Aquaman: The Becoming

Aquaman: The Becoming #1-6

by Brandon Thomas, Diego Olortegui (Illustrator), Scott Koblish (Illustrator)

Jackson Hyde is ready to make some waves!

Jackson Hyde finally has it all. Mentors who support him, a community that loves him, an honest relationship with his mother, a cute new guy in Amnesty Bay who's caught his eye, and access to Aquaman's private training facility in Atlantis. Well, he had it all—until that training facility and half of the Atlantean palace got blown to kingdom come with Jackson in them. Now Jackson stands accused of wrecking the life he worked so hard to build. Aqualad's going to need all of his skills, wit, and cunning just to prove his own innocence, let alone graduate from sidekick to Aquaman!

Collects:
Aquaman:The Becoming #1-6
Future State: Aquaman #1-2
1 story from Aquaman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, LGBT, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Queer

216 pages, Paperback

First published June 14, 2022

About the author

Brandon Thomas is the writer and co-creator of critically-acclaimed comics series EXCELLENCE (Skybound/Image), HORIZON (Skybound/Image) and THE MANY ADVENTURES OF MIRANDA MERCURY. Previous work includes the comics series NOBLE (Lion Forge), VOLTRON (Dynamite), and FANTASTIC FOUR TALES (Marvel).

NOBLE #1 was awarded the Fist Award for Best International Comic by the 2017 Lagos Comic-Con, in recognition of best usage of characters/stories based on persons of African descent. NOBLE was also nominated for 2019 Glyph Comics Awards in six categories: Story Of The Year; Best Cover (winner); Best Writer; Best Artist (winner); Best Male Character (winner); and Best Female Character.

Since 2003, Brandon has written comics for several publishers, including Marvel, Lion Forge, Arcade, Dynamite, and DC Entertainment, and has published over 300 original columns as part of the Ambidextrous series. His first creator-owned project THE MANY ADVENTURES OF MIRANDA MERCURY shipped from Archaia Entertainment to widespread critical success, leading to his biggest comics projects to date — the sci-fi conspiracy thriller HORIZON (co-created with artist Juan Gedeon), and the action fantasy series EXCELLENCE (co-created with artist Khary Randolph) — both published by Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment.

Brandon also hosts The Two Brandons podcast with Eisner-Nominated writer Brandon Easton (Transformers: War For Cybertron, Star Trek: Year Five, Vampire Hunter D: The Series).

He lives and writes in Southern California with his wife and son.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aquaman: The Becoming - ★★★ - by Brandon Thomas & a crapload of artists
Jackson Hyde takes center stage when he's framed as a terrorist. We delve into his mother's side of the family during a return to Xebel. A lot of the political stuff is paper thin. Jackson returns to Atlantis towards the end and isn't arrested even though he wasn't cleared of the bombings he was framed for. I'd have like to have seen more personal growth from Jackson instead of just reacting (often poorly) to all the stuff that's thrown at him. There's a ton of artists on this book. You'd think an artist would be able to meet deadlines for a 6 issue miniseries but that's not the case here.

Future State: Aquaman - ★★★★★ - by Brandon Thomas & Daniel Sampere
Easily the best of the Future State stories I've read. Jackson Hyde has graduated to Aquaman and is training Aqualass. They are lost in The Confluence bouncing from world to world connected by the Great Ocean. I loved this one. I don't see this future ever coming to happen though as it takes about 15 years in the future.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are only so many stories you can tell about Aqualad having to deal with his father. We know Black Manta's a dick, and so does he, so there's no point rehashing that plot more than it needs to be. So instead, Aquaman: The Becoming focuses on the other side of Jackson's family tree in order to craft a political thriller that takes Jackson to the heart of Xebel to find out the truth about his mother.

The thing this story does well is show us that Jackson can stand on his own two feet. This is the story about him realising that he's good enough to assume the mantle of Aquaman, and as he navigates his way through battle both political and physical, he proves it to himself just as much as the reader. With some assistance from Mera, his wayward family, and his not-quite-boyfriend-yet Ha'wea, he manages to show that there's room in the Seven Seas for two Aquamen after all.

