Aquaman #9 (June 1995)

As a tribute to Peter David, who had passed away recently, I wanted to look at a comic he wrote this week. The man had brought his pen to numerous characters over his long career, and some of his runs on certain characters have become quite influential. As such, I wanted to cover a comic from one of his runs. And since I also wanted to look at more DC stuff here, why not look at another issue of his Aquaman run? We have visited it before, after all. And I'm quite fond of it, so...yeah. This is Aquaman #9!

The cover is a Joe St. Pierre, Howard M. Shum, and Tom McCraw piece. I think it's pretty good. It depicts Orin and Deadline fighting in the sky. Not much else to say about it other than it looks neat.

"Dreaded Deadline Doom"
Writer: Peter David
Penciler: Joe St. Pierre
Inkers: Howard M. Shum, Rodney Ramos
Colorist: Tom McCraw
Letterer: Dan Nakrosis
Editor: Kevin Dooley, Eddie Berganza

The story begins with the mysterious metahuman villain known as Deadline shooting through a coin to demonstrate his skill. We've met this man before, in my review of his first appearance: Starman #15 (October 1989). He admits that being paid in old coins is a new one for him, as he's been paid for his work in many other ways before. He'd have to have the coins checked to ensure they're the real thing, of course.

He asks his employer who he wants whacked. The target? Aquaman! Duh! Well, that makes sense, this is the King of the DC Universe seas' book, after all. He orders Deadline to wait until our hero gets on land, as that is where he's the most vulnerable. Speaking of Aquaman, this is his book, so what's he up to? 

"Yeah, I'm trading this in for a bigger car."

Yeah, they're heading home. They just dealt with a whole adventure that involved the mother of his son Koryak being transformed into an Elemental called Corona, and they're heading home to the kingdom of Poseidonis. Perhaps seeing it will cheer the kid up, but Orin fears that it may not help so much. After all, he's taken to being a bit broody. Like father, like son. The three come up to the city and note that it's gotten crooked. Literally. 

"I swear, I leave this place for five minutes..."

They arrive and a brief conversation with King Thesily, who runs the place. Orin has something else on his mind right now: repairing his harpoon prosthetic. It got damaged by Corona, but he's already contacted STAR Labs and contracted them to make a new one. He asks Dolphin to show Koryak around the city. He also wants to know how Garth, aka Aqualad is doing. Despite his codename, Garth's hardly a "lad" anymore, so Orin thinks he'll be fine.

He turned out to not be fine at all.

Ohhhhhh, Aquaman is not going to be happy that Garth is a spooky scary skeleton...well, when he finds out, anyway. Because he's at STAR Labs getting his new harpoon hand prosthetic put in. And it's quite purty.

And Peter David wondered why people thought Aquaman had a hook.

It has all sorts of fancy new features! It slices, it dices, and it can cut through an aluminum can in less than a second! The harpoon is also cybernetically linked to Orin, allowing him to control it with his mind like it was his original hand. It can even retract into the casing. Which is when Deadline shows up, with a gun. He blasts at Aquaman, while the former monarch gets the scientist to safety. Afterwards, Deadline hits our man with a gas attack. After the gas weakens the monarch, the assassin plans to finish him off, thinking he'll be a lot easier than Starman ever was.

Back in Poseidonis, Koryak demonstrates his ability to create blasts of "hard water" (think hard light, only water). Vulko notes it's remarkable that he has this ability, as Mera (Orin's ex-wife at the time) could also do it. Koryak couldn't do the things Mera could, but his hard water blasts are more devastating and powerful, able to easily punch a hole in Posedonis guard armor. Vulko wonders how he got this power. After all, Mera came from another dimension. Koryak has no idea; he's just been able to do it for years. I think this was meant to imply there may have been a connection between Koryak and Mera, but my theory is that he's a metahuman. 

So, how's Aquaman doing? Deadline thinks he has the easiest assignment ever. After all, Aquaman has a rep of being a bit of a goofy superhero. He's seen as the guy whose super-gimmick is "swimming and telling fish what to do". At first glance, it would seem kind of goofy. Thing is, this is Peter David's Aquaman. And this Aquaman...is arguably one of the most dangerous men in the entire DC Universe. He easily manages to get through the fog, and they start fighting.

