Aquaman and the Others: Future's End #1 - Nov. 2014

Comics Weekend "The Other" by Dan Jurgens, Sean Chen, Mark Irwin, and Matt Mila.

Two of The Others, Prisoner of War and Aaron, are attacked by the Dead King, only to be interrupted by:

Using his trident, the Dead King knocks Vostok's helmet off, rendering him unconscious. Ya'Wara arrives to rescue him, leaving their opponent to don the helmet himself.

Meanwhile, in Atlantis, former lovers Aquaman and Mera talk through a set of prison bars, discussing how far apart they've come in such a short time:

With Aquaman "missing", The Others are left to fend for themselves and go after the Dead King to get Vostok's helmet back. In the battle, The Operative takes a knife in the stomach, while Aquaman calls on a finny friend to help him escape his enforced incarceration.

The Dead King, now aligned with Mera, demands to have the Atlantean key returned to him. Aquaman arrives, giving Aaron time to collect all the Atlantean relics, who grabs the scepter and ends this whole thing once and for all, by separating the Dead King's head from his shoulders:

...not the end!


While still skeptical of this whole "event", I enjoyed this installment. Aquaman and Mera's big scene is well done; even though they're at odds, it's nice to see them speak to one another as former lovers--there's still that affection and respect there, despite all that has happened.

I also liked Sean Chen and Mark Irwin's art quite a bit, it has a simple, streamlined look that I think wears well on The Others. I hope this isn't the last time we get to see them on an Aqua-title!

Aquaman: Futures End #1 - Oct. 2014

Comics Weekend "Long Live the Dead King" by Dan Jurgens, Alvaro Martinez, Raul Fernandez, and Chris Sotomayor.

It's five years in the future, and in Anarctica, Vulko and Tula are on some sort of secret mission deep at the bottom of the ocean. Meanwhile, on the "future Atlantean outpost" known as Atlantis Island, two members of The Others are under attack from some Atlanteans, who don't like the idea of this place at all. But their attack is short lived:

Aquaman manages to fight them off, but allows them to return to the sea. We learn things have been pretty bad the last five years: war has come, which led to Xebel being mostly wiped out. The refugees from that dimension have come to our world and taken up residence in Atlantis, causing all sorts of problems, both social and physical. Aquaman helped establish Atlantis Island as a way to draw attention to his people's plight from the rest of the world, but tensions are running high. Luckily he has someone to go home to:

...what the what? Where's Mera?!?

Mera is at one of the Xebel refugee camps, watching her people starve. She has had enough, and confronts her former love when he comes back to Atlantis. Aquaman is trying to deal with the larger political picture, but Mera, concerned about her people starving, has no time for that. They engage in a brief fight, but clearly Aquaman has no interest in battling his former love. He accuses Mera of being more upset about..."her", but Mera insists it's about the people.

As if things weren't bad enough, the Dead King of Atlantis returns, defeats Aquaman, and reclaims the throne, promising to restore Atlantis to its glory, or die trying. And he has help:

Of course, to be continued!


Alt future stories are always fun, because they allow creators to engage in storylines they would normally never get to do. Here we get to see Aquaman and Mera at odds (not that that's new, considering their pre-New 52 history), not to mention Aquaman and Ya'Wara as a couple. Let's hope none of this ever comes to pass in the "real" world!

Some nice artwork by Alvaro Martinez and Raul Fernandez, I especially liked this moody shot of Mera as she moves into the shadows, in more ways than one:

Young Romance Special - 2013

"The Lighthouse" by Cecil Costellucci and Inaki Miranda.

Our story opens in Amnesty Bay, and a storm is a-brewing:

Via the letters, Mera reads the story of Samuel Wentworth and Felicity Markham, who met one night at a party. Many men have tried to woo Felicity, but her father has always kept all potential suitors at bay. Wentworth is determined however, and during a dance with Felicity they make a connection--only to have it interrupted when Felicity's father yanks her away from the sailor:

That night, awaiting the storm, Aquaman and Mera talk about what happened to Felicity. Suddenly the lights go out in the lighthouse, just as they did years ago. Mera, determined to not let a ship get lost, heads out into the choppy seas, with Aquaman right behind.

This did not happen with Felicity and her father, who see the wreckage of ships floating in the water--but there is no sign of Samuel's ship, the Autumn's Daughter. Her father is sure Samuel is dead, but Felicity has hope, something Aquaman and Mera are providing in the present:

Aquaman, with the help of his finny friends, helps direct ships tossed in the waves to safety, as Mera controls the water to lessen the storm's imact.

