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lukewhenderson's review against another edition
5.0
The reviews made it seem like this book was going to be terrible, but I actually thoroughly enjoyed this. Aquaman is placed in an impossible situation where he is caught between his duty to his people and his duty to saving innocents and I really enjoyed the internal turmoil he had to experience because of it. He faces a war on two fronts and has to learn to accept help. Plus, the art does some really cool things with the layouts. I thought the ending was a bit sudden and not as satisfying, but not enough to make me upset.
quetzelish's review against another edition
3.0
This is one of those books that has the distinct and unfortunate honor to be just super bland and boring without really having too much wrong with the actual story or art. The art looks pretty good, capturing the landscapes and people well. There were, however, many times when the faces looked very off, (especially near the beginning) and slight scowl seemed to be every person's resting face. So, the art and colors were great, just not the emotions contained within them.
The story had the exact same problems, the broad strokes are fine and interesting, if not a bit repetitious from earlier Aquaman volumes (Aquaman is hunted by Atlanteans and some outside Kingdom is attempting to destroy Atlantis and the world). But man is it squandered here. Aquaman throughout this volume refuses to stop and talk to ANYONE in Atlantis and all the Atlanteans that were loyal to Aquaman (which, granted, were not all that many) refuse to even acknowledge that he may be right in. I mean, he never even entertains the thought that maybe its not him that's the problem with Atlantis. Every decision he makes comes down to this simple statement, Aquaman refuses to think throughout this whole volume. He doesn't question being thrown out of Atlantis, he never questions why and then later returns to Atlantis, only to talk with the one person who kicked him out instead of anyone else who may be sympathetic towards his plight.
What really put me over into three start territory though was the way the story was paced. The ideas were actually really good and if Aquaman had even attempted to think about what was going on, this would have been very very compelling. As is though, we never got enough time spent on the being exiled portion of the story. It's told through flashbacks scattered throughout the volume and because of which, it loses much of the impact it should hold. Hell, the entirety of the backstory can be pieced together just by reading the first 8 pages, although that does leave you confused as to the why of everything. Normally I love the split timeline reveal of stuff but here it was really unnecessary and only hindered the "now" portions of the story. Were we to have focused in a more linear fashion on the entire process, and had the exiling of Aquaman not feel so forced, this would have been a really interesting story, one which pits his kingly duties against saving the world. But as is, the story is fairly paint by numbers in execution, as much as I wish it weren't so.
I wish that I could give half stars, because then at least I could be more favorable towards this book in terms of ratings.
The story had the exact same problems, the broad strokes are fine and interesting, if not a bit repetitious from earlier Aquaman volumes (Aquaman is hunted by Atlanteans and some outside Kingdom is attempting to destroy Atlantis and the world). But man is it squandered here. Aquaman throughout this volume refuses to stop and talk to ANYONE in Atlantis and all the Atlanteans that were loyal to Aquaman (which, granted, were not all that many) refuse to even acknowledge that he may be right in
Spoiler
saving the people of Thule and that maybe Mera isn't actually MeraSpoiler
Mera suddenly and without warning branded him a traitor after the very villainous telegraph of "does anyone else know that you did the thing?"What really put me over into three start territory though was the way the story was paced. The ideas were actually really good and if Aquaman had even attempted to think about what was going on, this would have been very very compelling. As is though, we never got enough time spent on the being exiled portion of the story. It's told through flashbacks scattered throughout the volume and because of which, it loses much of the impact it should hold. Hell, the entirety of the backstory can be pieced together just by reading the first 8 pages, although that does leave you confused as to the why of everything. Normally I love the split timeline reveal of stuff but here it was really unnecessary and only hindered the "now" portions of the story. Were we to have focused in a more linear fashion on the entire process, and had the exiling of Aquaman not feel so forced, this would have been a really interesting story, one which pits his kingly duties against saving the world. But as is, the story is fairly paint by numbers in execution, as much as I wish it weren't so.
I wish that I could give half stars, because then at least I could be more favorable towards this book in terms of ratings.
babyfacedoldsoul's review against another edition
1.0
I haven't been this disappointed in a creative team switch since Batwoman. Everything about this was just male fantasy drivel. Aquaman and especially Mera deserved better.
calistareads's review against another edition
2.0
Beautiful art. The story is not as good as it started out. Geoff Johns is missed. The thing about graphic novels I enjoy over comics is graphic novels are more of a story and comics are more about action and fighting. It tires me. An ok story. It was entertaining.
rcgeek_13's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
shannonleighd's review
1.0
Oof, this was a chore to get through.
So is he just not going to tell Mera he accidentally slept with Siren, or ... ?
You'd think after looking at my shelves I'd stop reading Cullen Bunn, but here we are.
So is he just not going to tell Mera he accidentally slept with Siren, or ... ?
You'd think after looking at my shelves I'd stop reading Cullen Bunn, but here we are.
sans's review
1.0
I can’t even really say what happened or how I feel about it beyond the shelves I added this to.
calistareads's review
2.0
Beautiful art. The story is not as good as it started out. Geoff Johns is missed. The thing about graphic novels I enjoy over comics is graphic novels are more of a story and comics are more about action and fighting. It tires me. An ok story. It was entertaining.
noveladdiction's review
4.0
This series has been losing it's magic for a while. The past few volumes were kind of meh at best - especially when compared to how amazing the first couple volumes were. But I'm giving Exiled four stars because I thought it finally moved in a better direction. I was actually interested and engaged in this book. And it was cool to see the Justice League.