Mexican Plastic Figure - ?

I bought this on eBay a few weeks ago, it's a (presumably) bootleg figure, standing about 6" high, of Aquaman hailing a cab.

This figure wasn't all that well cared for, since you can see someone decided to try and color in the face with...blue magic marker?

In any case, its odd and kinda lame, which means I love it.

Aquaman (Vol.4) #7 - June 1992

Comics Weekend Another excellently rendered Aquaman cover by Kevin Maguire (his last, sadly) fronts an issue featuring two blasts from Aquaman's past!

Picking up from last issue, we find Aquaman in battle with some sort of giant, mutated version of himself, dressed in his blue, "camouflage" no less!

Aquaman has no idea who this deformed doppleganger is, and he finds that in this weird place, what he knows as Reality doesn't apply: when he punches his adversary, he simply splits into pieces and continues to taunt him.

He closes his eyes for a moment and then finds himself fighting the Justice League itself--Martian Manhunter, Flash, Green Lantern, Black Canary, and...a past version of himself!

He finally realizes none of this is real:

...I dunno, I'd still prefer this all-singing, all-dancing JLA to the one in Identity Crisis.

Anyway, Aquaman wakes up--partly--and we see he's in the care of an Atlantean physician. They go to fetch Lord Vulko, and we follow Aquaman back into his subconscious.

Here he meets a giant version of his dead son Arthur Jr., and then he squabbles with Mera over all that has happened to them.

All this is being watched by an old, old foe:

...yes, its the creepy, hulking Thanatos, first introduced way back in Aquaman (Vol.1) #54! Great Neptune!

In this world, though, Thanatos is married to his own version of Mera, and she doesn't understand who this "other" Aquaman is that she "dreamt" of.

Thanatos tries to mess with Aquaman's mind more, but it doesn't work, and when Aquaman lays down his arms, refusing to fight his wife and son, admitting his mistakes as a father and a husband, but ultimately, finally, forgiving himself, it helps him escape from this subconscious world, and he wakes up.

As Aquaman rests soundly, Thanatos realizes his plan has not worked. Worse yet, his wife Mera "no longer looks at me in the same way."


I'm glad an attempt was made to get Aquaman past all the psychological hand-wringing I think he got bogged down in after a while, considering all the tragedy that had befallen him.

In the end, I don't think it totally stuck, but writer Shaun McLaughlin gives it the old college try here. And bringing back Thanatos was a neat idea.

One Lap Closer

Courtesy F.O.A.M. member Chuck "D.C" Dill, comes this link that relates this bit o' news concerning a possible return of Aquaman:

[The question was asked] Are we ever going to see the original Aquaman again? At that point, [Geoff] Johns and [Ethan] Van Sciver began whispering, saying "can we say it?"

Finally, Van Sciver stated, "We'd like you to refer to Blackest Night for the answer to that."

I had heard from a very reliable source that Van Sciver was working on some sort of an Aquaman project, now he seems to be openly confirming it.

With both Johns and Van Sciver being admittedly huge fans of the original, Classic Aquaman, I think this bodes well for a return of our favorite hero. (And if I was Arthur Joseph, I wouldn't be making any long term plans.)

Thanks for the tip Chuck!

Aquaman (Vol. 4) #6 - May 1992

Comics Weekend Hasn't every Aqua Fan always wanted to see this cover? Another winner by Kevin Maguire.

Picking up from last weekend, Aquaman (Vol.4) #5 left off with Black Manta having destroyed Mercy Reef, a spot of great significance to Aquaman, most recently the spot where he buried his son. Manta is on a single-minded mission to destroy everything Arthur holds dear.

Aquaman decides to end this once and for all, and kill Black Manta.

He finds Manta outside the city of Poseidonis, still in rubble from its battle with the surface world country of Oumland. Manta then shoots "a little something" he stole from S.T.A.R. Labs, a headband of some sort that attaches itself to Aquaman's skull and takes control of his body.

Manta then shoots a toxin over the city (borrowed from a "Dr. Crane", a nice touch), causing the citizens to fight each other, one group thinking Aquaman is a hero, the other a menace.