Deadline blasts Aquaman out of the building, realizing that because our man is of the ocean depths, he is quite tougher than the average man. His eyes are adapted to see in low light, so he can find ways past the gas. But the superpowered assassin realizes something: Aquaman can't fly. Well, of course. He's not Namor the Sub-Mariner. He doesn't have the little wings on his ankles. Thus, he can just simply drop the monarch from a very high up in the sky.

As this is going down, Vulko tries to explain to Koryak that the people of Poseidonis have been through a lot, including being conquered. As a result, they're a bit paranoid and untrusting of outsiders. Koryak is both, being the son of Aquaman and a Native Alaskan woman. Say, is Koryak still canon? I keep thinking that he is and is not at the same time. The conversation is interrupted by Koryak witnessing a piece of a building about to fall on some kids. The Son of Aquaman shows that he's just as much of a hero as his father, saving the kids. The Posiedonians nearby are very grateful, which is nice.

Back to dry land! Deadline drops Aquaman, but his new harpoon prosthetic has some new tricks. One of them is the ability to shoot the harpoon/hook. It's attached to a line, which he uses to catch the flying Deadline.

"You nearly punctured my favorite foot, you Aquajerk!"

Deadline tries to get Orin off of him, by blaster and slamming him into buildings. But the prosthetic reels Orin in, allowing him to wreck Deadline's flying discs. The two then end up falling into a sewer. Orin taunts Deadline to take shots at him now, but he's vanished.

Meanwhile, it turns out that Garth wasn't made into a spooky scary skeleton after all. His death was faked, and he has actually washed up...somewhere. 

"This is the fifth time he's washed up on my beach this month!"

The story ends with King Thessily watching over Koryak basking in the praise of his people. The King grumbles about his people seeing him as a figurehead. He can't stand the fact that Aquaman, Koryak, and Dolphin are more beloved than him. He holds up an old coin, revealing he was the man who hired Deadline to kill Aquaman. The story ends with Thessily presumably cursing everyone out. Aquaman, Koryak, Dolphin, and even his own people. And in the next issue, Orin will meet the then-only Green Lantern left: Kyle Rayner. 

I enjoyed this issue. It had a lot of whiz-bang action with the fight between Deadline and Orin, we get some political intrigue, and we also get some character moments. As is also the David style, we also get some bits of humor here and there. I do wish we did get a bit more of Koryak and Orin trying to build a father-son bond, but we did get some intriguing mystery regarding Koryak's hard-water powers. After all, as established earlier, only Mera could do that before, and she was from another dimension. 

One of the things David wanted to do with Aquaman was show that he can be one of the most dangerous superheroes in the DCU, and I think he had done that. Orin is shown here to be no cakewalk for Deadline. He's tough, and he is a fighter who can think on his feet. I also liked the scene with Koryak saving lives on Poseidonis. It helps show that at heart, he's a good man. 

Joe St. Pierre is an artist I don't remember seeing much in Big Two books. Searches on him tried to get me to a Belgian artist who died in 1960. From what I can find, he also worked on Wolverine's book. I do like his style. It almost has a cartoony vibe to it, and I think he would have been a perfect fit for a Plastic Man book. I also liked the panel shapes he used in the beginning when Orin, Koryak, and Dolphin travel to Poseidonis. Helped sell the ides of undersea motion. 

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2018 trade paperback Aquaman by Peter David Book Two. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time, and thank you for everything, Mr. David.

Aquaman #2 (September 1994)

Back in...2019 (My goodness, that's a long time), I took a look at the first issue of Aquaman's fifth ongoing series. It was the beginning of a rather influential era for DC Comics' resident King of the Seven Seas. It's been a while since ol' Arthur Curry graced this blog, and I figured that I should let him take the spotlight again this week. As for what issue to showcase, well, why not the second issue of Peter David's run? Let's look at Aquaman #2!

The cover is a Martin Egeland, Brad Vancata, and Tom McCraw piece. It's really good, if a bit spoilery. It depicts Aquaman's hand being submerged and consumed, presumably thanks to the villain of the last issue. 

"Single Wet Female"
Writer: Peter David
Penciler: Martin Egeland
Inker: Brad Vancata
Colorist: Tom McCraw
Letterer: Dan Nakrosis
Editors: Kevin Dooley, Eddie Berganza
Executive Editor: Jenette Kahn

The story begins with our man Arthur, and Dolphin ending up at a table with Charybdis and a ladyfriend of his.

The lady is named Scylla. Get it? Scylla and Charybdis?

