wave and a kind of an origin story-line that I found to be more interesting than the main one. However, it ends on a cliffhanger and it will be continued on another marvel comic series (Atlantis Attacks - if I'm not mistaken) and I'm not sure I will actually read it.

On the other hand, the artwork is amazing. Beautiful manga-like drawings with a really nice colour-pallette. The depiction of Aero's powers in paper is really well done, it's like I could "feel" the air currents as Aero can. The artists have done an excellent job. It's a shame, that such beautiful art accompanies a poor story like that.
Profile Image for Rochelle.
100 reviews
June 14, 2020
Aero was an attempt at Marvel to be more diverse with a female Chinese protagonist. I'd say they failed in many ways. The only thing I liked was the manga inspired character designs of the characters.
 The story was very stereotypical. I'm a  magical girl that needs to protect her city. The whole time I'm wondering about her backstory. I realize she originated from the War of the Realms event, but there wasn't a mention of that! Readers that didn't read that event should be notified about her part. I know I was clueless.
I felt like it's already been done before. Reading this book made me so annoyed and angry. Lei Lang aka Aero is a savior that has it all. Is she a mutant or inhuman? Was she born like this?  I swear I got a headache after reading this abomination.
The bottom line is this is another case of Marvel's social justice warriors pandering. Marvel does need more diverse heroes, but not like this. I'm hoping Agents of Atlas doesn't let me down too.
28 reviews
April 21, 2020
Fun beginning to the series. Ling is great both in her civilian life and as Aero. I want to know more about her connection with Madame Huang. I like the art for the most part, though I did find it off in a few places, but where it was good it was really good. Can't wait for the next trade!
Profile Image for Sam Quixote.
4,801 reviews13.4k followers
June 11, 2023
Lei Ling is a super architect by day and a superhero by night - and sometimes the day too - called Aero. She has wind powers and not because she eats fast food constantly. The villainous Madame Huang threatens Aero’s hometown of Shanghai and only Aero can save it - and does, quite easily, often. What is this trash? Oh, another failed new Marvel superhero.

Literally the only reason I picked this up is because I’ve been playing Marvel Snap for the last few months (amazing game by the way, definitely recommend) and I’ve been using Aero a lot in my Magneto/disruptor deck and she’s so fun. Think you’re gonna Wong me or Galactus? Think again - Aero swoosh! So I thought I’d read an actual comic featuring the character to see what she’s about. You know what she’s about? Being extremely bland!

Given her newness, I thought this was definitely going to be an origin story but it’s not - she’s fully formed here with her powers, arch enemy, etc. Was all that set up in Greg Pak’s New Agents of Atlas where she also appeared? Maybe. I’ve not read it and probably never will.

She has wind powers though how or why and what its limits are is a mystery that maybe gets explored in other comics or the second volume that I won’t be picking up. Ditto her arch enemy Madame Huang - who is she, what does she want, why is she targeting Aero? Le shrug.

Aero fights buildings that have come to life as monsters for some reason - Madame Huang’s powers are similarly ill-defined to whatever the story needs them to be in the moment - and then fights some ice monsters. A city is descending from the sky for some reason but it doesn’t matter because it isn’t after a few issues for no reason.

In Aero’s personal life, her equally bland boyfriend wants to propose - but also thinks she may be Aero. Which makes sense, because she looks identical to her and is her. She wears Clark Kent glasses at work but when she’s on a date she doesn’t so… yeah. He’d have to be a moron not to connect the two. And why is it important that she keep her superhero identity a secret? No clue, except that’s a generic feature of most superhero comics.

And that’s Aero, Volume 1: Before the Storm through and through: generic. It couldn’t be more so - it’s the laziest, least imaginative, least original superhero comic you’ll ever read. Now that I think about it, a lot of great Marvel Snap cards don’t necessarily feature in great comics - Devil Dinosaur, Blue Marvel, Cerebro, Armor, Shang-Chi. So, while I recommend Marvel Snap, I wouldn’t recommend the comics a lot of the characters you’ll see in the game appear in, especially this instantly-forgettable Aero comic.
Profile Image for Velhala.
266 reviews1 follower
July 4, 2025
Story: There’s 2, the first focusing on Aero as the city hero for Shanghai, where she’s also working as an architect using a secret identity. The second story is Aero teaming up to help Wave uncover the secrets of her past after they worked together during War of the Realms. It leads into King In Black: Atlantis Attacks. Both stores, while not really origin stories exactly, do a lot to establish who Aero and Wave are as characters.