One of them is immune to the toxin, and grabs a giant decorative "A" out of the Aqua Cave, showing it to the crowd, rallying them to his side, reminding them that its Black Manta who is their enemy, not Aquaman. They come out of their fog, and fight Manta's army of warriors. Manta is a tad surprised:

Aquaman manages to get the device off his head (taking some scalp along with it) and dive-bombs Manta's ship, telling himself he won't let anything stop him from, once and for all, killing Black Manta. I like this segment, highlighting a superpower Aquaman has that isn't played up all that much: his super-fast reflexes:

Aquaman does what's shown on the cover, and grips his hands around Manta's throat. Unfortunately, Manta is still able to talk and mess with his mind, and when he suggests its Aquaman's fault that Mera left him, it startles Arthur long enough for Manta to stick a shiv in him.

As Black Manta scapes, he reminds everyone what an A-1 jerk he is:

Manta does escape his ship, but Aquaman commands a school of Surgeon Fish to attack his pressurized suit, tearing it, causing Manta to sink to the bottom of the ocean...

Meanwhile, Aquaman is met by his dolphin friend Porm, and Aquaman is paralyzed with sadness, realizing he couldn't even do what he set out to--kill Black Manta. A strange, wild-eyed face fills the final panel, exclaiming "Now you're mine!" To be continued!


You know, considering how much they have in common, its amazing that Aquaman and Batman aren't better friends. They each have a supervillain who killed their son, one who they've shown mercy to but keeps coming back, again and again. You'd think they'd do some sort of Strangers On A Train thing and wrap up each other's problem for good.

One of the nicest things about doing this blog is that its given me the opportunity to go back and read comics that I didn't necessarily like all that much the first time. Reading these again, I find these stories by writer Shaun McLaughlin work a lot better than I remember.

I mean, of course, we all know Aquaman isn't going to kill Black Manta--like the Joker, he's just too good a baddie to get rid of (and unlike Batman, Aquaman can't afford to thin his Rogues Gallery out), but this story works well anyway.

Super Powers Ad - 1984

This ran on the back cover of what it seemed like every DC comic in 1984, heralding the arrival of a truly super line of action figures.

I was ecstatic over the Super Powers line when it came out--they were so well done, so cool, that my then-current Star Wars toy obsession took a U-turn back to superheroes.

While all the figures were well done, Kenner's take on Aquaman--with a trident, no less--was one of their best. I thought it then, I still think it now.

DC Superhero Checks - 2008

Last week, F.O.A.M. member Russell Burbage sent me a box filled to the walls with Aqua Stuff, an act of generosity unwatched since...he did it the last time, a few months ago!

I'll be posting all the cool doo-dads he sent me (including the Warner Bros. store picture frame I posted here, but admitted not owning, a few weeks ago), and I thought I'd start with these awesome checks, featuring Superman, Batman, Flash, and, of course, Aquaman!

They feature Jose Luis Garcia Lopez (Superman and Batman) and Eduardo Barretto (Aquaman and Flash) stock art--always a good move. They differ from a previous set that were released a few years ago, which featured Wonder Woman instead of Aquaman. Why the change, I wonder, though I'm grateful for it just the same.

Thanks Russell!

Super Dictionary, Part 9 - 1978

We haven't done selections from the 1978 DC Comics Super Dictionary in a loooong time, so let's dive in!

We have a justifiably angry Aquaman courtesy Jim Aparo illustrating the definition of the word scum; a slightly-odd piece of art for the shell listing, and a chunk of the cover to Aquaman Vol.1 #61 (also by Aparo) to define the word such. Batman and Aquaman are having such a hard time!

Brave and The Bold Column Header - 1970

I found this header in an issue of The Brave and The Bold (#89, to be exact), topping a multi-part text feature the book ran looking back over its previous team-ups.

Normally, this would not be enough to warrant its own post, except for the fact that--besides it featuring Aquaman twice in a tiny space--by the sheer random luck of characters chosen, it might be the most useful header in comics blogging history!

I mean, take a look at this thing--not only can I use it here, it also has a shot of the JLA, which means I could use it for my JLA Satellite blog.