Arthur gets the reference, which Scylla finds impressive. Charybdis asks if Dolphin has anything to add, and she does. In the form of spitting in his face. Both Orin and Dolphin are still trussed up, Charybdis explaining that the devices they're in are meant to drain the two of their powers. So, how is Aqualad doing? 

Yeah, he's alright. Anyway, Charybdis explains why he wants Aquaman's power. He wants it so he can easily get to all of the sunken nuclear submarines around the world. Dolphin's powers have been helpful until now, but the fact that her power was given to her by aliens makes it much harder for him to get them. Since Artie is an Earthman (yes, half-Atlantean, but that's still part of Earth), Charybdis should have an easier time absorbing his powers. Once he gets to these submarines, he plans to detonate them, using their radioactive materials to poison the oceans. Arthur naturally points out that what he's doing...makes no sense.

Yeah. If the Earth's oceans are poisoned, Charybdis is screwed too because he lives on Earth! It doesn't bother him. After all, he and Scylla live in a world of terror. The two of them were the world's premier freelance terrorists, willing to work for anyone with money and a cause. That was...until late last year. Charybdis angrily turns to Scylla, saying he trusted her to blow up a mosque. She was an expert, and the bomb should not have gone off in her hands. Scylla says that enough is enough. She wore the outfit and played along, but she now wants to go home. However, Charybdis is not hearing it.

So, yeah. The "Scylla" we've seen here was not the actual Scylla, as she presumably accidentally blew herself up. Aquaman breaks out and tries to attack Charybdis but gets a tranq dart to the chest for his troubles. So, how's Aqualad doing?

He's still fine. But seriously, he was saved by this mysterious mermaid right here. He thinks she is the late Tula, who died in the Crisis on Infinite Earths. The woman tells him where Aquaman is, and that "Cron One-Eye" will lead him to his mentor. She then leaves, which gets Garth all confused. A pack of sharks arrive, and the leader has one eye. Say hello to Cron One-Eye, everyone! 

Back in Charybdis's base, he puts a mouse in a tank full of piranha fish, hoping he can command the fish to not eat the mouse. It goes as well as you think.

Charybdis is enraged and confused. He has Aquaman's powers. He should have been able to command the fish. Why didn't they obey him? Arthur explains that's not how his power works.

He can talk to sea creatures. He can plead with them. He can bargain with them. He can make suggestions with them. And sometimes they'll obey him if he gives a command. But in general, sea creatures are independent beings with minds of their own. Pirahna are proof of that. Pirahna fish pretty much have only one thought in their minds a lot: EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM FOOD FOOD FOOD FOOD EVERYTHING IS FOOD. Mmm...food...

This is demonstrated with Aqualad and the dolphins. Wait, weren't they supposed to be sharks earlier? Anyway, Charybdis grabs Dolphin and threatens to put her face in the piranha tank unless Arthur teaches him how to use the power to command sea life. Arthur tries to get it through the terrorist's thick head that there is nothing to teach. However, Dolphin is saved by Aqualad's getting a whale to break a hole open in the base. Arthur busts free of his apparatus and attacks Charybdis as the base starts to flood. The terrorist escapes him and heads to his armory. After all, he must have something in there that can blow a hole in the King of Atlantis. But someone is waiting for him.

“Candygram!”

Remember, this is the 90s. In the 90s, a superhero never had problem finding a big crazy-looking gun if they need one. Thing is, Garth is not really used to handling guns, especially big 90s over-the-top guns. As such, he ends up blowing up the armory. 

But it's alright. Garth, Arthur, and Dolphin manage to escape...and so does Charybdis. He flees to some nearby land, and laments how things had gone so wrong. Things never were disastrous when Scylla was around. Arthur finds him and the two brawl. 

Arthur lays a beating on the terrorist, mocking him as a pathetic misogynistic creep, a joke who isn't a tough or clever as he thinks he is. The two struggle, Charybdis claiming that he's what the world made him...as he shoves one of Arthur's hands into the water, the piranhas chomping down on it. Charybdis ends up getting shot in the chest by Dolphin.

Nice little echo there. Earlier in the issue after shooting Scylla, Charybdis remarks to Dolphin "Women. Can't live with 'em". Despite this, he charges at her. Arthur trips him up and he falls into the river, the piranhas chowing down on him. Dolphin goes to check on the injured Arthur...