For a six issue mini-series, there are a lot of artists involved. Diego Orlortegui is the supposed main artist, but there are also contributions from Daniel Acuna, Scott Koblish, and Paul Pelletier across the story. None of them are bad, but I always find it bizarre that a mini-series can't keep a consistent art team.

Aquaman: The Becoming does what it says on the tin - it tells the story of Jackson Hyde inheriting the title of Aquaman, and showing to the world that he deserves it. The artwork's all over the place, but the story has a set goal that it accomplishes without drowning under its own weight.

[Ashley Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Talaski's covers are STUNNING.

The Becoming arc was fantastic. I was a bit thrown by the inclusion of the Future State material (and actually a bit pissed off at Andy by the end of that) but overall this was excellent.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esta minissérie de Jackson Hyde, o então Aqualad foi prometida como uma jornada de autoconhecimento do personagem em que, através dela, ele assumiria o nome e manto de novo Aquaman. Fora isso, foi vendida como parte do mês do orgulho queer, promentendo abordar a sexulidade do personagem. Contudo, nem uma coisa nem outra são cumpridas aqui neste encadernado. O que acontece aqui é que Jackson fica conhecendo alguns segredos da sua mãe xebelianae outras ligações familiares, que não vem do pai vilão, Arraia Negra. Mas muito pouco de sua sexualidade é abordado, acabando que tudo se torna um baita banho de água fria para os leitores e para os fãs do personagem. A história não é ruim mas também não é boa. A arte é irregular com um desenhista a cada edição da minissérie. O destaque vai para as irreparaáveis cores de Adriano Lucas, que transforma o fundo do mar mais diverso do que a narrativa se propõe.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a while now, DC has been working in Aqualad, Jackson Hyde, putting him with Teen Titans, having him participate in Aquaman's storylines, etc. He is a well written character, but also has a spotlight at DC, being both black and gay (love seeing the flag as part of DC's logo!). This miniseries is giving him his chance to fully step into the spotlight.
The story is fairly fast-paced, focusing on a few points:
- Training with Arthur to start to be known as Aquaman rather than Aqualad
- Dealing with xenophobia from Atlantians, being that he is from Xebel.
- Working on his relationships with heroes and townspeople on the surface
- Trying to clear his name of a terrorism accusation after his sister (unknown before to him) tries to stir up trouble
- Working with Xebelians to try and make Xebel a better place.
Collection also includes the two issues belonging to "Future State", where a grown up Jackson and Andy (Arthur and Mera's daughter) learn about what it means to swim through The Confluence, an ocean that connects the multiverse. All this appears to lead into the upcoming title "Aquamen" which should be great.
Recommend.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a letdown.

Brandon Thomas introduced me to Jackson Hyde in Future State which was fantastic. I loved the art and the story. But something about this made me hesitant so I waited until the library brought it. They slapped that DC Pride logo on it which made me more curious.

First off, Diego Olortegui's art is pretty respectable. But it switches to Scott Koblish and I'm not crazy about his art style. Daniel Sampere did the Future State art which I feel is superior to either but I understand that you can't keep the same creative time sometimes.

The story started off strong and really had my interest. They even teased a love interest for Jackson. But nothing happened for Jackson, other than..ya know...briefly showing he's gay. And with each issue, the quality dropped and so did my interest. It quickly became run of the mill superhero faire. That's not inherently bad but I was glad when I was done. And speaking of the ending...what was that? If you want to leave me hanging, I have to want more in the first place and honestly, I don't!

If you are looking for a good Aquaman or superhero book, this ain't it. If you are seeking a good LGBTQ+ superhero comic, this ain't it either.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aquaman: The Becoming is a rather bland introduction of Jackson Hyde as the new Aquaman. Aqualad no more! Of course, the "old" Aquaman is still around so... titles are meaningless?

