Aquaman and the Others #3

Hopefully the legend is Aquaman and we'll find out the answer to this question!

Americans are a population that loves to believe in grand ideologies no matter what the cost in reality or the logic behind the ideals. So they believe in an omnipotent creator that loves His creation and judges them harshly and never actually makes any public appearances. They'll go on and on about how soldiers are heroes protecting their freedoms while ignoring the evidence that the soldiers are actually just tools of a Corporatocracy. They also believe that conviction means shouting their side of any debate and pointing out how idiotic the other side is. But I think it's time to test the conviction of the American people because I just woke up to another school shooting and wasn't fazed in the slightest.

I think it's time gun advocates stand up and show how much they believe in the need for guns. It's time for them to be willing to die for their beliefs because they sure as shit don't mind if other people die for their beliefs. Here's my suggestion: when a gun is used to kill another person, not only is the person that shot the gun responsible for the death of the victim but also the last owner of the gun. If the gun actually belonged to the shooter and the shooter purchased the gun in a private sale, the person that sold the gun to the shooter should also be held responsible for the murder. If the gun was purchased legally through a gun store following all laws put into place for the sale of guns, that gun store should merely be fined. I don't know how much they should be fined since I've never been able to put a price on human life in the way the NRA has. So let the NRA figure out the fine. Although if they were in charge, they'd probably decide life was worth about a buck fifty. So maybe someone else.

When I say the owner or seller of the gun should be responsible as well, it means they should wind up with whatever punishment the shooter receives without the benefit of trial. Now if the shooter is killed during the crime, the owner of the gun or previous seller should also be killed. It might sound harsh but this is about conviction and belief. Gun advocates believe Americans are safer with lots and lots of guns. Are they willing to die for that belief? If they aren't, I don't think they truly believe it and we should do away with all guns. I'm not saying we should get rid of all guns though. Let's try out my system first! Let people have guns! Bear arms motherfuckers! But if you think they're so safe, stand by your belief. If you think you aren't putting anybody's life in danger with your gun, why not back up a law that makes you as responsible as a person that winds up killing with your gun? If you believe you have the right to sell your gun to whoever the fuck you want, you should be responsible if the person you decided was fit enough to own the gun turns out not to be so responsible.

I'm sure some gun owners would balk at the idea that their gun might be stolen and used in a crime and then they'd be a victim. But you have control of that gun, right? You've chosen to take that risk. You know who hasn't chosen to take the risk of being shot with that gun? Every-fucking-body else. I'm not saying we should take away all guns (although look at this country. I think we probably should seriously consider it. We're just not responsible enough). This is a brilliant solution because it would make gun owners extremely cautious because now their lives are also at risk if any bullshit shenanigans take place with the firearms they're keeping for their protection. Or for hunting. Or, you know, for just going down to the local gravel pit and turning some targets into confetti. Whatever!

Poor Aquaman! The last time I commented on gun violence was way back when that little incident at Sandy Hook happened and I did the commenting in Aquaman #12. Remember how barely anything happened at Sandy Hook? Not even worth remembering, apparently. Since, you know, nothing fucking changed because Americans are cold-hearted bastards that don't actually fucking care about their fellow citizens. Sure, they'll make sure to thank a military person for their service and maybe wave a flag or something, but fuck putting any other effort into freedom. That's what those jarheads are getting paid for! Keep me free, motherfuckers! I've got a gun to clean!

You know what's a bigger issue than what America is going to do with its guns? The name of this comic book. How the fuck do you name a team "the Others" and decide you've done your best? How many dicks is Geoff Johns sucking so that he doesn't have to follow any rules or put any effort into anything he does?!

The last issue, Ya'wara was consumed with doing nothing but saving Sayeh. But this month, she'll throw Sayeh's life away in a heartbeat!

Darya transforms Tomo into a monstrous cat beast and takes control of it. At least that's what the story wants you to believe even if the person speaking and doing the transformation and saying "Sorry, kitty" is actually Sky Alchesay of The Others. But don't worry, DC! I don't think very many people pay close attention to the comic books they read. Also, I don't think very many people are reading this comic book!

After The Operative puts a bullet in Tomo's head instead of putting a bullet in Darya's head, Darya transports everybody back to her and her brother's castle. It's time to either fight or negotiate terms on the return of The Others' relics to their rightful owners.

So you found a thing and now find it unbelievable that perhaps that thing was actually owned by someone else?

Aquaman doesn't really care about the question of ownership since he has some fairly good evidence that they belong to Atlantis and Atlanteans. How could Arthur know that the legitimacy of ownership goes back even further than when Atlantis got their hands on the gold? Sure, if he decided to have an actual discussion about the items, he might discover the truth. Instead, he decides to threaten the Solokov twins if they don't simply do things his way. I think this is where the game show announcer whispers, "The password is...impasse."

Well you see, the strap-on buckles around the waist and each thigh. Then the water guy bends over and grabs his ankles while the jungle girl pounds him into fish paste.

At this point, Aquaman and the Others split up into three groups to explore the castle and search for Sayeh. I think a more pressing concern would be subduing Darya and Anton since they know where Sayeh is and can teleport. So if they want, they can just go kill her at any moment while The Others stumble around the dark castle without any clues directing their search. But then I'm not a fly by the seat of my leotards superhero! I think things through! I never would have wound up in Trezygstan in the first place! I would have said, "Wait a minute. Aren't there people that have decided to risk their lives for other people's freedom? Shouldn't we get them to rescue Sayeh? And barring that, doesn't Aquaman have Superman's phone number?"

Meanwhile, Prisoner of War is bitching for reasons that I misunderstood. I thought he was upset that the original owners of the gold were still looking for his manacles. Turns out, he's pissed that Aquaman considers them property of Atlantis and they're just on loan to The Others. I think that's a fair beef to bring up. Just because the treasures were found in an Atlantean King's tomb doesn't give Aquaman the right to claim all of the treasure. Equal shares, buddy!

And then the voice in the pool finally makes an appearance even though I wasn't expecting it to make an appearance because I just thought it was a voice in a pool.

I guess I could have just said it's the guy from the cover instead of scanning this picture.

Legend calmly drops the fact that he's thousands of years old and that his father was the original owner of the gold which was turned into relics by Atlan. This causes The Operative's son to call Legend "Don Quixote" as an insult. I don't get it! Admittedly, I have never gotten more than one hundred pages through Don Quixote so I might be missing the link that causes Aaron to associate Legend with Don Quixote.

Meanwhile in Sky's Land of the Dead, Ya'wara (who was sent there to protect her as the other Others all fell to the Solokov siblings) meets up with Kahina and Vostok. They have a special mission for her but since this comic book is quickly running out of pages and Jurgens still has to try to convince us readers that he's killed Aquaman, Vostok doesn't get around to explaining the mission this month.

There it is! Just in time as the comic ran out of panels!

Aquaman and the Others #3 Rating: No change. I think this is the kind of comic book I would have enjoyed before the British Invasion swept in and changed everything forever. Except I don't know how Legend's father was avenged by stabbing Aquaman in the stomach with the gold stolen by Atlan. Arthur's ancestor was no friend of Atlan either! He betrayed the fuck out of him and took everything that ever belonged to him ever! Aquaman and Legend should have had a few beers and exchanged stories about how awful Atlan was instead of fighting with each other.

It's also possible I'm misremembering the history on the fall of Atlantis! I should probably try to pay more attention to even the comic books that I don't really want to pay much attention to. I never was very studious.