"Mera: Tidebreaker" by Danielle Paige was an excellent read full of adventure, romance and a strong female lead who carves her own path and creates her own destiny. This graphic novel is perfect for middle grade readers and comic fans who loved the recent "Aquaman" movie and were itching to learn more about Mera's upbringing and origin story. While there are some differences and discrepancies between the "Tidebreaker" and the film, a huge one being Mera and Arthur meeting and falling in love prior to the events in the film, fans of the original comics will love meeting Mera and learning about her past, first steps on land and how she learned to shape her own destiny.

This is a perfectly fine origin story. To me, it was fun and attractive to look at but not groundbreaking or amazing.

Free copy provided by NetGalley.

Great introduction to a character not many people get to know.

Mera is strong and ferocious while exuding kindness and struggling to find a way to balance her own beliefs with what she thinks is best for her kingdom.

Arthur plays a large part but he's definitely the side character in this book.

The art is gorgeous and the limited color palette helps mera stand out in any crowd. Highly recommend and I'm looking forward to young people seeing another woman they can look up to in DC that seems more complicated than at first glance.

My Review: OMG I read this after watching the movie and I was just so excited to read it. This was one great story and I really wished that Paige could write a full-length story about Mera because for us she was the shining light in the Aquaman movie. This comic was a great story with amazing colors. It made the story come alive on the page and I could not put it down.

Go Into This One Knowing: Female Power at its BEST!

Mera Tidebreaker is an orgin story of sorts that goes beyond the story that we know and into the world of Mera and how she became the woman that she is. I wanted so badly to enjoy this read, I just had a hard time staying devoted to this read.

I think this is a great way to get teens interested in some DC characters. They are getting the hottest YA authors to write stories of their biggest characters. This will go over very well since the Aquaman movie just came out.

But for me, this didn’t hold my attention well enough. There were too many open spaces where the story was barely hanging on. Plus the art wasn’t doing it for me. It really saddens me to say that because Danielle Paige is a fantastic author and her books are magnificent.

Well written within frames.storyline easy to follow. Pace of text and illustrations follow exciting climax and allows tension to build. Will be looking forward to next title.

The character of a Mera was pretty good, but I felt that a lot of the plot and characterization of Arthur was sort of flat. She comes from such a rich history and culture but he’s just blindly good all the time, I liked the color palette and the background characters. Fans of generic teen thriller/Romance will find enough to sink their teeth into. Doesn’t seem connected much to the story of the new Aquaman movie, unless Arthur is supposed to have turned into much more of a bad boy in between, so the timing and universe disconnect might confuse some.

I appreciate reading a story with a strong female lead. Mera is a fierce heroine. However, it is disappointing that her story revolves around men. None of the few female characters had significant roles. Also, the plot was lacking and unremarkable. Nothing I haven’t see before.

Mera: Tidebreaker is an origin story of Mera and Aquaman. As someone who doesn't know anything about Aquaman and Mera, this graphic novel was perfect for introducing me to the characters. However, the characters felt a little flat to me. More character development I feel would capture the character of Mera and make for a stronger story. The illustrations were great! I loved how strong Mera was portrayed.

I really enjoyed the story about Mera, and will recommend it to patrons!
The graphics have a lot of blue in them to depict the sea, you can see why they chose to make her have red hair. There isn't a lot of back story provided, I imagine we will see more in upcoming stories and I am okay with this, A first book can get mired down when it includes too much information about the world and it's people.

Mera carries a lot on her shoulders as the Princess of Xebel, some pressure comes from her father and the legacy of the office, and some comes from within, the expectations she has upon herself. In a origin tale of sorts, the meeting between Arthur Curry, Aquaman, and Mera, we see a young person who is positioned between her prescribed role and what she wants for herself. I loved the design style and the initial premise of plot and character development, yet found the whole story arc lacking.

Mera's kingdom of Xebel is the heel of Atlantis, and the people are none too happy about it.  Instead of asking her daughter's permission, the king directs her betrothed to go to the surface to hunt down and kill the long-lost prince of Atlantis. Hearing this, Mera takes it upon herself to go in his stead. To challenge herself. When she meets her prey, she finds the unexpected, a person she could easily like.