Artwork: The Aero story’s artwork is more anime/manga style. There’s a lot of large scale fight scenes with what would be big budget special effects if this was a movie, and the art does a really brilliant job of showing those. How the wind moves and everything. Still, on a more close up character level, the level of care there isn’t as impressive. Still fairly good though. For the Aero Wave team up story, the art is generally solidly good quality, though not exceptional particularly.

Highlights: Aero’s inner musings about her life and feelings about her city, why she’s a hero, her life, flying and everything are strikingly vivid and optimistic and a joy to read. For the team up story, it’s kind of a mystery story w a twist at the end, but probably the best part was how brash and stubborn but determined Wave was and how that played off Aero’s more careful and responsible personality. The small side romance between Carina and the Sea Hunter was very sweet too.

My opinion: Liked it! I picked this up because I’ve been reading Yoon Ha Lee’s Doom Division recently and I wanted to read more about these characters. I definitely wasn’t disappointed reading it, and do plain to keep going to volume 2 of Aero and Atlantis Attacks.
Profile Image for Chris Lemmerman.
Author 7 books123 followers
September 10, 2024
Aero, one of the new Agents of Atlas, gets a solo series, originally published in Chinese and then translated into English here.

Lie Ling is an architect by day, and the wind-manipulating Aero whenever her home of Shanghai is threatened. When strange crystal towers begin appearing all over the city, Aero is called to action - but all isn't as it appears, and maybe her old mentor, Madame Huang, will have the answers.

I was really into this. I read all 12 issues in a day, because I wanted to see how Aero was folded into the Marvel Universe, and what she brought to the table. I liked her civilian life and the way she and her boyfriend butted heads over Aero's activities, and I was intrigued by the secrets that Madame Huang had.

And then the series ended, leaving everything up in the air and nothing answered at all. There's a bit in the earliest issues where Shanghai is under threat, and then the rest of the series is a flashback, presumably leading up to that point, but we never actually go back to that to see what happens and how it all ends. It's really disappointing not to have any closure at all.

The art's lovely though - the original creative team was all Chinese, so the art definitely looks more manga than your usual Marvel book (though it is in colour), and the sweeping effects used for Aero's powers are really pretty.

Rides the wave, then crashes at the last minute by not offering any kind of resolution. A damn shame.
Profile Image for Adam Fisher.
3,594 reviews23 followers
January 15, 2021
Lei Ling must balance her life. On one hand, she is a successful building architect in Shanghai, who has a boyfriend very close to proposing. On the other, she is Aero, Shanghai's beloved superhero who saves the day with her amazing wind powers (Experiment? Mutant? Magical? Definitely something that needs covered in future Volumes...). Giant skyscrapers, the mysterious Madame Huang, half man - half rock battler Keystone, and some overwhelming crystal warriors keep Aero very busy. Will she be able to find the balance between citizen and hero?
This book is gorgeous! The colors and flow of both story and action are captivating. Much like Sword Master, this book has been brought over from China, and was probably originally a manga. I hope this one keeps going for a long time!
Very high recommend!
Profile Image for Rocky Sunico.
2,277 reviews25 followers
September 11, 2021
I had encountered Aero in some of the Agents of Atlas comics and that got me curious enough or explore what a solo title for her would be like. Plus support Asian representation in Western comics and all that jazz.

What I got was...weird. And I think this is just a case of me not being the target market as the book definitely felt more like an attempt at a sort of fluffy manga given the art style, the characterization for Aero, and all that silliness. The fact that she got to use the "power her nose" excuse to slip away from her boyfriend mid-dinner, complete an epic battle right outside, and still come back and pretend nothing had happened was quite the stretch.

I'm committed since I picked up volumes 1 & 2 together since they were on sale, so hopefully the second book elevates the narrative somehow.
Profile Image for Ziyue Lan.
355 reviews3 followers
July 31, 2022
I don’t think that there is much substance to the story yet, however it is only volume 1 and I am interested to know what the other volumes will have to offer.

The artwork is beautiful and I do love that has typical WEBTOON vibes, but I will have to agree with some of the reviews I read. The illustrator really put so much emphasize on the breast of Aero that it was bordering on sexual. Like is it really necessary for her to have such big boob…?

I am intrigued by the relationship between Aero and that teacher/villain/lady. And I loved the back and forth between the now and then during the narrative.