Yeah. A little ointment and band aids aren't going to fix that. 

I enjoyed this issue. Charybdis isn't a character with a lot of depth. He's basically just a jerkoff misogynist, but it works here. I got a good chuckle from the call-back line between him and Dolphin. I also got a nice laugh out of Garth accidentally blowing up the armory. I like it when superhero stories inject a bit of humor here and there. The genre is inherently silly, so lean into it a bit. I do have to give a shout out to Marty Egeland and Brad Vancata. Their (repectively) pencils and inking work does fit into some of the 90s tropes of superhero art of the era, but outside of the big gun, it's much more...restrained for lack of a better word.  

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2018 trade paperback Aquaman by Peter David: Book One. Thanks for reading this blog entry! See you next time!

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Trailer, My Thoughts

In 2018, Warner Bros. released the film Aquaman. The sixth film in the DC Extended Universe (God, I hate that name), it was directed by James Wan and starred Jason Momoa as the titular superhero as he rises to take his rightful throne of the undersea kingdom of Atlantis. 

The film got mixed reviews from critics, but it was a box office smash. It was actually the first DCEU movie to make over $1 billion, and it became the 20th highest grossing film of all time. I personally liked this movie. Between this one, Shazam, and the first Wonder Woman, I felt the DCEU was taking a step in the right direction. Heck, I personally believed that the DCEU should have just restarted from those three movies. 

The success of the film guaranteed that a sequel would be in the works. Not to mention there was plenty of stuff the first film established that could be built on. Principal photography for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom began in June 2021, and ended in January 2022. Let's look at the trailer!

Man, that would have been an interesting job, carving the WB and DC logos in ice islands.

Four years ago, Arthur Curry didn't have a job. Now, he's King of Atlantis. Talk about turning your life around.

AQUABABY! ...he's gonna die, isn't he?

"HEY, THIS IS NOT A PARKING LOT! WE'RE GROWING CORAL REEFS HERE, YA FREAKIN' CREEP!"

It may be good to be the king, but it's not easy. To be fair, this actually makes a lot of sense. Remember, the Atlanteans didn't think too highly of Arthur when they first saw him in the last movie. It is reasonable to assume he won over some hearts and minds since then, but winning over a kingdom is not easy. 

I love that Black Manta's sub looks like a hammerhead shark.

Yeah, Aquababy's gonna die. 

Is Aquaman fighting Flora Colossi? As in, Groots?!

Orm's got that "haggard hippie" look. He became a Deadhead a few decades too late. And it appears that he's gone through a lot in the last couple years.

Heh heh, the statue bridge was funny.

I can imagine Orm mentally grumbling his disbelief he and Arthur are related.

The seven kingdoms thing was first established in Aquaman, and it was ripe for exploration. 

I do admit, I find the whole "Black Trident" thing a bit cliche, but hey, cliches are not bad.

I think Arthur will lose his hand here. 

Well, this looks fun. I enjoyed the first Aquaman movie, so I think I will give this one a shot. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

Aquaman #1 (August 1994)

After the Crisis on Infinite Earths hit, many characters' histories were altered in some form. Some, like Superman and Wonder Woman, had their entire Silver and Bronze Age histories erased. Others, like Batman and Green Lantern, had their storylines continue on as if nothing ever happened. This was not unexpected, as Crisis was not supposed to be a complete reboot of the DCU, just a streamlining of its history.

Aquaman was the latter case. Much of his Silver and Bronze Age history was kept intact, just some adjustments were made. In 1989, the Legend of Aquaman Special retold his origin story for the Post-Crisis DCU. It was written by Robert Loren Fleming and had art by Keith Giffen (who was a regular collaborator with Fleming), and legendary Superman artist Curt Swan. The creators would reunite for a five-issue miniseries starring the King of the Seven Seas in the same year.

In 1990, Peter David would first dip his writing pen into Aquaman's world, writing a miniseries called The Atlantis Chronicles. It's regarded by David himself as one of the works he's proudest of. This miniseries would tell the history of the DCU's version of Atlantis to the day of Aquaman's birth. This miniseries was notable for introducing Atlan, a powerful mage who was also Aquaman's father. If you saw the movie, you my know who he is. David would go on to write the four issue Aquaman: Time and Tide miniseries from 1993-94. This miniseries delved further into Aquaman's origins.

