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Aquaman: Future’s End #1
Writer: Dan Jurgens
Artists: Alvaro Martinez, Raul Fernandez, and Chris Sotomayor
Cover Artist: Yvel Guichet and Garry Henderson
Publisher: DC

If the intent of all these Future’s End books is to impress upon the idea that in five years everyone will be miserable, then a job well done to everyone involved. Five years into the future and Atlantis’s relations with the land dwellers is worse than ever, the city has been destroyed by a war the Atlanteans should not have been involved in, and to top it off Mera and Arthur have become estranged. It would seem that over a period of five years, Arthur has done little to convince his people that he cares about them just as much as he cares and protects the land dwellers. Admittedly, not currently reading Future’s End has left this reader at a disadvantage. While Dan Jurgens does his best to explain what has happened in the last five years, in the world in general as well as specifically to Atlantis, there is simply too much ground to cover. What we end up with instead is a lot of information that is difficult to process without the benefit of having read about it for five years. 4/5

Grayson: Future’s End #1
Writer: Tom King and Tim Seeley
Artists: Stephen Mooney and Jeromy Cox
Cover Artist: Andrew Robinson
Publisher: DC

With September being the month of Future’s End tie-ins, readers are bound to encounter dozens of titles that truly have no place being included in this event. Grayson happens to be one such book, however the issue itself ended up being remarkably well done. While the end result is not a pretty one, the journey to that point reads wonderfully. Tom King and Tim Seeley’s storytelling abilities absolutely shine with this issue. Taking place in reverse chronological order, the story spans over five years of time, highlighting key points and memories that lead up to Dick’s death in Russia. And while the story is essentially one flashback after another, it is done in a way that flows beautifully. The story doesn’t get confusing or muddled at any point, and is a rather emotional and pleasant issue. The art in this issue wavers every now and then. Stephen Mooney does a decent enough job pairing up with the emotional story, however, his facial renderings and action scenes end up not quite hitting their mark. 4.5/5

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Arnab Pradhan
arnab@comicattack.net