But its usefulness isn't limited to me:

--it features Green Arrow, so Adam can use it over at Dispatches From The Arrowcave

--it features the Martian Manhunter (R.I.P.), so Frank can use it over at The Idol-Head of Diabolu

--it features the Hawkman, so it might be of some use to Doug Zawisza, author of the upcoming TwoMorrows book The Hawkman Companion

--its about team-ups, so Rick can use it over at Mail-It To Team-Up

--and since its a comic book letterhead, Rick could use it again over at Comic Book Letterheads!

You're welcome, internets!


Update: I just realized, looking at this piece over again, that the shot of the JLA at their meeting table has been altered.

Someone along the way converted The Flash, who was originally sitting opposite Aquaman, into The Atom. Not sure why, exactly, since both characters appeared in team-ups in B&B, but there you go.

Anyway, that now means this piece could be used for yet another blog--The Tiny Titan, provided its owner Damian ever makes his way off the island.

Aquaman Shrine Interview with Ramona Fradon - 2008

Anyone who reads this blog had heard of the legendary Ramona Fradon--in addition to her work on Metamorpho, Plastic Man, The Super Friends, and Brenda Starr, she was the artist on Aquaman's run in Adventure Comics from 1951 to 1961, the longest unbroken tenure any artist has had on the character.

During her work on Aquaman, she was the one who visualized Aquaman's "modern" origin, as well as his sidekick, Aqualad. Her uber-clean line and bold, dynamic layouts set a visual standard for the character.

I have been fortunate enough to meet Ms. Fradon at comic cons three times; the first two times resulting in some sweet, sweet sketches for my sketchbook. They are among my most treasured pieces.

So when I saw her again at the 2008 New York Comic Con, I thought about asking her this time if she'd be willing to do an interview with me for the Shrine.

But I was very hesitant to do--first off, she was always very busy at her table, talking to fans. Second, she's been interviewed so many times just about Aquaman that I figured she'd be bored to tears doing one more. So every time I got near her table, I wandered away, having chickened out.

Then, while I at the con, I ran into my blogging pal Richard Bensam (he of the blog Estoreal), who I had never met in person. After talking a little while, I told him of my desire to talk to Ramona, but couldn't muster the courage.

Richard then gave me half a dozen reasons why she'd probably be willing to talk to me, and I should go ahead. Having someone back me up was just enough for me to go up to her, at a moment where I saw she was alone.

Of course, Ramona couldn't have been nicer and friendlier. She agreed to talk to me for the Shrine, as long as I "kept it short." No problem there--even though in the following questions I don't ask her anything she hasn't been asked before, I feel like The Aquaman Shrine wouldn't be complete without a word or two from the legendary Ramona Fradon:

The Aquaman Shrine: Did you pursue working in comics?

Ramona Fradon: I had never thought of working in comics. I submitted a sample to some comic houses because my husband and I were living on the G.I bill at the time and we needed money.

AMS: Even today, comic books are a heavily male-dominated field. Did DC--or any other publisher--offer any resistance to hiring a woman artist when you were getting started?

RF: I never experienced any resistance while I was working in comics. My impression was that editors and writers were only interested in whether you could do the job.

AMS: You got into comics just a lot of people were getting out, were you doing other kinds of illustration work to make a living?

RF: I didn't realize that, maybe that explains why it was so easy for me to get a job.

AMS: Do you remember how you ended up with the Aquaman assignment?

RF: I had never heard of Aquaman. One day Murray Boltinoff, the editor at DC who had hired me and gave me work, handed me an Aquaman script and I drew it for the next seven or eight years.

AMS: Did you have much interaction with the writers, like Jack Miller and Robert Bernstein?

RF: The only writer I ever interacted with, let alone met, was Bob Haney when we worked together on Metamorpho.

AMS: You drew the first appearance of Aqualad. Was there a lot of direction on what he should look like, or was it completely up to you?

RF: No. I just muddled through by myself.

AMS: Was there a particular comics assignment or character (Super Friends, Aquaman, Metamorpho) that you had the most fun working on?

RF: I enjoyed drawing Plastic Man because he was goofy--not "serious" like other superheroes. I liked drawing mysteries, too, because I was able to exaggerate the drawing and make it melodramatic.