It would be from this point that David would continue Arthur Curry's adventures in an ongoing series, which was Aquaman's fifth. The first issue of it is what we're going to look at here. This ongoing would be one of his longest-lasting, with 75 issues under its belt. David's work would be incredibly influential in Aquaman's portrayals afterwards. Justice League Unlimited paid homage to David's work, for example. So did the DC Cinematic Universe. Even Jason Momoa's Aquaman seems to have some influence from Peter David's work. So, yeah. Peter David did a lot for the Sea King.

So with that out of the way, let's take a look at Aquaman #1!

The cover is pretty cool. It depicts Aquaman defiantly trying to swim his way through an underwater cyclone with teeth at the bottom. I like this cover. The skeletons are a nice touch, gives a horror vibe to the cover.

"Hitting Bottom!"
Writer: Peter David
Artist: Marty Egeland
Inker: Brad Vancata
Colorist: Tom McCraw
Letterer: Dan Nakrosis
Editors: Eddie Berganza, Kevin Dooley

The story begins with Arthur Curry seemingly being trapped in a watery typhoon. Curry is a powerful swimmer naturally, but even he is having trouble getting his bearings. A figure appears, pointing out that Arthur now knows the truth about his parentage. The figure is supposed to be Atlan. He warns Arthur that things are only going to get worse for the King of the Seas. Arthur screams for him to help, and the mage offers a hand.

Arthur reaches for his father's hand, but his hand passes right through him. It's like trying to grab air. Or a ghost. Atlan remarks Arthur is on his own. Atlan seems to fade into the water, as Arthur is pulled deeper. The bottom of the whirlpool revels a terrifying sight.

OM NOM NOM NOM NOM!

That mouth isn't there to give Arthur a big kiss. Aquaman tries to keep the giant jaws open, screaming for help. However, it's all for naught. The jaws close...and Arthur wakes up. Yup, Arthur just had a bad nightmare. Mera always told him eating kelp pizza before bed would do that.

Up on the surface, a pair of young men are doing a bit of jetski racing. Their race is interrupted by what appeared to be a speeding torpedo, leaving one of the men to wonder if they stumbled into The Hunt for Red October. It wouldn't be a Peter David comic book story without a pop culture reference or two. And speaking of submarines...

A fish swims around the submarine, just looking around. It's a fish. It's not going to do much. The fish encounters the floating corpse of a sailor when a hand grabs it. The hand's owner simply kills the fish by...crushing it, I think? The hand's owner believed they gave the fish mercy.

Back to the jetskiers! What was that thing that raced by them? Well, it was not a what, but a who. It was Garth, aka the original Aqualad. He's been searching for Arthur, as he's seemingly vanished right off the face of the earth...several weeks ago. Garth is able to find Arthur in his old Aquacave. The Aquacave, which first appeared in Adventure Comics #270 (March 1960), was once a sort of headquarters for the Aqua-Family. It would be used as a place where Arthur kept momentos of his various adventures and exploits. He stopped using it regularly after he was crowned King of Atlantis, but he would return to it every so often when he needed solace...like now.

Arthur's been spending the past few weeks doing a LOT of brooding. Man, good thing they're underwater, because I can imagine that Arthur would barely have bathed during that time. He'd smell terrible if he was on land. Garth asks what is going on, but Arthur just wants to be left alone. He's working through some stuff. The future Tempest thinks that's garbage. After all, if Arthur really wanted to be left alone...why would he cloister himself in the old Aquacave where Garth could find him? The younger man thinks that Arthur is letting what's bother him eat him up. He doesn't have the guts to get himself out of his emotional muck, so he's waiting for Garth to pull him out. So, the future sorcerer has a way to do it.

Water-dwellers take knocking sense into others very literally.

Yup. When in doubt, apply Mighty Punch. Garth is fed up with Arthur being all brooding and sad. He finds it dull, and Arthur responds with a kick to the gut. Arthur notes that this was the second time Garth punched him to emphasize a point. The first was in Aquaman #8 (July 1992). This was because Arthur took a dying Garth to his home for treatment from injuries he suffered during the Titans Hunt storyline over in the New Titans book at the time. Thing is...Garth's homeland exiled him. It was because he was born with purple eyes, and according to the superstitions of his homeland of Poseidonis, it meant that he was evil. Yeah.

Anyway, Arthur warns Garth not to do it again. The former King of Atlantis notices that his sidekick has a backpack, and opens it up.

