Namor #2

Title: Namor
Issue: #2
Date: June, 2003
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Bill Jemas, Andi Watson
Penciler: Salvador Larroca
Inker: Danny Miki
Colorist: J.D. Smith
Letterer: Randy Gentile
Editor: Stephanie Moore, C.B. Cebulski, Teresa Focarile

Namor as The Little Mermaid? This is one of those concepts that seems so totally wrong at first glance, but somehow shockingly manages to work. It's set in the 1920s, and a sixteen-year-old Namor is trying to find his place in an Atlantean society that bullies him for his half-human appearance and heritage. Meanwhile, he's reconnecting with a human girl that he played with on the beach as a child.

The artwork is beautiful, Namor's character is a nice mix of shy stranger and confident teenage boy. Sandy, his love interest, is intelligent, strong, and intriguing.

Even the interactions back in Atlantis manage to rise above the fairly formulaic young-adult novel scenarios they present.

Artwork is gorgeous throughout, especially in the one-on-one interactions between Namor and Sandy.

This is a really good story about a superhero that is most definitely not a superhero story.

Rating: 8/10