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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2016 11:50:38 GMT -5
I was thinking about the lack of respect Aquaman has gotten. Mostly it started with the Super Friends show. IMO Aquaman is vastly under rated. DC did a lot with him in the 60's & 70's. I believe Aquaman & Mera married a year before Reed Richards & Susan Storm. And Aquaman & Mera had a child 3 years before Franklin Richards was born.
But in the 70's the writers at DC really changed my perception of him. Prior to that I preferred Marvel's Sub-Mariner. In the 70's DC did some amazing stories in Adventure Comics. The awesome Spectre run by Fleisher & Aparo. Superboy before Adventure became a Dollar Comic (which had great stories).
The storyline that changed Aquaman forever started in Adventure Comics & led to a revival of Aquaman's own title with art by Grell, Aparo & Newton. It was called the Death of a Prince. In that storyline Manta killed Aquaman's son. Back in the 70's that was unheard of. It was shocking. It elevated Aquaman to a whole new level. I can't remember reading anything since then that was as emotional as that arc. |
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Post by Nowhere Man on Sept 12, 2016 12:09:36 GMT -5
I always liked Aquaman and never got the ridicule either. I know that I loved Aparo's art from this period, and having read some of his Aquaman run (mostly the earlier stuff), I think he might be my favorite Aquaman artist. Aquatic characters in general have always faced biased for some odd reason. I guess they're not "relatable" since they spend most of their free time underwater? Come on. You need relatable characters, sure, but it's okay to have a few that you can't relate with so as to add a bit of spice to your reading mix. I've always been a fan of underwater scenes, particularly when artists of the caliber of Jack Kirby and Jim Aparo would draw them and give them "personality."
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Post by dbutler69 on Sept 12, 2016 12:48:05 GMT -5
Count me in agreement with you two. I've always felt that Aquaman was an underrated and underused hero. Heck, his domain covers over 70% of the earth's surface! Plus, he'd need super-strength to deal with the extreme sea depths. I loved the 70's Adventure/Aquqman stories, and I liked the Mike Grell stuff even better than the Aparo stuff! I also thought that the 1986 Pozner/Hamilton Aquaman miniseries was very good and yes, I even liked the new costume, not that it lasted.
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Post by tingramretro on Sept 12, 2016 13:03:46 GMT -5
I also thought that the 1986 Pozner/Hamilton Aquaman miniseries was very good and yes, I even liked the new costume, not that it lasted. So did I, it was criminally underused. The blue scheme made much more sense than orange to me, for an undersea hero. |
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Post by dbutler69 on Sept 12, 2016 13:19:00 GMT -5
Exactly!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2016 14:34:20 GMT -5
I have a tpb of the 70s Aquaman stories (back up stories and the stories from when his comic started being published again). I never understood how he is considered a joke by some (although as you state, that may have started with the Super Friends). The story where Arthur Jr dies and the fall out following is very well written. Black Manta is the lowest of the low to cause the death of a child. I always liked Aquaman, Aqualad, and Mera. The stories always fascinated me because they depicted this wonderful world beneath the sea that only a few encountered. True, his powers and the one hour limit for being on land may have made his character difficult to use in the JLoA comics, but still a great and unique character. Looking forward to seeing the character in the Justice League movie. Wish they had went with a more traditional look rather than the harsher 90s look, but I guess that fits better with the movie universe.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2016 16:02:44 GMT -5
I always find AQUAMAN an underrated character that's doesn't belong to anyone and knowing that he was one of the founding members of both Justice League of America and the Superman - he does belong in the likes of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman as equal partners in the Superfriends and then when you add the likes of the Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, and The Flash - his name should be on equal footing with them too.
I find him a fascinating character and along with his wife and sidekick - Aqualad he's a force to be reckon with and have a log history that very few heroes can imagine. He's a favorite of mine and rightly so.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2016 17:39:37 GMT -5
Another perception: I thought DC did a better job exploring Aquaman's world under the oceans than Marvel did exploring Namor's after the 70's.
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Post by Action Ace on Sept 12, 2016 21:24:46 GMT -5
I liked Aquaman in the Super Friends cartoon. My first solo Aquaman comic was DC Super Stars #7 in 1976 that reprinted his three cornered fight with Black Manta and Ocean Master from Aquaman #35. My first Adventure Comics issue was #449 where I met a hero I liked even more, J'onn J'onzz.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2016 23:05:15 GMT -5
I liked Aquaman in the Super Friends cartoon. My first solo Aquaman comic was DC Super Stars #7 in 1976 that reprinted his three cornered fight with Black Manta and Ocean Master from Aquaman #35. My first Adventure Comics issue was #449 where I met a hero I liked even more, J'onn J'onzz. I'm so glad you are a J'onn J'onzz fan and I do remember that issue #449 vividly!  |
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Post by dupersuper on Sept 13, 2016 11:08:03 GMT -5
I was thinking about the lack of respect Aquaman has gotten. Mostly it started with the Super Friends show. IMO Aquaman is vastly under rated. DC did a lot with him in the 60's & 70's. I believe Aquaman & Mera married a year before Reed Richards & Susan Storm. And Aquaman & Mera had a child 3 years before Franklin Richards was born.