I particularly liked drawing funny comics for Bongo and Nickolodeon and wish I had done more of that kind of thing during the years I drew for publication.


It's a real honor to have talked to Ramona Fradon, and I thank her so much for her time and all her fantastic work over the decades.

And I also have to thank Richard for the pep talk; without him, I wouldn't have done it at all. Thanks Richard!
__________________________________________________________

For Further Reading: For a much longer, career-spanning interview with Ms. Fradon, check out TwoMorrows' Alter Ego #69, which you can order here.

Conducted by Jim Amash, its chock-filled with beautiful Fradon art, along with (as you can see) a new Aquaman cover by her!

It also features an interview (perhaps the last one ever?) with Aquaman's co-creator Paul Norris. So for those of you who missed it when it came out last year, the Shrine recommends this issue to any and all Aqua-Fans!

Aquaman (Vol.4) #5 - Apr. 1992

Comics Weekend Continuing our examination of the briefly-running fourth Aquaman solo series!

The fifth cover in a row by Kevin Maguire, and another winner. Aquaman is pissed, and headed at you at tremendous speed. Nicely done.

Picking up from last issue, we have the goofy (yet dangerous) pro-whaling fanatic Queequeg, who has managed to get a hold of a huge cache of missiles, and fires them at our hero!

Aquaman does the old "have the missile follow me into a cave, get stuck there, and blow up harmlessly" bit ("This hasn't worked since 1975", Arthur thinks), which goes off exactly like he had hoped.

He then heads for the surface, looking to rip Queequeg a new one. While Queequeg is celebrating an early victory:

...yep, that's it. Queequeg is defeated.

I know this joke has been done before, but I think it almost always works. Writer Shaun McLaughlin was building this subplot over three issues, and its all over in two panels.

Aquaman then makes it on land, but before he can even introduce himself, he collapses!

He wakes up at--where else?--S.T.A.R. Labs. His body simply gave out from all the physical damage it took in the last few days. Suddenly, an old friend shows up to see him: Troia, formerly Wonder Girl!

Turns out that Arthur's old sidekick, Garth (aka Aqualad) was grievously injured in a battle with the supervillain the Wildebeest (in New Titans #72), and is in some sort of stasis tube, barely alive. The Titans wonder if Aquaman can help.

He agrees to try, and takes Garth to his people, a separatist sect of Atlanteans called The Idylists. Even though Garth is an outcast, they agree to try and care for him.

Aquaman heads back to the U.N., where he is met by his old friend, The Martian Manhunter. They go to lunch with a U.N. ambassador, and Arthur and J'onn squabble over Arthur's seeming lack of control. While he was unconscious, a massive school of fish "went crazy" in the East River, and the U.N. wants to know why.

While Aquaman is addressing the U.N. and reporters, the proverbial bad penny shows up:

Manhunter takes on the members of Lord Iqula's men who Manta has conned into helping him, and Aquaman chases after Manta himself. Manta waits for Aquaman to get close, before firing missiles at...To be continued!


This issue features the first letters page of the series, and the reaction is very positive. There's also this mention of a future member of F.O.A.M., Chuck "D.C." Dill:

...wow, cool! Congrats, Chuck!

Aquaman (Vol.4) #4 - March 1992

Comics Weekend Last weekend's posts on the briefly-running fourth Aquaman series were well-received, so I thought we'd keep going!

This fourth issue sports another fine cover by Kevin Maguire, a classic superhero battle!

Picking up from last issue, we have Lord Iqula and his army of warriors marching---er, swimming--- towards the now-unprotected city of Poseidonis, which has had its protective dome shattered by an attack by surface dwellers.

And now a massive school of sharks are making their way towards the city, and for some reason Aquaman is not able to deter them from their mission.

Aquaman fights his way towards Iqula, who wants to take control of the city in the name of protecting it. When Aquaman tries to argue, Iqula dismisses him, saying he spends far too much time above the water, and not enough with his own people.

Iqula claims he is the rightful ruler of the seas, but Aquaman has a counter-argument:

...I like Arthur's line, "Now, about this 'at one with the seas' business." I love it when Aquaman gets to be funny!