"We're not going to some weird party, are we?"

Arthur wants an explanation for the radiation gear. Garth tells him he can explain en route. The potential for an adventure seems to perk Aquaman up a bit. As for what's going down? Well, the United States Navy lost one of its nuclear submarines: the Triton. The sub is leaking radiation, poisoning the ocean. And the sub is too far down for their salvage operations. So naturally, they want Aquaman and Aqualad to check it out. Neither of them are nuclear physicists, so they would have no idea how to shut down the leak. This makes Arthur smell a rat. They surface and find a Navy helicopter waiting for them. One of the occupants offers to drop a ladder, but the Atlanteans are able to literally hop aboard.

Later, the two Atlanteans are at the sub. Aqualad is a bit freaked out by all the floating dead bodies. Considering what he's seen in the past, I doubt this should freak him out so much. The two swim towards the engine room, passing by a dead cook...who grabs a cleaver. A fish warns Aquaman.

He's alive! ALIIIIIIVE!

Aqualad grabs the not-dead cook, whogrowls that this is not the Titan's concern. He slams the Poseidonian-born hero out of the sub, and slashes him open with his cleaver. Aquaman attacks, but the cook sends him flying with a Mighty Backhand. Aquaman tries to fake injury, letting the man come closer. Arthur Curry goes for a kick, but it's blocked and the man starts bashig him around a la Hulk smashing Loki in the first Avengers movie. He explains that the Navy was warned not to alert the Atlanteans about him, or else he'd crack open the engine, which...would be very bad. Remember, this is a nuclear submarine. Yeah. And he plans to do it anyway. This guy is a villain.

Arthur tears his way out of his radiation suit, and manages to get his legs around the mystery villain's neck, threatening to break it. The villain scoffs at this. After all, Aquaman is a member of the Justice League. He's one of the DCU's biggest superheroes. However, Arthur Curry is not Clark Kent or Bruce Wayne. He's got no code against killing. He's not afraid of any legal consequences. Also, they're in the ocean. Arthur could easily hide his body. And the fourth thing...the Aquaman is not in the best of moods today.

In a twist, the villain is not concerned with Arthur's ethical code. Arthur won't kill him...because our mystery man won't let him. The mystery man introduces himself as Charybdis...and creates a whirlpool. Yup, he named himself after Charybdis, the sea monster/whirlpool from Greek mythology. Funny enough, the mythological Charybdis is often referred to as female. He uses the whirlpool to knock Aquaman unconscious. Before he goes under, Arthur whispers for help...but he hears Atlan saying he's on his own. This...is not the end for the King of the Seas, though.

"Hello, class! I'm Professor Charybdis, and we're going to dissect an Atlantean today!"

Arthur is trussed up on some weird device, like he's being placed on display. Charybdis, wearing that outfit...yeah, it was the 90s. It's hilarious! Look at it! Gold armor on the arms and legs, that wacky loincloth, no shirt...just, just look at it. This is the 90s right here. Anyway, Charybdis assures Arthur he won't kill him, as Arthur being alive is beneficial to the both of them. Arthur sees a figure nearby. Thinking it's Aqualad, Arthur asks if he's alright. It's not Garth, though. Charybdis had another DC water dweller in his clutches: Dolphin.

So, if Dolphin is there...where's Aqualad? Well...he's not in the best of shape right now.

There's blood in the water, and the sharks are ready to frenzy. Too bad Garth hasn't become Tempest yet. His magic powers would be very handy right now.

This comic was pretty good. David is clearly setting up a new status quo for Aquaman. He has said that he saw Aquaman as a contemporary for Tarzan. The long hair and beard is a good way to show that Arthur is a bit of a wild man, and it's clear David is sending him more in a savage direction. He's angrier, more embittered, not the goofy superhero with the goofy power that he had been seen as thanks to Superfriends. Charybdis is very 90s in his look, and he seems to be your standard "crazy mysterious villain". That's pretty much all I can say about him, really. Dolphin's appearance was a surprise. I did like the whole bit with Arthur's prophetic dreams. Nice bit of foreshadowing there.

As for the art, well...let's just say that American comics (especially the Big Two) had a rep for terrible artwork in the 90s. Egeland's art is not the worst from the era, but there is a slight "90s-ness" to it, for lack of a better term. But again, it's not as bad as other comics of the 90s when it comes to art.

