FUTURE STATE: Suicide SQUAD #1
DC COMICS
Written by: Brandon Thomas
Art by: Daniel Sampere
Colors by: Adriand Lucas
Letters by: Clayton Cowles
Outside of last week’s beautiful art in Future State: Superwoman, DC’s Future State line is a dark place. Daniel Sampere’s art and Adriand Lucas’ colors make Future State: Aquaman both in line with that dark future and provide bright breathtaking vistas. Aquaman #1 story balances both aesthetics delicately and achieves the appropriate tone for Brandon Thomas’ narrative.
Rather than showing readers the dark future earth, Aquaman moves between dimensions to creatively explore the breathtaking ocean’s in other realms before depositing the character in a dark prison in Neptune. The story is centered around the original Aquaman and Mera’s daugther and Black Manta’s son as they are transported and explore the oceans of the Confluence. Brandon Thomas’ dialogue between the two young lovers is heartfelt and realistic given their powers and world they exist in.
Some Future State titles have rushed character development given the short runs of these limited series. Other writers have traded on character cameos and DC history in place of development. Thomas does neither, allowing the characters to breath, swim, and give the reader a reason to care about them. This caring is essential to the plot as they are separated and attempting to reunite. Thomas creates characters that the reader can become invested in and by the final page are cheering for what comes next, even though the scope of Aquaman is smaller than other Future State titles.
The smallness of the story allows the artistic team to run wild and fill the pages with more life. Sampere’s art and Lucas’ color’s create distinct oceans filled with a sense of wonder. They capture action well and pace the battles nicely providing both movement and tension.
Even though Thomas’ narrative is narrow in scope, the characters he’s created and the artwork create a title worthy of multiple reads. In a line of heavy, doom filled titles, Aquaman stands on its’ own. The plot does not need to connect to other titles to create an enjoyable comic. This distance creates a meaningful breath of fresh air in DC’s current event.