Aquaman and Iqula engage in battle, after Iqula's men attack Poseidonis' army, again all in the name of protection. He manages to defeat Iqula, who calls his army back. But just as he does, a mysterious, ominous, manta-shaped ship appears...

Meanwhile, Aquaman heads back into the city to check on his old friend Vulko, who was injured in the earlier attack. At the moment Vulko is confused, and doesn't remember anything of the recent past:

Also meanwhile, a raving zealot (who we briefly saw last issue) pilots a whaling ship, searching for "the false prophet of environmentalism: Aquaman." Oh boy.

Aquaman is asked to speak for Poseidonis at the U.N., to resolve the conflicy between it and the country of Oumland. He agrees, but when he surfaces he is attacked by our fanatic, who calls himself "Queequeg, Master of the Techno-Sonar Militarism!"

Aquaman's first response? "Oh, great...a fanatic." To be continued!


I like how Aquaman gets a few brief moments to be funny here. He's usually so serious, so dour, that when he makes a joke it makes a real impact.

Also, this Queequeg guy is goofy, so its neat to have writer Shaun McLaughlin have Aquaman admit that right up front.

F.O.A.M. member Shag Matthews owns a page of original art from this book, and he generously sent me a scan so we can compare the original page by Ken Hooper and Bob Dvorak:

...to the final printed version:

...sometimes, you can get a real idea just how much work goes into a single comic book page. No wonder I gave up on the whole idea while I was at the Kubert School!

Aquaman in Tiny Titans - 2008

Even though I make sure to buy the book every month, somehow I missed Tiny Titans #4, which featured this Peanuts-esque cameo by Aquaman himself! Luckily some enterprising F.O.A.M. member sent it to me.

I'm ashamed to admit I have forgotten which one you generous souls sent it to me, so whoever did please let me know so I can give you proper credit!
________________________________________________________

In the comments section for yesterday's post, F.O.A.M. member Russell Burbage mentioned he still had his Aquaman "Stick-On."

So here it is, still stuck to the cardboard box Young Russell slapped it onto, so many years ago! Thanks Russell!

DC Stick-Ons Ad - 1974

This ad (and another, half-page version) ran in approximately a billion DC comics in the mid-1970s--for a measly $2.50, you could get a set of superhero stick-ons featuring all of DC's biggest stars!

Most of them use the iconic stock art you've seen on other products of the time, like Murphy Anderson's Aquaman, Neal Adams' Batman, and Gil Kane's Green Lantern. Nice to see Hawkman represented, who you didn't see all that much on the merchandising of the time.

The thing I love most about the ad is where you can supposedly put these stickers--yeah, your Mom would've just loved it if she came home to find a wall in her living room covered in DC superhero stickers, leaving a wonderful residue on the wallpaper.

And not to be out done, your Dad will love driving to work with a Neal Adams Green Arrow stuck to his driver's side door!

Between Hostess snacks that made you fat, X-ray specs that gave you a headache, and superhero sticks ons ruining your parents' stuff, I'm a little shocked we made it out of the 70s at all.

DC Comics Watermark - 1986

This is the, er, watermark that appeared on the back of 1986-era letter DC Comics sent to Mike Sterling, of the awesomely entertaining blog Progressive Ruin.

During my misspent youth, I would occasionally send a letter to DC and always got a reply, and they would contain some stock art watermark, usually featuring Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, or some combo thereof. I never got one like this, which I would've cherished.

Thankfully Mike was generous enough to let me use this for the Shrine, which makes him the newest member of F.O.A.M.! Thanks Mike!

Warner Bros. Shopping Bag - 2008

This way cool shopping bag was being given out at the Warner Bros. booth at a licensing trade show last week, and as you can see it features the big stars of the DCU, including the King of the Seven Seas!

As cool as the bag is--and its very cool--how I got it is a more interesting story (hopefully).

Over the weekend, while trolling through eBay looking for Aqua Stuff, I saw one of these for sale, with the auction ending in a few days. I had never seen it before, so I bookmarked it and planned to go back and bid.

Then, Monday morning, I got a package in the mail with the return address bearing the name "Kupperberg." That always means something good, so I opened the envelope--and there was the bag!