Hours later as the storm passes and the sun pops out of the clouds, Mera emerges with the figurehead from the Autumn's Daughter, buried in the ocean floor for so long. Arthur and Mera embrace, just as the ghosts of Samuel and Felicity do--two couple reunited. The End.

In contrast to the less-than-romantic cover (which would befit a Young Dry Hump Special, should DC decide to put that out), this is a sweet, gooey story, something you'd see in a romance novel, but for the inclusion of superheroes. I really liked the work of Inaki Miranda, someone whose work I was only dimly aware of before now. Miranda's gentle line fits the story quite well, and manages to keep everything in the story clear despite having to fit a lot in just a few pages. I'd love to see him tackle Aquaman and Mera again.

All in all, a fun little diversion, and only fitting that DC comics' premier superhero couple get to appear in a Valentine's Day special. More holiday specials, more Aquaman and Mera please!

Note: Suggested musical accompaniment while reading this story is "Brandy(You're A Fine Girl)" by Looking Glass

DC Super-Stars #7 Splash by Jim Aparo

Speaking of awesome Aquaman artists...

I was digging through some old Aquaman comics the other day (I tend to do that) and one of them was DC Super-Stars #7, an omnibus title that for this particular issue focused on Aquaman, a book we covered on the Shrine way back in 2007.

The book featured all reprints, so there wasn't much to discuss, but I somehow had forgotten to mention this fantastic, brand-new splash page by my all-time favorite Aquaman artist, the late great Jim Aparo!

This splash is a whole lot of awesome crammed into a tiny space: you've got Aquaman and Aqualad each pounding the kelp out of some bad guys, an iconic shot of the whole Aqua-Family, and Topo acting as Master of Ceremonies, all wrapped up in a really spiffy design. Man, was Jim Aparo good!

Justice League Detroit: The Space Between

Tomorrow marks another issue of DC's pre-New 52 celebration of comic book decades-gone-by RetroActive series, with an installment featuring a story from the 1980's JLA. In-between the League's original 200+ issue run during which the membership grew organically from 7 to 15 members (yes, we include the Phantom Stranger!) and the "Bwah ha ha," America-less League of the late 80's & early 90's, existed the version that became known affectionately (if not a bit mockingly) as the Justice League Detroit:

Conceived and written by the legendary Gerry Conway (click here for an exclusive Shrine interview with GC), this very first new incarnation of the JLA was inspired by the successful pairing of iconic characters with new original creations in better selling books of the day such as The New Teen Titans and Batman & the Outsiders. With Aquaman as the leader (yay!), JLD included Zatanna, Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man (and wife Sue) with newbies Vibe, Vixen, Gypsy & Steel.

The Detroit League's stories ran from JLA #233-261, a mere 28 issues (Aquaman departed the series after being reunited with Mera in issue #243), but they remain a significant footnote in the JLA's more than fifty-year history. In fact, while "diversity" is the comics industry buzzword of the moment, it was in this brief incarnation that the League saw its first two non-Caucasian, non-alien, non-android members in Vixen and Vibe added to its roll call.

So it is with both surprise and anticipation that the Aquaman Shrine looks forward to one last look at this under-appreciated run of the original Justice League of America series as we are sure it will be a long time (if ever) before they are seen again. You can pick up DC RetroActive: Justice League of America - the 80's at your favorite LCS tomorrow. Be sure to drop us a line and let us know what you think!

For Further Reading: The Aquaman Shrine's long-dormant sister site, JLA Satellite.com, will be focusing on this book specifically later in the week!

Son of Superman - 1999

Comics Weekend "Son of Superman" by Howard Chaykin, David Tischman, J.H. Williams III, and Mick Gray.

With Emperor Aquaman nowhere to be seen in this week's Flashpoint books (at least not significantly), I thought the Shrine would look at another alt-DCU Aquaman, the one that appeared in 1999's Son of Superman Elseworlds one-shot.

At a whopping 94 pages, Son of Superman is a big story, and Aquaman--as a member of the now-publicly funded JLA--doesn't play that significant a role, so I'm not going to get into all the nitty gritty of the story. Suffice it to say, in this world, young Jon Kent, son of Superman and Lois Lane, learns he has super powers like his father. For his part, Superman has been gone for many years, his whereabouts unknown.