The plot: While Aquaman Prime is away, Jackson is falsely accused of a crime in Atlantis. He barely escapes through Teen Titan portals to Xebel, where he confronts his mother and some other randos about his family's hidden past (aside from Black Manta being his father, I mean). It's a convoluted, overly twisty plot that's swiftly resolved in a boring fight. The art is good, but none of the story seems to matter.

I enjoyed the two Future State issues more than the whole mini-series, which says something.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Solo outing starring the "new Aquaman." This story could be set in ancient Rome and work as a historical thriller with only minor changes. We get some background on his family and the rebellion in Xebel, his homeland. Overall it did feel a little drawn out, as in four issues would have worked better than six, but I thought the art was good and it was a decent story overall.

[Jason O'Hagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

i think i’m mostly just attached to this because jackson is both gay and also hot. also water art is pretty.

[Ision · Rating 3 out of 5]

jak ja jeszcze raz zobaczę "jakiś random niszczy głównemu bohaterowi idealne życie ale o nie jakie zaskoczenie ten random to jego zaginiony członek rodziny " trope to się porycze

[luke skywalker ↜ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Woah. I didn't expect that at all. I honestly thought this was going to be a light read, but apparently, I was completely wrong.

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. The last two issues are Future State: Aquaman, and I'm shamefully far behind with DC Comics, but it all still made sense! Love that.

[Yuri · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5
First of, the art is gorgeous. Especially the character design. I think the political setting was well established and developed. Considering this was my first issue of this, apparently, new DC phase. With that said, I left this comic pretty disappointed.

My disappointment comes from expectation. I wanted this to be more focused on Jackson. A somewhat coming of age plot, instead of political conspiracy mixed with betrayals and family drama. The last issues inserted more personal subjects but it felt disconnected because that conflicts weren’t established at any point. At least in this comic.

Overall, I might look for the sequels to this because I usually like Aquaman’s lore and I’m interested in Aqualad. But I wish this had worked better as a standalone.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've missed a lot of this character's back story, so as an introduction-

Not bad. But, I'll argue Aquaman's continuity is reaching/has reached Hawkman stage. This translates as to Film/comic book writer James Robinson said about Hawkman, and I paraphase a little here

He's radioactive-per DC editorial

I mean the story is ok, but do I care about Jackson Hyde as a character, and well the answer is not quite yet.

[Yani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, I only got this from the library because of a vague recollection that they'd made Aqualad canonically gay at some point. Yes, I follow cover artist David Talaski on Instagram, and love his work generally, and this cover specifically. Yes, my only real connection to Jackson Hyde's Aqualad/Aquaman 2.0 is the first two seasons of Young Justice that I thoroughly enjoyed.

And yes, leaping into a DC or Marvel comic book series in the middle of a storyline is often... a problem. Doubly so when it's a character you've never read before and you have no concept of who any of these other characters are, what his relationship to them is, or why you should care. Triply so when the storyline in the graphic novel goes along for most of the book, drops a cliffhanger and then includes a completely different story that happens either in a completely different timeline/some time after what you've been reading in the rest of the book.

Also, when the book appears to be an allegory for both white privilege and the African Diaspora, terrorism, child soldiers, etc, but, you know, underwater. I don't actually know that I'm even qualified and aware enough to know what all the allegories they're making here.

Having said all of that, I discovered the art of Diego Olortegui... who, yes, I have just now followed on Instagram... and who's art I am now officially obsessed with.

But, you know what... I miss the days when one particular artist did ALL of the art for a run of comic books. Like, I love the New Teen Titans BECAUSE of George Perez. And I really wish Olortegui had done this whole book.

Not just because his (original) Aquaman is the hottest version of Aquaman I've ever seen. His art is just my jam.

Also, can he do a line of cards for Marvel Snap please? Also, can someone let him loose on a full run of Nightwing comics, thanks.

