#popmhan

The first half of Aero #6, "Madame Huang", picks up the day after Lei Ling's date. "Origins and Destinies" part six finishes up in the second half. Ling was almost positive that Zou Yu was going to propose after she returned from the White Jade Tower. But instead, he popped another question. How Ling reacts may change their relationship forever. But the next day, Ling gets a surprise visit at her work. And it is not a welcome surprise. Will Aero give up her secret identity. Origins and Destinies has Aero and Wave captured by a group of Sirenas that want to take out Atlantis. The ruler, Reyna Sirena, wants to make clones of Wave into an army that is unstoppable. But Aero and Sea Hunter may be able to put a stop to Sirena. And if they can get free, Wave may be able to prove herself to Red Feather and the Triumph Division. If that's really what she wants to do.

Aero #5 has Lei Ling facing a white jade tower with creatures swarming around it in "Secrets of the Crystal Tower". Zuo Yu was about to pop the question when a ferry was attacked near the restaurant they were eating. And now she has to find out how to destroy the crystal tower and return to her date. But also Ling need to figure out how to navigate the looming proposal she's not ready for. Plus Aero and Wave fight to protect an underwater city.

I really wish Aero and Wave would be two separate titles. They feel like they have so much potential that they need their own stories. But like they are right now, there's just not much development between issues because of they split their time. And the whole story moves incredibly slow when you have to pack two into one. I definitely still like the Origins and Destinies art better from Pop Mhan. But if you're into the more Manga style art, Keng's work is pretty good.

Credits Writer: Zhou Leifen & Greg Pak Artist: Keng & Pop Mhan Colors: Federico Blee Letters: Joe Caramagna Aero #5 As if Lie Ling didn't have enough on her plate, her mom calls in the middle of a battle with a white jade tower. Of course mom is concerned about Ling not being married yet. Which is great timing with Zuo Yu still waiting to pop the question. Aero finds that by removing on piece of the tower, the whole thing collapses. It doesn't make a ton of sense but she takes the win. She returns to her diner date where Yu pops a different question. "Are you Aero?" What will she tell him? In Origins and Destinies part 5, Aero and Wave are dragged into a war between AlonTech and a city of sirena. But they find out the real reason for the conflict. The head of AlonTech is also a sirena and she has been trying to make herself and her people stronger to fight off attacks from Atlantis. One of her biggest successes was Wave. And now she is going to attempt to take back the powers she gave Wave and take on Atlantis.

Amadeus Cho has decided to turn down Nguyen's offer to work for him in Agents of Atlas #4. And Jimmy Woo is still in hiding. "The Portal City of Pan" part 4 leads to more questions than answers. The Agents will have to figure out Nguyen's secrets on their own. Plus, a confrontation with some Pan guards pits Isaac against Lin Lie and Pearl. The team will have to split into groups if they are going to have a chance to figure out what is really going on. I really do like all the characters they have put together for this series. But it seems like it's taking forever to get into any real action. Plus, with a team this big, some characters are not getting much development. This is all understandable though. There is only so much you can put into a single issue. And the characters and story is interesting and mysterious enough to keep my attention. And being only 4 issue in, you can go back and get caught up fairly easy.

Aero is in a race to save a ferry full of people from a strange vortex that appeared in the river in Aero #4. Plus she still has Zou Yu waiting back at the restaurant. She must figure out how to calm the vortex and still make it back for dessert. Or Zou Yu may never be ready to propose again. Also in this issue, Origins and Destinies features Wave and Aero after the events of War of the Realms.

I really like the characters of Aero and Wave, but I'm struggling with the story a bit. Like the other series featuring the Agents of Atlas, the issues are two parts. One character origin and then the other current events. But we don't get much of either in each issue. The plots are a little slow moving because of that. I like the art in Origins and Destinies better than the Aero origin. The more manga style is a little distracting from the characters to me.

Mike Nguyen and his company have joined together the biggest Asian cities from around the world in Agents of Atlas #2. But the Agents of Atlas are busy fighting Dragons that have attacked the city. But there is something off about the timing of all this. Issac Ikeda, the protector of Pan, surely has something to hide. As does the Big Nguyen Company with its new technology. Can the Agents of Atlas get to the bottom of this before people get hurt? Credits and Thoughts Agents of Atlas #2 is written by Greg Pak with art from Nico Leon and Pop Mhan. The story is good so far. The characters look amazing. And their dialogue is interesting and engaging. The action sequences are drawn really well. The panels are detail but not too busy and distracting. I like how they drew Nguyen's holographic projection of himself. I am particularly fond of Silk and Brawn's relationship. With Brawn the leader and Silk being a voice he can listen to and trust. And she will definitely call him out when he needs it. Its a good series so far and I'm excited for these characters. I kind of wish this was an ongoing series and not just 5 issues.

Agents of Atlas #4 - *SPOILERS We begin with Mike Nguyen making his pitch for Pan in a breaking news interview. But in reality, the Agents of Atlas are fighting dragons...excuse me, wyverns in the middle of the city. Issac show up again to help. He gives Luna Snow the idea to bring the temperatures down to drive the wyverns away. The whole city celebrates the Heroes, but Brawn is very skeptical of everything. And he's also pretty jealous of the attention Issac is showing Luna. But Silk's spider-sense is still doing nothing. Silk tries to help Brawn calm down and enjoy himself. It is not until later that Luna starts to reinforce his suspicions of Nguyen and Issac. Another dragon, or wyvern or what ever they are shows up and attacks a raft full of refugees. As Luna and Brawn save them, the Pan Guard (apparently a police force for the city) show up and tries to apprehend the refugees. Later Luna and Brawn share a kiss as Silk comes to find them. So at least maybe he can stop being so jealous of Issac. I have to admit, my favorite part was probably one single panel where Giant Man is inducted into the Agents of Atlas. All he has to do was ask. Me too?