Mera: Queen of Atlantis #3 Review

Mera: Queen of Atlantis #3

Writer: Dan Abnett
Penciler: Lan Medina
Inker: Norm Rapmund
Colorist: Veronica Gandini
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Publisher: DC Comics

Review by Cory Webber

Mera: Queen of Atlantis #3 continues to follow Mera as she regains her powers in order to help Aquaman overthrow Corum Rath, the corrupt king of Atlantis. This 6-issue mini-series runs as a sister series to the main Aquaman series. And, if you’re not reading that run, well, you should.

Mera: Queen of Atlantis #3 picks up after the battle between Mera and Ocean Master. Since Ocean Master’s family walked in on their fight, he was urged to stand down. Tula, his half-sister, urged them to form an alliance with each other. As a result, an uneasy alliance is formed. All of this makes for an exciting lead up which is sure to culminate in Aquaman.

Abnett continues to weave a deep, intertwining epic that rivals Game of Thrones. While this series doesn’t venture below sea level, and all that is going on down there, it does provide a much-needed surface level perspective. By focusing on Mera, we get to know her back story, and how much it has really cost her to follow her heart with her love for Arthur Curry.

The art in Mera: Queen of Atlantis #3 is serviceable. Nothing really stood out to me, even though there was no shortage of opportunities for the art to excel. For example, there are a couple panels where Orm and Tula are standing on a cliff overlooking a sunset on the water’s horizon. While the vista is beautiful, the colors are too subdued and the lack of detail gives it a flat, one-dimensional feel. Plus, there were a couple panels where Mera looked like Ariel from The Little Mermaid, which was a little jarring, to say the least. The art just doesn’t do much to elevate a pretty good story that is building up to play a bigger part in Aquaman’s ongoing series. 

Verdict: Buy it…but only if you’re committed to the end.

Mera: Queen of Atlantis #3 does a nice job of establishing its place alongside Aquaman’s series. I wouldn’t be inclined to stick with this series if it weren’t a companion series to Aquaman.  Which is sad, because Abnett has done such a phenomenal job writing Mera as a strong, compelling female character.