Broken Frontier

So you thought the Fisherman was one of Aquaman’s sillier villains? Think again, as Kurt Busiek eschews Silver Age goofiness for a chilling take on this classic villain.

Having apparently died in the pages of Gotham Central, during the Infinite Crisis, surely only the most ardent Aquaman fan would really mourn the passing of the Fisherman? Let’s face it, however fondly we look on those stories, his modus operandi was daft even by the wonderfully silly Silver Age standards. Yet, like many of those racked up in the Infinite Crisis body count, there was something unsatisfying about his death. When villains associated almost exclusively with one hero die then it seems only right that it’s in battle with said hero.

Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #48’s disclosure then, that the deceased Fisherman was an impostor, is a decent enough get-out clause. Those who may feel that this is too easy an option need not worry though. In a series of flashbacks Busiek uses this revelation to present us with an unsettling new take on this old-time villain, as the new Fisherman’s helmet turns out to be a marine parasite that isn’t going to let a little thing like the death of its host stop its murderous ways.

The Fisherman plot converges this month with this issue’s other storyline, where we see the current Aquaman’s mission to become the new defender of the undersea world continue apace. Despite enjoying the One Year Later direction on Aquaman immensely, the main criticism I’ve had of this revamp is that Busiek has never quite succeeded in making me care about this version of Arthur Curry as much as I feel I should. He’s done a great job in drawing me into the pulp style of the book, the sprawling semi-sword and sorcery feel it’s had and the engaging and varied supporting cast (particularly with the ambiguous motivations of King Shark) but I just haven’t connected with the book’s star.

Issue #48 puts those doubts to rest. Kurt Busiek does a fine job this month in making us sympathise with the new Aquaman and showing his inherent heroism. For the first time since the book was renamed I found myself thinking of the younger Arthur Curry as the lead character and not merely a stand-in.

In the absence of regular artist Butch Guice, Ricardo Villagran does an excellent job in catching the pulp feel of the current direction. A special mention too for Dan Brown’s appropriately muted coloring, giving a suitably atmospheric feel to this strange and alien underwater world.

On the negative side it’s sad that we’re so close to the end of Kurt Busiek’s run on this book. From a fan’s point of view, it’s always a shame when a writer sets up so many intriguing questions and storylines but won’t be personally seeing them through to their intended conclusion. That said, we should be grateful to him for building such a firm groundwork for the future direction of Aquaman and his imaginative redefining of his world. Few writers have seized the full potential of the One Year Later scenario as firmly as Kurt Busiek has on Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis.