Because I wasn't really much of a Namor fan or reader, I have to take DC's version/s, both the Lori Lemaris Atlantis and the Aquaman Atlantis, particularly during the Skeates-Aparo run. Forget any real scientific justifications for the Atlanteans' ability to survive, let alone flourish, beneath the immensely deep and dark oceans, because, well, because, otherwise, no stories.

The Lemaris Atlantis was fanciful and innocent, and used just infrequently enough that any questions its existence raised were quickly forgotten. It seemed a bit of an underwater Eden, an asexual, egalitarian utopia.

Aquaman's Atlantis of the late 60s, meanwhile, reflected the turmoil of the surface world, with generational clashes, an anti-war group, political corruption and intrigue, and nicely developed characters, like Aquaman's friend and counselor, the scientist Vulko, and Aquaman's ally-turned-nemesis, the power-hungry Narkran. (Whose name, intentional or not, reminded this young liberal of "Nixon," especially when coupled with his hair, which gradually became more wavy, as Nixon's was always depicted in editorial cartoons.)



It was perfect that Skeates never spent much time at all explaining any of the technology or science that allowed Atlantis to exist, unlike, say a Roy Thomas-written Aquaman book might have. Atlantis just was. Skeates' scripts made for a compelling saga. Aparo's layouts, costumes and architectural designs did more than add to the futuristic look of Atlantis; they simply turned Atlantis into a credible alternate reality. Their run was underappreciated, if not unappreciated by many at the time, I think, perhaps because Aquaman was considered a second-tier title. (What sales reports I've seen show the title steadily losing ground. NHow reliable any of these truly were, I don't know, but however you cut it, Aquaman wasn't selling.)

But... if you were reading DC then, you knew that Aquaman was something special, clealry one of DC's consistently superb books for nigh on three years.

DC's Atlantis on the strength of the Atlantis Chronicles by Peter David and Esteban Maroto alone.



This is a well-written "historical fantasy" with gorgeous art (and excellent visual storytelling) by Maroto. I'm not sure where it stands in terms of "official" versions of Atlantis any more, and don't really care, as for me, it's the best version of Atlantis presented anywhere by the big 2. It gives a sense of weight and depth to Atlantean culture and history, tells engaging stories with well-developed characters, and has an internal consistency that provides a sense of verisimilitude to the whole thing. It also presented a culture that seemed to account for being underwater as part of it's building blocks, and not just as window dressing for another "other" place that all seem rather the same bland thing with the furniture rearranged to make it look different without actually being different or unique. .

If we ignore that mini-series, I still think DC has done a better job overall of giving Atlantis a place in their geopolitical construct of their universe than Marvel has. Atlantis feels like it has more presence and impact on the infrastructure of the DC Universe (at least in the 21st century publishing history) than it does on the Marvel Universe, where it feels ignored until they need some event and suddenly someone remembers Atlantis and it becomes a plot puppet for whatever event they are doing and is soon forgotten again when it concludes.

-M

Excellent thread idea and a great first question! Unfortunately, I have no preference one way or the other, but I've been mulling reading Atlantis Chronicles for the past few days and now mrp has made the choice for me.