So while this wasn’t exactly quality work, it was enjoyable, super easy to read and I just loved seeing subtle aspects of everyday Chinese culture such as the mention of Weibo and the WeChat calling screen appearance.
Profile Image for Sean.
4,162 reviews25 followers
January 7, 2024
This is an adaptation of the Chinese language book with Marvel trying to tie more Pacific Rim characters into the Marvel Universe. First off, this book isn't for me. There is nothing wrong with this but its also so completely simple. It just seems like a story for beginning readers and honestly, writers as well. There is just a fight and flashback and that's where it ends. Its not miserable to read but its completely lacking. Keng's art was nice but unspectacular. Overall, this lightning quick read will appeal to some but I'm not there with them.
Profile Image for Michael Rogers.
Author 5 books21 followers
November 10, 2020
This is my first time reading of this character. The look and her power is what attracted me to her and made me interested in her. The typical superhero elements are what I feel brings her and this story down(its just how I feel about cliche stuff). Also, it feels like it wasn't detailed enough about her character but because it wasn't, it leaves me wondering more about her and interested. Ready to read the next one.
3,013 reviews
August 28, 2020
Meh.

It seems like issue #1 starts around issue #8 and then we have this slow, prolonged flashback. I'm not that into Aero playing around with her boyfriend's heart. I feel like we're missing the origin story. I feel like this book is for someone else.

Would believe it's Marvel's longest-running series?
62 reviews
February 8, 2023
I'm not really a comic book guy, but I've been playing Marvel Snap and love this character's card so I decided to check out her first volume. It was....OK. The art was pretty great, but there wasn't much plot, and the hero Aero was mainly one dimensional. I do plan to check out more comics this year, but probably won't be continuing this one even though it ended on a cliffhanger.
Profile Image for Robby.
17 reviews
Read
January 11, 2025
This was a pretty fun series that I wish had more than the 12 issues it had. The story felt like it was just really getting started and then it ended. Aero was a likable hero with interesting powers that she was just getting started to master and she hadn’t discovered the true villain of the story.
Profile Image for Kevin.
311 reviews42 followers
August 20, 2020
The main story was ok, nothing much happened, but the art is nice and it got me curious. I guess it’s gonna start from there. However, I got a bit confused with the other story with Wave, I didn’t really know what happened.
Profile Image for Niche.
1,037 reviews
May 17, 2021
Marvel manga

I get manga vibes from the art style and the art itself is nice, but the story pacing felt disjointed with the alternating flashbacks making it a little hard to follow. I feel like it would have been better to just keep it chronologically linear.
Profile Image for Iris Nevers.
546 reviews11 followers
January 9, 2020
[Read in single issues]

Why hasn't this been translated sooner!? I love this so much!
Profile Image for Sesana.
6,271 reviews329 followers
April 16, 2020
Jumped around in time a bit too much for me, which was only a problem because it was never really clear exactly when any of these things were happening. Really good art, though.
Profile Image for Emma.
1,687 reviews9 followers
November 18, 2020
Once again, Marvel is knocking it out of the park with their diverse superheroes. This was a really enjoyable and easy to read story teamed with amazing art and colours. Can't wait for more of this!
Profile Image for Avy.
162 reviews7 followers
May 19, 2021
I honestly only read this cos of Wave? Lol. Uhm Wave's origin story was more compelling than Aero's. I hope they highlighted Wave more and give her a solo adventure 🤧
Profile Image for Katie.
178 reviews14 followers
April 17, 2023
Aero is awesome and has great potential but there is very little plot in this story, its just 2 fights getting mixed together
Profile Image for Kurt.
64 reviews9 followers
December 24, 2019
The first volume (6 issues), and as interesting as it may be, it just feels like not much of anything has happened yet. Part of the problem is that almost half of each issue is taken up by a completely different story.
Profile Image for Sara.
1,362 reviews38 followers
August 4, 2023
In an extremely non-linear plot line, we are introduced to Lei Ling, also known as Aero, a hero in Shanghai who has control over the air. When she’s not flying around her beloved city, Ling is an architect who designs homes for Shanghai citizens. Aero is currently battling animated buildings, some of which she designed, and desperately trying to stop a floating city from crashing into Shanghai. In the alternating scenes, we see glimpses of Ling’s past, where she and her boyfriend dine at a fancy restaurant just before he might get the courage and opportunity to propose to her, but she has to sneak away to save some folks trapped in a cyclone on a ferry. And then we meet Aero’s mentor, Madame Huang, who Aero is battling in the present while past Ling meets her for the first time.

Read the full review, and find more graphic novel reviews, at The Graphic Library.
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