Aquaman Annual #2

By Jeff Parker, Yvel Guichet, Alvano Martinez & Nathan Erving

Wonder Woman guest stars in Aquaman Annual #2, teaming up with both Aquaman and Mera in this two-part story. While Diana’s presence in this issue was certainly a plus, it is overshadowed by minimal plot advancement and endless, mindless action sequences that take away from what could have been a nice expansion of the Giant-Born story arc.

Wonder Woman’s presence was a nice addition to this issue as it’s always nice to see our heroes team up, especially these two who  share a lot of similar story elements and who should team up more often. The back-story and explanation of what’s happened so far was brought to us by the Giant-Born monsters but wasn’t overly intriguing and certainly familiar to anyone up to date with the main Aquaman series. However, if you’re looking for all-out-action then this issue is for you. While the story wasn’t strong the action was great and made this book a fun read visually. The biggest problem though is that there was too much action, which took away from the main story. It is understandable that they don’t want to progress stories too much in annual issues to save as much material for the main series, but this issue may have focused too heavily on action and could have used a bit more development.

Yvel Guichet handles the art for the first part, while Alvano Martinez is on art duties for the much shorter second part with Mera, with Nathan Erving providing color for the entire book. Guichet and Martinez’s art styles are very similar. Both know the human figure very well and both know how to create nice perspectives and large, dynamic shots. Guichet is more loose with his art though, using more expression and embellishment in his characters, while Martinez is slightly more controlled and realistic. Both artists also create great monster designs that create a lot of diversity throughout the book. Erving creates a bright world full of shining colors, especially on Aquaman’s scales and Wonder Woman’s armor.

Interactions between Wonder Woman and the Aquaman and Mera were entertaining as they all have a lot in common and are similar characters in most respects. This story-line has been good so far, with elements from both Aquaman and Wonder Woman lore, but this annual was too heavily focused on the fighting and failed to provide substantial plot development.