Namor: Conquered Shores #3 Review

Written by: Christopher Cantwell
Art by: Pasqual Ferry
Colors by: Matt Hollingsworth
Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover art by: Pasqual Ferry, Matt Hollingsworth
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: December 21, 2022

Namor: Conquered Shores #3 finds Luke Cage and Namor visiting what’s left of Latveria to discover what the original Human Torch was searching for. What they find may just shock your neck bolts!

Is It Good?

Namor: Conquered Shores #3 deepens the mystery behind the supposed robot uprising led by the original Human Torch, Jim Hammond. Christopher Cantwell’s story amps up the mistrust between Namor and his reluctant allies when fears, rumors, and misunderstandings plague their efforts to do what’s best for the last vestiges of humanity. This is a solid issue in a unique post-apocalyptic story, but the overall plot lacks momentum.

When last we left Luke CAge and Namor, they set sail to the last recorded location of the original Human Torch, hoping to enlist Hammon’s flame abilities as a power source for the underwater human colony. The quest took on a double meaning with Machine Man’s assertion that Human Torch was amassing a robot army to attack Atlantis.

Now, Luke and Namor arrive in Latveria to find a number of surprises waiting for them. Humans are living in Doom’s Castle. Humans who can bear children. And the pocket of humanity is watched over by the immortal Frankenstein’s monster. The big positive in this issue is the surprises. New reveals lead to new possibilities for the story’s outcome, and it’s anyone’s guess how it will turn out.

That said, the story’s direction is unclear and obscured by distractions. The reveals are cool, but they don’t have any bearing on the plot other than to continually remind Namor how much he’s untrusted. Berating legacy Marvel characters is becoming a common trope, and Cantwell is leaning into that trope hard.

Second, the dialog feels wooden in this issue. Every character is lecturing and posturing with stiff bravado, sometimes repetitively so. The words are clear, but the conversations lack natural rhythm, so it feels like the characters are talking at each other instead of with each other.

The dialog may be wooden and stiff, but the art is gorgeous. The characters’ facial acting is excellent, the costume design is inspired, and Hollingsworth’s coloring is fantastic. This is a visually stunning comic.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces

Namor: Conquered Shores #3 deepens the mystery behind the Human Torch’s presence and deepens the feelings of mistrust between Namor and his allies. The pacing is solid, and the reveals are surprising, but the plot direction isn’t very clear, and the dialog is very stiff.