Mera carries a lot on her shoulders as the Princess of Xebel, some pressure comes from her father and the legacy of the office, and some comes from within, the expectations she has upon herself. In a origin tale of sorts, the meeting between Arthur Curry, Aquaman, and Mera, we see a young person who is positioned between her prescribed role and what she wants for herself. I loved the design style and the initial premise of plot and character development, yet found the whole story arc lacking.
Mera’s kingdom of Xebel is the heel of Atlantis, and the people are none too happy about it. Instead of asking her daughter’s permission, the king directs her betrothed to go to the surface to hunt down and kill the long-lost prince of Atlantis. Hearing this, Mera takes it upon herself to go in his stead. To challenge herself. When she meets her prey, she finds the unexpected, a person she could easily like.
Character designs, backgrounds, and the whole aesthetic is awesome. Futuristic, yet retro and mod. But I found the dialogue tedious at times, a lot of back and forth between Mera and Arthur that may have been reduced. And some of the reveals turned into info dumps because there wasn’t as much context built in at the beginning of the novel.
Overall, a book that has all the parts of a good story, but the pacing and character development could use some work.
3 out of 5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley, DC Comics, Danielle Page, and Stephen Byrne for an advanced copy for review.
Purchase on Amazon here.
Paul's Picks 
Great review, Paul! I had the same issues with this story.
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Thank you!
I thought there was so much potential with this story.
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Sorry But I totally disagree, the story may not be perfect, but It makes justice especially to the character of Mera, unlike the pitiful state we see her in the current comic run. Paige makes Mera what she always was, an independent woman who is her own person, who makes her own decisions independently of the circumstances around her. Headstrong and brave, who follows her heart. Whatever it costs.
That same Mera who once fought superman to save her love Arthur. The book gives us an insight of how Mera’s character was from the very beginning, I may agree that it had more potential but to be so, you need a comic run to develop that. maybe Paige can take over from the mess deconnick is doing can develop that potential.
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I think we were reading from vastly different perspectives. And that’s ok, that’s reading and experiencing media.
I have virtually no knowledge of Mera in the comic world or her backstory in general. I read it from as reader of graphic novels and YA.
You have the ability to compare different artist’s interpretations, which is awesome. And I’m just judging the work on its own. There will be both types of readers of this novel.
My criticism mostly lies with pacing issues, which a longer work would probably be able to iron out. Your suggestion of Paige working with the character more would definitely fix that problem over time.
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That stranger’s comment is exactly the type of hater comment that I occasionally run into that makes you wonder why they got to be so.. “rude”..
I sort of avoided this story for the same reasons that you stated. Glad it wasn’t a complete waste of time, sir!
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True. All people will have different takes!
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