If you want to read this comic for yourself, I suggest you hunt down the 2018 trade paperback Aquaman by Peter David, Book One. It collects the first eight issues of his run on the Aquaman book, as well as the Time and Tide miniseries. It also has a fun foreward by David himself. I highly recommend it. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you enjoyed it, spread it around! And if you want to give this blog some additional support, please drop a tip in my Digital Tip Jar! It would be greatly appreciated! Next time, the Secret Wars rage on!

Movie Review: Aquaman (2018)

In 2017, the King of the Seven Seas, Aquaman, made his big debut in the film Justice League. I gave my thoughts on it back in November 2017...and there was a lot more I wanted to say, but I couldn't out of a desire to keep my review as spoiler-free as I could. I thought it was an alright film. Could've been better.

But one of my favorite parts of the movie was Jason Momoa was Aquaman. He was the 'fun guy', and I enjoyed him in the movie. Well, his solo film has arrived, helmed by one James Wan...although I think they should have done this before Justice League. But I'd better stay on topic. Did I enjoy Aquaman's solo debut, or did I think that it should be buried in Davy Jones's locker? Let's find out!

Aquaman stars Jason Momoa as the titular character, reprising the role from Justice League. Basically, there's trouble brewin' in Atlantis. His half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) is in the mood to kick the surface world's butt, and only Arthur Curry can stop him, by retrieving a sword from the stone, I mean, a trident from the ocean. And he's going to need the help of Mera (Amber Heard, also returning from her cameo in Justice League) to find it.

I loved that this film did subvert certain tropes that we often do see in adventure movies like this. I also thought it was great seeing Amber Heard's Mera actually doing things and being awesome. I admit, I was a bit annoyed with her cameo in Justice League, as I kind of felt it was just there just to basically, for a lack of any better term I can think of, provide some cleavage. But here, Mera is important. And that is awesome.

I also liked the visuals of the movie. They were incredible. Seriously, they are spectacular. Kudos to the effects people working on this movie. They were a joy to see. There was one effect that made me tear up. The final battle was incredible, one of the coolest final battles I had ever seen. It helped that it was underwater, which is something we don't see very often...at least, in my experience as a film watcher.

The film has a strong theme of family and love throughout. In a way, love helped save the world. No spoilers. I thought the performances in the movie were really well-done. I enjoyed seeing Willem Dafoe as Vulko, and it was a surprise seeing Dolph Lundgren in a superhero movie. There was a real tone of them trying to move away from the forced darkness of Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman. Zack Snyder was one of the executive producers of this film, but I like to think James Wan and the cast locked him up in a footlocker during the duration of the film's production.

I have heard this film get criticism for it's length. I do agree, I think it felt a bit long, but at the same time, it wasn't bothering me. I did feel the romance between her and Arthur did develop a bit quickly, but it wasn't a big deal for me.

All in all, I really liked Aquaman. It was fun, intense, and very heartwarming in places. Give it a watch. I think the DCEU is finally on track.

Aquaman Trailer, My Thoughts

Aquaman. In the DC Universe, the man born Orin, but named Arthur Curry by humanity is the King of the Seven Seas. He was among the many iconic superheroes that first appeared during the Golden Age of Comics [More Fun Comics #73 (November 1941)]. Since then, Aquaman has become one of DC's most stalwart superheroes. He's appeared in various media, including cartoons and now...his own live action movie.

Jason Momoa has portrayed the King of the Seas in Batman v Superman and Justice League, but now gets to shine on his own in his first solo live-action adventure. The trailer is out, so let's take a look!

It was a dark and stormy night...typical night in the DCEU if Batman v Superman indicated anything.

With Aquaman's dad being a lighthouse keeper, one could argue that Arthur Curry's life could embody the phrase "Started from the bottom, now I'm here".

I'm guessing the woman is Aquaman's mom. Aquamom. Yes, she was the Queen of Atlantis, but I'm still calling her Aquamom.

Yeah, don't mess with Arthur. It makes sharks angry. Angry sharks are nothing to mess with.

Sudden submarine.

You know guys, when Jason Momoa busts into your submarine asking permission to come aboard, the proper response is, "Yeah, sure. Want some snacks?" And they learn this the hard way.

Hi, Mera. Hopefully you'll get to do more in this movie than just be a fanservice moment like in Justice League. Seriously, I think she was only in that movie so there would be some cleavage. God, Justice League could have been so much better...

