#like. he is a chronic retconner

[floralovebot]

Is Geoff Johns’ Aquaman the best run on the character, in your opinion?

no... no it is not.... aldhgladhg

i mean standard disclaimer that this is just my opinion

geoff john's isn't like,, the Worst writer but he does have chronic refusal to care about any of the previous runs or characterizations. honestly, his portrayal of aquaman isn't awful (atlantis not fully trusting him, losing his friends, his obsession with orm and black manta, feeling like a sham, etc) and it's definitely not my Least favorite aquaman run! but there are absolutely some issues with it too like arthur's entire arc being reduced to man angst and the dumbing down of atlantis lore and politics. and yknow, arthur is an angsty guy, he's prone to anger issues, he's not above revenge and violence, but this run took it to an extreme and only for Extreme Male Angst instead of like,, actual characterization.

i haven't read all of geoff john's work but i know he has a tendency to write his hereos as Very Flawed. he really likes to explore darker themes and the mental and emotional angst that comes from being a hero. unfortunately, his portrayal of arthur just ended up feeling really flat for me. it didn't feel like an "accurate" portrayal of hero angst and loss (which has been shown spectacularly with arthur before), it felt like him just putting arthur through the angst wringer for the hell of it. it's like he's incapable of writing heroes without making them miserable.

something that makes arthur really interesting for me is that even when he's at his worst mentally, there's still a hint of his old, happy, carefree self. and like,, i get the appeal of completely getting rid of that, but personally, i think a huge part of arthur's characterization is that it's always there, no matter what he's going through. he's Not the most hopeful, naive, or confident character, but he knows what it's like to be happy and he always carries that with him. geoff john's aquaman really just felt like an attempt to,,, break arthur basically. and personally, i just don't think it was the Best attempt.

listenlistenlisten it's not the worst aquaman run but it's definitely not the best either. not to mention, a lot of my least favorite current arthur tropes come from writers only knowing geoff john's aquaman.