Character designs, backgrounds, and the whole aesthetic is awesome. Futuristic, yet retro and mod. But I found the dialogue tedious at times, a lot of back and forth between Mera and Arthur that may have been reduced. And some of the reveals turned into info dumps because there wasn't as much context built in at the beginning of the novel. 

Overall, a book that has all the parts of a good story, but the pacing and character development could use some work.

3 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, DC Comics, Danielle Page, and Stephen Byrne for an advanced copy for review.

The artwork is lovely and the story is enjoyable - but there are some compositional issues. Sometimes it isn't clear what happens from one panel to the next; I guess you could say too much is left to the gutter.

So sorry, but I could not get this book to download. I don't know who to contact, who to ask, or what to do. I tried the FAQ, but nothing in there helped me.

This was so good! I loved reading the origins of Mera! The character development was great and I think girls will definitely look up to her as a role model.

An origin story graphic novel: how Arthur Curry (Aquaman) and Mera first meet, as teenagers, when she comes up on land with the mission to kill him, the enemy prince who's going to rule over her people. They're from warring undersea kingdoms. Interesting stuff, as I've never read any Aquaman comics before and I'm looking forward to the movie. This is your basic girl-meets-boy starcrossed romance, with aquatic complications. I liked learning about the backstory to Mera, and the history between the Xebellians and the Atlanteans. Mera is a cool character, a feisty warrior. Really nice art.

Good origin story, and it made me want more. I liked the art. I read an eARC, so I look forward to seeing it in print. My only issue was the pace of the relationship. It was major instalove, which never feels particularly genuine, but that might have been somewhat the result of the format. I could have used a bit more character development across the board, but it didn't take away my enjoyment, and I think my students will really like it.

Danielle Paige did an amazing job with Mera's story. I'm glad the character is in the hands of someone who writes well and can capture the emotions of a girl trying to find her own path. I can't wait to read more.

Confession: this was the reviewer version of a cover-buy. I know absolutely nothing about Mera, or Aquaman, or the DC version of Atlantis. I requested a review copy because I saw it on NetGalley and went, "Ooooh a red-haired girl with a trident!" Then I read it, and it said Atlantis, and I still thought maybe it had something to do with Greek gods because of the trident. So sue me. I STILL ENJOYED IT! So I am living, breathing proof that you don't have to have back story to enjoy this graphic novel. 

Mera: Tidebreaker is an origin story for Mera, but even without knowing her future (I didn't, I only looked it up after I finished this book) I thoroughly enjoyed the story, mainly for the stunning artwork. It has a brighter look and feel to it than a lot of the graphic novels I've picked up and it made it much easier to read and very engaging. Mera is such an intriguing character - immature, headstrong, but with ability and heart - and a TON of potential. Then there is the ongoing battle between Atlantis and Xebel, with SO MUCH there that wasn't explained - I'm guessing because it is explained in the actual comics. And Arthur - I'm very interested in his back story, like how did his parents ever meet and why did he grow up as he did?

My one complaint with this story was the instalove. SO MUCH INSTALOVE. Why?!? I feel like even a teenage girl of Mera's character and inclinations wouldn't just suddenly -poof- fall in love with a boy just because he was nice to her. It seemed so off for her, so strange and jarring...maybe there is something there that I'm missing due to my lack of knowledge about the rest of their story, but I just really felt like that didn't belong. Why does she have to end up paired up right now? Why not just assume that happens later, but that they MEET right now?

Regardless of that, 4/5 stars for beautiful artwork and engaging story. 

Review will be posted at the link below on 2 April 2019.

Mera is the princess of the underwater kingdom Xebel, which is under the control of the kingdom of Atlantis. The king of Xebel has chosen a successor to his crown, as long as he can kill the prince of Atlantis - Arthur Curry. Mera is upset and angry with her father for always seeing her as a princess first, and never a warrior like her mother. In order to secure her rightful place on the throne of Xebel, Mera steals away and decides to kill Arthur herself and win her own crown. Above water the people are much different than how she has been taught, and while getting closer to Arthur Mera learns more about herself.
This is not a love story, however, but a coming-of-age tale about a strong and independent young woman learning more about herself through perseverance and grit.