Orm wants to declare war on the surface world again, huh? Well, I get his anger. If I was named Orm, I'd be angry at the world too.

HOLY TOLEDO, ATLANTIS LOOKS SO AWESOME!

ARTHUR CURRY LIFTING A SUBMARINE TO THE SURFACE. THIS IS ALSO AWESOME!

Hey, Black Manta! How's it going, pal?

Hey, I actually laughed at that bit with Mera and the parachute.

Well, I have to admit, this looks like it could actually be fun. The DCEU has been getting a lot of criticism for being overly dark and gray, but between this and Wonder Woman, it looks like they may finally be learning from their mistakes and being willing to let their films have some fun and color in them. I just wish they did this film before Justice League. Would have helped establish Aquaman and his world so Justice League didn't have to do it. Ah well, what's done is done. I'll give this a shot.

Justice League, My Thoughts

There is a great evil out there. One that threatens to blanket the world in eternal darkness. To combat this evil, one needs...heroes. Not just any heroes, though. I'm talking the World's Greatest Heroes. I'm talking about...the Justice League.

We've seen the League come together and fight the DC Universe's greatest threats in various media beforehand, from animation to comics to even an infamous TV pilot. But they've never come together in live-action film. Until now.

So, what happens here? Well, the League (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg, and the Barry Allen Flash), must come together to face the threat of Steppenwolf, an Apokoliptian warrior who wants to use the Mother Boxes, three artifacts to remake the Earth into essentially...a Hell of some kind.

So, I'm just going to get the negatives out of my system. First of all, some of the designs of the characters, mainly Flash, Cyborg, and Steppenwolf. I hated their designs. Cyborg looked like tin foil. The Flash costume was ugly as sin to me. The Flash costume that Grant Gustin wears as Barry Allen on the Flash TV series looks much better. They should have made it look more like that one. I didn't really dislike Aquaman's appearance, I just wished they made his costume brighter.

And speaking of Steppenwolf, I felt that he was a bit weak as a villain. I didn't quite get why he wanted to destroy Earth. Was it a mission from Darkseid? Or was he just bored? This was where I felt a real lack of MCU-style buildup towards him hurt the character and the film. They should have done solo films with the League members beforehand to expand on Steppenwolf's plans and give a better idea of his motives.

And speaking of the Flash...I'm rather mixed on him. Ezra Miller did a pretty good job with what he was given, and he was enjoyable to watch, but I get the feeling throughout the film that they wanted to use the Wally West incarnation instead of Barry Allen. He felt more like Wally. Also, I wasn't fond of the idea of the Flash being a complete rookie to crimefighting. To me, that should have been Cyborg. I would have preferred that Flash was an experienced crimefighter, but his Rogues, despite having colorful costumes and gimmicks, are more street-level criminals, bank robbers and the like in general. Barry would be inexperienced in dealing with cosmic-level threats like Steppenwolf.

And to be fair, I did enjoy Ezra Miller's performance, and I especially liked his interactions with Cyborg. And also, what was the point of Amber Heard as Mera there? She didn't really do much. A bit of a waste.

Finally, I wish this League had a Green Lantern. Minor spoiler:  We do see a GL in the movie. But it would have been nice to see a Green Lantern among the League. Jessica Cruz would have been a great choice here. She's Latina, so it would have made the League more diverse, and it would have balanced the gender ratio of the team a bit.

Just a thought.

So, with my major complaints out of the way, what did I like about it? Well, I really enjoyed the final battle. It was pretty epic. I also liked the performances. The cast did a pretty enjoyable job all around. Jason Momoa was surprisingly fun as Aquaman. There were some enjoyable moments of humor, and the film felt...rather fun all around. There were quite a few moments that made me smile. The mid-credits scene was rather fun. It was nice to see these heroes actually smiling and making the occasional joke.

Justice League, I have to admit, is flawed. It's a flawed movie. But the thing is...when it comes to the reception the DC Cinematic Universe has gotten from fans and critics so far...this film and Wonder Woman seem to indicate that they are taking steps in the right direction. I do think Wonder Woman was a better film overall, but Justice League is perfectly enjoyable in its own right. It does feel like the makers are slowly embracing the idea they are adapting comic books, and that's nothing to be ashamed of. So, I say, give this film a shot. Your mileage may vary on some things, but compared to the first three DC Cinematic Universe films, Justice League is a breath of fresh air in a way.