Which isn't to say that I didn't like the other pencilers or inkers who worked on this. As a whole, the quality of the artwork is exceptionally good. I just like Olortegui the most.

Overall, I liked the story, even if most of it all hinges on characters and events I have no relationship to and therefore no real stake in. But I like Jackson, I like Aquaman and Mera. I dig Ha'Wea, who was previously Jackson's boyfriend I think... or still is, even if you wouldn't know it from their interactions in this book, also because Jackson was flirting with someone else.

I do want to read the next book in the series though, Aquamen. Thankfully it is out and my library network does have a copy of it, so it's on it's way as we speak.

[Jamie Revell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title story is about Aqualad trying to take on the mantle of Aquaman while the latter is away. He's almost immediately framed for a crime and goes on the run, learning information about his family in the process. Which is not, perhaps, the most original story ever, but it's well-told and fits in well with the larger Aquaman mythos. We get to see more of Xebel than usual, Mera has a significant role to play, and it's good to see something of Jackson's mother, instead of just his father. The introduction of new character Deluge has her fighting Aqualad for no particularly good reason, but once that's out of the way she's a worthy addition to the team who might have future potential. The story is a little uneven in places, sometimes skipping over details, but it's generally fast-paced without solely relying on combat scenes.

The six-part main story is accompanied by a backup feature from Future State, showing an older Aqualad teaming up with Aquaman's daughter (still a toddler in the "present"). It's notable mainly for some nice imagery, with the pair hopping between realities but the future of Aqualass/Aquawoman/whatever-we-want-to-call-her is well done, and it's a bit of a pity we presumably won't be seeing more it. It's really this backup that nudges the whole up to four stars.

[Alyx Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

I overall enjoyed it. I think the story was pretty good, it was nice that it focused on his mother's side of the family and the trauma that comes with that. It was really interesting that he basically got pulled into political drama that he didn't even know about. I do kind of wish I got to see him interact with the Titans more but that's because I love the Titans. Definitely felt too long though, I enjoyed "The Future" part even though I was surprised by it lol, I thought it was randomly tacked on.

I really like the illustrations, there are some extremely powerful panels, like the one where Jackson, Delilah and Lucia are fighting the soldiers. Also, that damned hairstyle lol, I would have preferred if he just had regular locs and not this "fictional black guy hairstyle". But I liked how the hair looked and that most of the black characters had very ethnic hairstyles, Jackson's immediate family having locs? Loved that. I'm not super familiar with Jackson, I'm not even sure if he's the same Aqualad from Young Justice but is he naturally blonde or is that an Atlantean thing? Even though he's not Atlantean? Does he dye it? I'm just curious on that lol.

But anyway, I'm sure this is a cool introduction to this character, it was for me.

[Emily✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think I'm stupid... but I had a lot of trouble following this storyline. Granted, I came into this story with essentially zero knowledge about Aquaman, Atlantis, Xebel, etc. (I've read Mera: Tidebreaker and You Brought Me the Ocean but that's it. Never even seen the movie.) I liked Jackson as a character, and the artwork is very beautiful and vibrant. Just not impressed with the writing.

TW: xenophobia, death of a parent

❓ Read for the 2022 Whatever-You-Want-Athon ❓

🏳️‍🌈I read this title for the third annual Queer Blackathon!🏳️‍🌈

[Tuni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t usually do DC, because I like to have an idea of the full scope of the universe and I can only handle one comic universe’s tangled mythos. But I have been wanting to try more self contained DC series.

I think this hit better than some comic series I have read recently. Was it perfect? No, but given that I went in with essentially 0 working knowledge of Aquaman, they did a decent job of clueing me in to background. And got me interested enough to want to continue on with Aquamen.

The only really downside for me was how muddled the ending was. I don’t think it really did the rest of the issues justice.

