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Bringing a bracing cosmic-horror sensibility to the world of Aquaman, rising superstars Ram V and Christian Ward team up to put Arthur Curry through an exercise in psychological terror that could break the will of even a king!
Deep in the Pacific Ocean, at the farthest possible distance from any land, sits Point Nemo: the spaceship graveyard. Since the dawn of the space race, the nations of the world have sent their crafts there on splashdown, to sink beneath the silent seas. But there is something…else at Point Nemo. A structure never made by human hands. And that structure seems to be…waking up.
The crew of the experimental submarine Andromeda, powered by a mysterious black-hole drive, have been chosen to investigate this mystery. But they aren't the only ones pursuing it. Anything of value beneath the ocean is of value to the master pirate Black Manta…and anything that attracts Black Manta attracts Arthur Curry, his lifelong foe, the Aquaman! But heaven help them all when the doors of the mystery at Point Nemo swing wide to admit them…
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This short collection takes Aquaman and puts him in a story of cosmic and psychological horror, rather than one of superheroics. It's an interesting change of pace, and one that works, using the inhospitable and lightless depths of the deep sea as a backdrop. It's told primarily from the point of view of the crew of an experimental submarine sent to recover what appears to be an alien artefact from the most remote part of the Pacific Ocean; that they view Arthur as as much of a mystery as the entity they are investigating suggests that this is intended as an alternate reality story.
Ram V's often introspective style works well here, using flashbacks to illuminate the fears and insecurities of the crew - and, to a lesser extent, of Aquaman - as they begin to crack under the strain and a dark secret is revealed. There is some action in here but it's far from a typical superhero story, with the art playing up the spooky atmosphere. It's not perfect, and Black Manta, for example, seems to be included only because somebody thought he should be, not because he really does all that much... but as a horror story that happens to feature Aquaman, it's making good use of the author's strengths.
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1 released bookDC Black Label Originals is a 18-book series first released in 2019 with contributions by Ram V., Bill Willingham, and 15 others.