Aero (manhua)


Aero is a Chinese action/superhero manhua series written by Zhou Liefen and drawn by artist Keng since 2019. It is published by NetEase in collaboration with Marvel Worldwide Inc. The series is a precursor to and spinoff of Marvel's Agents of Atlas comic book, and introduces the character of Lei Ling, a young architect based in Shanghai who possesses the ability to control and feel air currents, read chi, and fly.
The series is translated into English by Greg Pak, who also writes backup stories in the English language comic-book reprints, which are drawn by Pop Mhan and coloured by Frederico Blee. These backup stories are not included in the trade paperback collected editions of the series.

Story

In her civilian life, Lei Ling is an architect who helped build the city of Shanghai’s modern cityscape. However, she is also the superheroine Aero, and uses her powers of wind manipulation, flight, and the ability to detect and see the chi of others to battle supernatural threats to the city. The story follows Ling's attempts to balance life with her doting boyfriend Zou with her life as a superheroine, while the city around her is attacked by her former mentor, the mysterious Madame Huang, who utilises crystalline warriors and the ability to control buildings to wreak untold destruction for an as-yet unknown purpose.

Characters




The series has received generally positive reviews from critics, with much of the praise being directed towards Keng's artwork, though the writing has somewhat been criticised for its tell-don't-show issues regarding characterisation. The series currently holds an average critic score of 7.4/10 on Comic Book Roundup.