[Lucas Mendes · Rating 3 out of 5]

parcialmente história de afirmação, parcialmente sua transição de aqualad para aquaman, parcialmente uma exploração das dinâmicas de poder e classe de atlântida com xebel, a nação submarina vizinha... e no meio disso, uma grande novela de parentes perdidos, correções de continuidade e revolucionários malignos. é divertido, bem desenhado, e meu menino segura bem uma HQ solo, mas foi um pouco decepcionante ir pro caminho mais comum, e em vez de focar, tentar abraçar o mundo todo com as mãos. ainda assim, foi uma leitura bem gostosa.

ps: isso não era uma minissérie? ainda tentando entender o motivo de além de terminar em aberto, ter um "continua?" em letras garrafais ao final kk

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, the Aquaman storyline has been a tangle for the last few years. A mess that needs cleaning up. THIS is that clean up.

Jackson Hyde, the son of Black Manta and a Xebel woman, is a lot of things. Teen Titan, Xebelian, Aquaman's assistant, LGBTQ... He's also still pretty lost and finding his place. This is definitely a transitional story. We get a more fleshed out Xebel and how rough it is there. We're introduced to Jackson's full family and given backstory for most.

It's a good setup for the next step in making Jackson Aquaman vs just being a junior player as Aqualad.

[Christian Zamora-Dahmen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was underwhelming at best. The art was good, the story, not so much. Jackson is an interesting character. His role it he Future State storyline was beautiful, but here… it was too much, too little depth, and it got spread too thin for too many issues without anything holding it together. The whole Xebel thing grew boring since the very first time it got mentioned. Definitely it wasn’t enough to hold my interest.
I feel it missed the mark and it will hardly get any momentum for the subsequent Aquamen title.

[Phobos · Rating 4 out of 5]

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Content Warnings: xenophobia, genre typical blood & violence

3.5 stars rounded up!

I love a good origin story, and this one was great. It was easy to pick up and read as someone who hasn’t read more than the one-off DC comic in years.

Unfortunately for my money this does mean I have to buy Aquamen now.

[aikaterine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This felt a tiny bit like a mess; first, we dived into the story with no intro (admittedly, I have no clue about Aquaman’s backstory and I also didn’t know almost any of the characters, but it shouldn’t have been only for hardcore fans, right?). Then, the last third of the volume was a huge leap into the future, without any obvious connection to the present storyline, apart from two of the characters.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stronger start, but the middle and end seem really rushed in places? Genuinely hard to follow all of the emotional turns and I wish there was more time to let Jackson decompress instead of just Reacting to everything that kept happening and happening. The Future State stroy was good when I read it in the FS collection and it's still good now. The little story from the Anniversary special was also good.

[Rachel Rauch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so well done! I absolutely loved it! There was just one thing that kept me from marking it as 5 stars and that was the fact that because I'm new to the DC comic verse, it felt like there was quite a bit left out. Like there was quite a bit of context I was missing. But other than that, it was a really wonderful comic and I'd highly recommend it.

[Gaël Sauvajon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, good to see ‘Aqualass’ too. Amazing art work! Shame that Jackson Hyde is sold as a Gay superhero but very little of that aspect of him is revealed. Just a Lgbt DC Comics logo at the end and a bit of him holding his pseudo boyfriend is not enough in my opinion. Still, very good story line and portrayal of family feuds and secrets.

[M.i. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brandon Thomas is crafting really interesting stories with the comics medium and this is yet another feather in his hat.

I do question the outcomes of the political machinations in some of his stories, this no being different. But it seems he’s trying to stick a landing, after several tries and maybe the subsequent volume might have the answers he’s looking for.

[Robby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just when Jackson Hyde seems to have escaped his villainous father's influence, he finds out his mother has been hiding her own dark past. The main story flows nicely with crisp artwork, but mostly just serves to give Jackson an even more fraught backstory. The Future State issues have some neat sci-fi concepts, but did not really hook me on the future "Aquawoman" character.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish I liked this more than I did, but I wish we had gotten more out of Xebel's story before being thrown straight into the action. It really felt like, "Surprise you have a sister! Surprise your mom was involved in some deaths!" for the shock factor rather than the plot.