While I never read a lot of the Aquaman comics, I always loved the character even when he was more of a joke of the DC Universe than he is now thanks to the New 52 reboot and hit feature film. With DCs new young adult imprint DC Ink they are bringing the Queen of the seas to the forefront with Mera: Tidebreaker from creators Danielle Paige and Stephen Byrne.

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Mera: Tidebreaker follows Princess Mera, a teenage royalty and heir to the throne of Xebel, a colony ruled by the other no-so-lost land under the sea, Atlantis. Her father, his court, and the entire kingdom are expecting her to marry and introduce a new king. But Mera is destined to wear a different crown. When the Xebellian military plots to overthrow Atlantis and break free of its oppressive regime, Mera seizes the opportunity to take control of her own destiny by assassinating Arthur Curry—the long-lost prince and heir to the kingdom of Atlantis. But her mission gets sidetracked when Mera and Arthur unexpectedly fall in love. Will Arthur Curry be the king at Mera’s side, or will he die under her blade as she attempts to free her people from persecution?

This is yet another interesting take on the younger versions of the characters fans have come to love from Atlantis. With the focus firmly planted on Mera it brings a focus to not just her as a powerful female character, but also the destiny’s and inner workings of the undersea empire. The story works and brings a unique new take on them all, but the color pallet with the art didn’t work overall for me. The art itself is great, but the toned down colors just takes away from the vibrant undersea world they could have created for this book. It’s not a bad thing or anything just my opinion.

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I’m also not a big fan of the design for Arthur, but I get what they were going for. It’s hard when you take an iconic character and try to put a new spin on it especially when you take everything away from it including his look. I applaud it for taking a chance and I think it works and will no doubt find its audience, but hardcore fans of the world of Aquaman might be a harder sell.

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