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Ed Love Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 05 October 2004 Location: United States Posts: 2712
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Posted: 21 June 2007 at 5:42am | IP Logged | 1
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C Aquaman and Green Arrow didn't get Silver Age revamps because they
were continuously in print since the dawn of superhero comics. They
were kept alive through back-up stories by Mort Weisinger, possibly
because they were his creations.
Most of those stories pre-date the FF and Namor's return. That's something important to consider, context. These stories do date to when there weren't that many superhero comics and stories around any more. These are pretty much standard for the time, heroes more often than not out-thought their adversaries.
Yet, while Aquaman rarely threw a punch, Namor's title died in the golden-age, couldn't keep one afloat in the 50's and when brought back stuck with a secondary superhero team while Aquaman stayed continuously in print either in back up stories, his own title, and as a member of their flagship team. Who's the real king of the sea?
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 132135
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Posted: 21 June 2007 at 7:06am | IP Logged | 2
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Sad to think that talented artists like Ramona Fradon
and Nick Cardy were wasted on pap like this.
***
Reading those stories when they were first
published -- when I was the right age, actually part
for the target audience -- I found them enormously
enjoyable.
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Eric Lund Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 15 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 2074
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Posted: 21 June 2007 at 7:27am | IP Logged | 3
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I am not sure where alll the hate comes from, from FANBOYS that don't like Aquaman... as a kid I thought he was awesome and still do... He has one of the most striking uniforms in all of comics and is as recognizable as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Spider-Man...
He is very cool....I think he was one of the first characters that FANBOYS decided wasn't KEWL... Little known fact was that Alan Davis was initially set to do an Aquaman mini-series as his first DC assignment but was talked out of it and told to do Batman and the Outsiders instead as a better career move... The mind wonders what could have happened with Alan Davis doing an Aquaman run even if it was just a mini....
A Miller or Byrne or Perez level creator in the mid-80s could have really made Aquaman a stand out character... Shame he never got his due....
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Aric Shapiro Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 4349
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Posted: 21 June 2007 at 7:39am | IP Logged | 4
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Imagine the possibilities.....
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Andrew Hess Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 9842
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Posted: 21 June 2007 at 7:43am | IP Logged | 5
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Like I mentioned in the retcon thread, I just found out that Aquaman was originally the son of a scientist and that the two of them found the lost cities of Atlantis. Aquaman's father used the Atlantian science to make Aquaman able to live underwater (and presumably communicate with fish).
It wasn't until around 1959, with these issues in the Showcase volume, that Aquaman's origin was changed to a rough approximation of Namor's origin; maybe because Aquaman's original origin hadn't been referenced for a while?
In any case, Aquaman was created as a thinking hero. He threw his share of punches, especially during the war years, but he wasn't presented as a rough and tumble brawler; Namor on the other hand has always been a fighter.
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John Bodin Byrne Robotics Member
Purveyor of Rare Items
Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 3911
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Posted: 21 June 2007 at 7:45am | IP Logged | 6
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Aquaman truly ROCKS in the current Justice mini-series.
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Bruce Buchanan Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 14 June 2006 Location: United States Posts: 4797
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Posted: 21 June 2007 at 8:29am | IP Logged | 7
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I admit, I've read very little Aquaman. But what I've seen never did much for me.
To me, there's nothing about the character that ever drew me in, even as a kid. I never really understood what the character was about or what motivated him. I don't remember hearing about any great Aquaman villains or classic stories. I dunno...he always seemed pretty generic to me - and that's an opinion I've heard from other comics readers. It's not that anyone hates Aquaman, it's just that no one is excited about him.
But I'm not set on that opinion - I'm more than willing to be convinced that I'm wrong. Can any Aqua-fans tell me 1. why I should like Aquaman and 2. what are his best stories?
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Brandon Carter Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 2338
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Posted: 21 June 2007 at 8:46am | IP Logged | 8
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Aquaman did get a revamp when Dick Giordano took over as editor in 1968, and brought in his former Charlton associates Steve Skeates and Jim Aparo. This was issues #40 to 56 of Aquaman's own title. I'd say it's the best Aquaman run ever, based on the handful of issues I've got.
****
I really enjoyed this run, at least the ones that were reprinted in Adventure Comics Digest in the early 80's.
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Ron Chevrier Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 1641
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Posted: 21 June 2007 at 9:18am | IP Logged | 9
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John Byrne
"Reading those stories when they were first
published -- when I was the right age, actually part
for the target audience -- I found them enormously
enjoyable."
A valid point, JB. I guess I'm judging compared to the material in
Green Lantern, Flash, Atom, and Hawkman that was coming out around the
same time, and finding that, in hindsight, the Aquaman work tends to
come up short, storywise.
It seems to me that the writers of those particular Aquaman
stories had taken such great pains to portray Aquaman as the "Nice-guy
of the Seas", that they had removed whatever edge the character may
have had.
I concede that the fifty or so years (egads!) of comics storytelling
that have passed since these stories were published have colored my
judgement, but I did not find Aquaman's adventures to be as engaging as
those of his contemporaries.
And, short of the miraculous return of Jim Aparo, I would love to see a John Byrne-drawn Aquaman title.
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Thomas Moudry Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 5060
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Posted: 21 June 2007 at 9:30am | IP Logged | 10
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Ramona Fradon is an amazing artist!
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Eric Lund Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 15 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 2074
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Posted: 21 June 2007 at 9:48am | IP Logged | 11
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1. Because he can communicate with other life forms and some of the oldest creatures on the planet... whales. These creatures are his friends and would defend him to the death. He lives in the most fantastic environment on the planet. He can survive the pressure at the bottom most dephs of the ocean so he is much more dense than an average human. He can swim at fantastic speeds, has super strength, can see underwater, extremely noble.... he is a King, he protects 2/3 of the planets surface. He has a fantastic array of villains.. Ocean Master, Black Manta, The Fisherman, O.G.R.E. Batman describes him as a "giant of man with a grip of steel" and generally was in awe of him... (from his appearance in Brave and Bold) He has one of the coolest uniforms around... the Orange and Green combo really stands out.
Aquaman was the first married hero with a kid
2. Aquaman 40 to 67 by Jim Aparo and Don Newton are AWESOME as well as Aparo's run in Adventure comics 441 -452 and then a very cool run by Dick Giordano in 475-478
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Kurt Anderson Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 18 November 2005 Location: United States Posts: 2035
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Posted: 21 June 2007 at 9:55am | IP Logged | 12
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Around the third Aquaman Showcase, we'll get to where Cardy cut loose with his cover designs. His interiors matched the increase in the character's seriousness, but the covers took the series to a new level.
When those covers first appeared in the DC house ads.... Good Lord I wanted to buy those comics.
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