I did a double--no, triple--take. The exact item I happened to be looking for, and here it was! Paul figured--correctly--that I'd want one, and he generously sent one to me. On Friday the 13th, no less, just to make things even weirder.

But the story doesn't end there! With the bag now in my hands, I planned to take a picture of it for the Shrine. I generally loathe having to do that, since the pictures I take, no matter how hard I try, always come out fuzzy and yellow-ish, and never look that good. But what choice did I have? The bag is way too big for my scanner.

Literally, the very next email I got was from F.O.A.M. member Joe Hennes, who was also at the show, and was emailing me a crystal-clear picture of the bag! Wow! Everything I needed to post about this was now provided for me by F.O.A.M. members!

When I wrote to Joe to thank him, I told him what I just wrote above, and he said: "Wow, the circle of Aquaman fans pulls through! The system works!"

It does indeed. Thanks, guys!

2nd Aqua Contest!

Today we announce the winner of our Aquaman Shrine Design-A-Header Contest!

Before I announce the winning header, let's take a look at the submissions, in order of when they arrived:

This was sent by F.O.A.M. member Robby Reed, under the email subject title "CONTEST OVER." Robby was so confident of his work! And I have to say, this is an excellent piece--I love all the different iterations of Aquaman thrown together, a nice metaphor for the Shrine. Nice job, Robby!

Next came this from Jeff Johnson:

...I like this one for the exact opposite reasons I love Robby's--instead of a thousand different Aquamans, this one has the eye focus on just one strong central image, similar to the approach I took when designing the header for myself. Plus, Aquaman looks super-tough. Nice job, Jeff!

Next is this submission from Jose:

...this is one is neat since it reminds me a lot of the stock-art pages DC has in its style guides. And you can't go wrong with using mostly Jose Luis Garcia Lopez art. Nice job, Jose!

This super-cool submission is from F.O.A.M. member David Kelly:

The main reason I love this one is, it feels like the only one that I could never, in a million years, designed myself.

Try as I might, my illustration and design work always ends up with some sort of pseudo-mathmatical structure to it, as if the elements I'm using are "locked" into place. I've tried mightily to occasionally try a more messy, impressionistic approach, but I find myself settling back into what looks "right" to me. David's piece is here is weird and unusual, and I dig it. Nice job, David!

Last is this entry from our very first F.O.A.M. member, Chris Franklin:

This one is clever as all get out, plus it features a little bit o' original art by Chris, always a nice touch.

They're all really cool, and I'm impressed with how different they are. But of course, I have to pick one as the winner of the contest--*sigh*.

After careful consideration, I have decided the winner of the contest is...Robby Reed!

While all the headers sent to me are superb, it's Robby's I think sums up the Shrine and its mission instantly, with one image. Heck, it does a better job on that score than my own does, really. So, Robby, congratulations! As promised, your header will sit atop the Shrine for one week, and in addition, you can pick from the following four prizes:

1)A DC Universe Aquaman figure

2)A DC Super Friends Aquaman figure

3)A DC Super Friends AquaSub vehicle

4)A one-year subscription to the DC Comic of your choice

...I thank everyone who put the effort into sending me a header, your enthusiasm is deeply appreciated as is your work. One of the most rewarding things from doing this blog is realizing what a passionate fan base the Sea King has.

Before we go, let's take one last look at all the submissions, plus the two sent to me pre-contest by F.O.A.M. members Martin and Ben Holcomb that inspired this whole thing in the first place:

Aquaman (Vol.4) #3 - Feb. 1992

Comics Weekend Picking up from yesterday's post, we continue examining the short-lived Aquaman solo series from 1992.

Before we go into the issue, I want to take a moment to compliment the awesome cover by Kevin Maguire--this is one of my favorite Aquaman covers of all time, the gaping maw of the shark practically filling the frame. You really don't need any type or description when you've got such a compelling image.

Anyway, last issue ended with Aquaman having to play catch up, following an attack on the city of Poseidonis by some surface dwellers. He was able to end the fight, but now the citizens of the city are in danger from a throng of sharks headed towards them. For some reason, these sharks don't obey Aquaman's commands.