But in the 70's the writers at DC really changed my perception of him. Prior to that I preferred Marvel's Sub-Mariner. In the 70's DC did some amazing stories in Adventure Comics. The awesome Spectre run by Fleisher & Aparo. Superboy before Adventure became a Dollar Comic (which had great stories).
The storyline that changed Aquaman forever started in Adventure Comics & led to a revival of Aquaman's own title with art by Grell, Aparo & Newton. It was called the Death of a Prince. In that storyline Manta killed Aquaman's son. Back in the 70's that was unheard of. It was shocking. It elevated Aquaman to a whole new level. I can't remember reading anything since then that was as emotional as that arc. I'd say the seed was planted by Super Friends and fed by a stand-up comedian or 2, but only really blossomed in the early days of the internet. "Talking to fish" became a joke, which is a perfectly funny joke, but has nothing to do with the actual comics. Aquaman also rules a land of advanced tech and magic, goes on cool sword & sorcery type underwater quests, has slightly enhanced sight and hearing on land, and - though I don't care for the near Kryptonian level power-up the New52 gave him in this regard - has always had at least Spider-Man level strength and durability thanks to living on the ocean floor. Plus, controling sea life includes sharks, whales, and - in the DCU - all manner of sea monster-type creatures. So he's certainly way ahead of powerless Batman and Robin sitting across from him in the Hall of Justice. I only have a bit of his Adventure Comics run, but that Aparo art is great. |
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Post by crazyoldhermit on Sept 13, 2016 11:32:46 GMT -5
I also thought that the 1986 Pozner/Hamilton Aquaman miniseries was very good and yes, I even liked the new costume, not that it lasted. So did I, it was criminally underused. The blue scheme made much more sense than orange to me, for an undersea hero. I think the idea was that the orange would stand out strongly against the blue water (orange and blue being complementary colors), similar to how Superman's red cape makes him pop against the blue sky. |
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Post by tingramretro on Sept 13, 2016 12:02:56 GMT -5
I was thinking about the lack of respect Aquaman has gotten. Mostly it started with the Super Friends show. IMO Aquaman is vastly under rated. DC did a lot with him in the 60's & 70's. I believe Aquaman & Mera married a year before Reed Richards & Susan Storm. And Aquaman & Mera had a child 3 years before Franklin Richards was born.
But in the 70's the writers at DC really changed my perception of him. Prior to that I preferred Marvel's Sub-Mariner. In the 70's DC did some amazing stories in Adventure Comics. The awesome Spectre run by Fleisher & Aparo. Superboy before Adventure became a Dollar Comic (which had great stories).
The storyline that changed Aquaman forever started in Adventure Comics & led to a revival of Aquaman's own title with art by Grell, Aparo & Newton. It was called the Death of a Prince. In that storyline Manta killed Aquaman's son. Back in the 70's that was unheard of. It was shocking. It elevated Aquaman to a whole new level. I can't remember reading anything since then that was as emotional as that arc. I'd say the seed was planted by Super Friends and fed by a stand-up comedian or 2, but only really blossomed in the early days of the internet. "Talking to fish" became a joke, which is a perfectly funny joke, but has nothing to do with the actual comics. Aquaman also rules a land of advanced tech and magic, goes on cool sword & sorcery type underwater quests, has slightly enhanced sight and hearing on land, and - though I don't care for the near Kryptonian level power-up the New52 gave him in this regard - has always had at least Spider-Man level strength and durability thanks to living on the ocean floor. Plus, controling sea life includes sharks, whales, and - in the DCU - all manner of sea monster-type creatures. So he's certainly way ahead of powerless Batman and Robin sitting across from him in the Hall of Justice. I only have a bit of his Adventure Comics run, but that Aparo art is great. Plus, by ducking his head at the right moment, he could deflect Green Lantern's power ring beam off his yellow hair. That actually happened! |
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Post by Calamas on Sept 13, 2016 14:18:10 GMT -5
The first three comics I’d ever bought, off the newsstand, at age 14, which includes the death of “Aquababy.” Coming up on forty years ago:  Somehow I'm still here. |
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