Pete Ross and Lana Lang have started a "terrorist" organization that uses Superman's "S" shield as its symbol, in an attempt to fight back against Lex Luthor, who is now a respectable global figure and in charge of the JLA. We get our first glimpse of Aquaman and his teammates when they investigate a strike by Ross and Lang:

Howard Chaykin, whose general apathy for mainstream superheroes is well known, adds little details that chip away at the facade of these supposed perfect people, like when after a long sequence with the Kents, we catch up with the JLA, and what are they talking about? The business--literally--of being a superhero:

Eventually, the original Superman is found, held in captivity for almost two decades. At first, he is horrified at how his name and image have been used, and his son Jon eventually convinces Superman to see their side of it, especially since it was Luthor who was behind his old foe's imprisonment!

With Superman now on the "other side", the JLA has to decide what to do:

Turns out that one of the JLA is playing both sides against the middle, and it sparks a battle among the team. Aquaman bravely decides to take on Wonder Woman--which works, albeit briefly (click the pages to fully appreciate the sweet artwork):

That "Aarrggh!" is pretty much it for Aquaman in Son of Superman. After the JLA is defeated, they decide to retire to "spend more time with their families", a classic political dodge. Bruce Wayne hangs up the cowl and takes another route to changing the world: running for President. Meanwhile, young Jon Kent dons the familiar costume, bringing the world a new Superman.


I found Son of Superman quite entertaining; Howard Chaykin is never boring, even if the cynicism can get a bit thick. Part of me (the part that was inspired to start a whole website devoted to Aquaman) hates to see the Sea King portrayed this way: old, cynical, mercenary, a corporate tool. But of course, these Elseworlds stories were not always meant to comfort.

The work of J.H. Williams III (and Mick Gray) is, of course, excellent--there's scenes of quiet characterization as well as slam-bang action, and Williams excels at both. With his intricate designs, I'd love to see him take on Aquaman in some longer form than just the couple of pages he gets here.


I had never read Son of Superman until last week, it was F.O.A.M.er Brent Almond who informed me Aquaman was even in it, and was generous enough to provide the Shrine with a copy of the book. Very much appreciated, thanks Brent!

JLX #1 - April 1996

"A League of Their Own!" by Gerard Jones, Mark Waid, Howard Porter, and John Dell.

This book hits the ground running--er, flying--with the Justice League Avengers fighting a battle against their former teammates:

The "other side" is led by Aqua-Mariner, who is hesitant about being the cause of his friends to fight one another.

During the battle, Angel-Hawk is severely injured, and plunges into the water. He's rescued by Captain Marvel:

Aqua-Mariner and his friends depart, on their search for Atlantis. Using clues found via mystical totem called the Serpent Crown, they head deep into the ocean to where they think Atlantis is.

Unfortunately, the ship they're in starts to buckle from the deep ocean pressures, and Aqua-Mariner has to literally keep the roof from falling in, using his amazing strength.

But finally they reach Atlantis...empty, and silent as a tomb. Aqua-Mariner is aghast:

The attackers are Will Magnus and his army of Sentinels, and Aqua-Mariner and his friends find themselves in another fight. Magnus' beloved sentinel Jocasta is destroyed, and Marco Xavier shows himself to be who we would know as the Martian Manhunter.

Magnus, cradling Jocasta's severed head, departs, promising a rematch and "death for mutant-kind." Some of the team want to chase after him, but J'onn--the last survivor of the Skrull race--advises they stay behind to search for any Atlantean survivors.

Aqua-Mariner agrees, and his team of mutant friends prepare for their next mission:

Not to be continued!


Man, when it comes to comics, this whole Amalgam thing is about as "inside baseball" as it gets. I missed all of it at the time (the mid-90s were a low comic-buying-time for me, and by 1996 I was just sort of getting back into it in force), so I'm sure only reading this one book (out of the dozen or so they put out) doesn't help in understanding what's going on--but of course that's part of the point, since this book footnotes other comics that don't exist.

Combining Aquaman and Sub-Mariner is a natural of course, but there wasn't too far to go with him--Aquaman is routinely criticized as a jerk, and Subby is an even bigger jerk, not making for the most empathetic of heroes. But thanks to artists Porter and Dell, he sure looks good though!


(For further reading, check out this page which explains all the fake publishing history of Aqua-Mariner!)

JLA: Secret Origins - 2002

"JLA: Secret Origins" by Paul Dini and Alex Ross.