Aquaman puts himself between some kids and a shark, and leads them to a spot he's familiar with:

...I thought that was a nice touch, linking this Aquaman with the one from the 1960s. Post-Crisis, I was never sure what stories were part of a character's history anymore. And I like the two kids having varying opinions on the coolness of something called "The Aqua Cave."

Aquaman gets closer to one of the sharks, to see if direct contact will help him understand what's going on. Unfortunately, all he can read is the word "Feed" over and over and over, leading one of the sharks to chomp down on the Sea King's leg!

Aquaman is forced to kill the shark or lose his leg, something it pains him to do. He then figures out a way to get rid of the sharks--by commanding a school of fish called Moses Sole, who secrete a fluid that is a natural shark repellent. They surround the city, and it does the trick.

As if this wasn't enough trouble, a legion of Poseidonis citizens, led by the tough-as-nails Lord Iquala are heading there to "save Poseidonis from itself", by force if necessary. To be continued!


I mentioned yesterday I was never a big fan of Atlantis-centric stories for Aquaman--I think it makes the character too distant, too removed from the reader identification Aquaman has always had trouble with.

But one of the ideas I think does work well that is explored here by writer Shaun McLaughlin is the idea of a power vacuum. Aquaman may be King of the Seven Seas, leader of Atlantis, but if he's going to be gone a lot cavorting with the Justice League and other surface dwellers, his fellow citizens might start finding that unpalatable.

Also like I've said before, I'm not that big a fan of penciler Ken Hooper's work--it's just too spare for my tastes, but he got better issue to issue, and I can only imagine how tiring it must have been having to draw page after page of fantastical cities, destroyed buildings (since Atlantis was always being destroyed). Sometimes he would drop the realism angle and go for a more design-y look, like this:

...which I think looks quite nice. I'm going to move on to the fourth and fifth issues of this series, and I hope I see more of this!

Aquaman (Vol.4) #2 - Jan. 1992

Comics Weekend I've only talked about this fourth Aquaman series once before, so it's long past due to look it over again and see what we find!

Aquaman ran from Dec. 1991 to Dec. 1992 with almost the exact same creative team-- writer Shaun McLaughlin, and artists Ken Hooper and Bob Dvorak-- on the entire run, a rare event at the time (and even more rare now).

Frequently, the covers (like this one) were by Kevin Maguire, who gave us some of Aquaman's finest, in my opinion.

This issue is continued from the previous one, with Aquaman trapped under a pile of rubble, the result of the country known an Oumland having attacked Poseidonis with nuclear missiles and shock troops.

As a missile heads towards an unconscious Aquaman, an Atlantean citizen rockets toward him, taking the brunt of the explosion herself, freeing and saving her hero in the process.

After Aquaman wakes up, he sees his old friend Vulko has been hurt in the attacks, and uses his finny friends (in this case a school of giant squid) to grab the subs and keep them from moving.

Aquaman then learns from some Poseidonis citizens that it was they who attacked a surface ship, starting the war in the first place. Aquaman then heads to the surface to find out exactly how all this got started, though it doesn't go well:

...this leads to a funny sequence, where we have a nice microcosm of Aquaman's main problem in dealing with the Surface World:

...nothing says "I came to talk!" more than throwing punches.

Aquaman then gets shot in the leg, slowing the fight down long enough for an Oumland government official to tell his people to cease the attack.

Later, we have the two of them discussing what happened, and Aquaman is less than pleased that, even though his people fired off nothing more than a warning shot, Oumland retaliated with an all-out attack.

Aquaman returns to Poseidonis, feeling guilt over being away from his people, unable to help them while they were under attack.

He gets there only to find another problem: a massive group of sharks are heading their way towards the city, and it citizens...and they are no longer listening to Aquaman. To be continued!


I remember not being much of a fan of this series when it first debuted, partly because of the art, partly because I've always found Atlantis-centric stories the least interesting facet to Aquaman's back story.

But at the time, I took for granted that Aquaman would always have some sort of solo book, so I didn't feel too guilty about not supporting whatever series he had at the time. I now know better.

Like I said about the Peter David run, I have a greater appreciation for these issues now then I did at the time, so be here tomorrow for the next chapter!