JLA: Secret Origins was a sort of stop-gap book that came after the Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman/Shazam! quartet of books but before the JLA: Liberty and Justice extravaganza that capped off the Dini/Ross oversized collaborations.

It featured each hero getting a two-page origin sequence, each done in an (almost) monochromatic tone. Dini and Ross' love for the Silver Age iterations of these characters is front and center, evidenced as much as anywhere with Aquaman:

Not only is this Aquaman the same one from the Silver Age, but in this quasi-Earth-Ross universe, Arthur is still married and a father. I'm hard-pressed to argue with that point of view.

The book also features some unpublished preliminary sketches by Ross, some advertising art, and brief interviews with both Dini and Ross. Both of them specifically mention Aquaman and their feelings toward the character:

Even though it was never realistically going to happen, some part of my lizard brain is still sorry that Aquaman didn't get his own Dini/Ross oversized book. Not only would it have made up for the fact that Aquaman never got his own DC treasury comic, but Ross' obvious affection for the character probably would have guaranteed it would have been one of the single greatest Aquaman stories ever.

That said, it was great to finally have him show up here, and then in JLA: Liberty and Justice. And who knows? Maybe one day...

JLA: Liberty and Justice - 2003

Comics Weekend "Liberty and Justice" by Paul Dini and Alex Ross.

Hoo boy, this is going to be fun!

JLA: Liberty and Justice was the sixth and final of the oversized one-shots by Paul Dini and Alex Ross, published in 2003 and featuring all the members of the League (and a few others!) in a literally world-shaking adventure.

The story opens with each of the original JLAers doing what they do best--being heroes. Martian Manhunter is saving an out-of-control plane, Flash is solving a bank robbery, Green Lantern is stopping a hurricane, and Aquaman is, as always, protecting the seven seas and the creatures that live there:

I've said this before, but these two pages remain for me one of Aquaman's greatest moments, period. I remember reading this book the first time and thinking, when I got to this part, the rest of the book could suck and it would still have been worth it, if just for these two pages. But of course, it didn't...

Anyway, Wonder Woman meets up with Manhunter to tell him that they are wanted at the Pentagon--on a top secret mission.

Manhunter sends out a mental call to the other members. Some, like Superman and Aquaman, are busy. But the others can make it, and one--Batman, of course--is, as Manhunter puts it, "Almost ready before I call him."

Four of the JLAers meet at the Pentagon and are told what the situation is--some sort of mass virus is breaking out, starting in Africa, and spreading at a rate previously unseen on Earth. Manhunter hears Batman enter this thoughts, which briefly startles him:

Manhunter, Flash, and Green Lantern head for the hot spot, and find hundreds of victims of the outbreak--but they're not dead; instead, they are all completely paralyzed. Flash and GL find the epicenter of the virus, a small meteorite. Meanwhile, Manhunter--changing form into a human relief worker--comforts the sick.

Batman sends a message asking Flash to bring the meteor to the Batcave, so he can examine it (cutting off communication without answering Wonder Woman's query as to how he tapped into her invisible plane's radio frequency, a wonderfully Batman-esque touch).

Flash is running across the surface of the ocean, carrying the meteor in a protective bubble courtesy GL. Unbeknownst to all of them, Flash's haz-mat suit has a rip in it, and while he's treading across the surface of the water, he grows weak and collapses. Luckily Aquaman is there to save him:

Meanwhile, news of the epidemic can not be contained, and it starts being reported around the world, causing panic!

Aquaman, with Flash in tandem, has sent out a call to the nearest vessel, which is a Russian submarine:

Aquaman, not realizing he too is susceptible to the meteor's effects, passes out. When he wakes up, he finds himself in the brig, along with the Flash.

Not being the most patient of fellows, Aquaman begins pounding on the walls, trying to get his Russian captors to free them. They don't immediately comply, so he starts "asking" a little louder:

...another great Aquaman moment. I love the sheer force on display, brought off perfectly by Ross, as Aquaman pounds through metal.

The Russians draw their guns, but before things get worse, Wonder Woman arrives to rescue them both, and get them and the meteor to the Bat-Cave.

While Green Lantern uses his ring (which only has a few hours of power left) to keep all the victims alive via iron lungs, Batman examines the meteor with the help of another JLAer, The Atom!

The Atom is at first worried Batman doesn't have the experimental chemicals on hand needed to create an anti-dote, but of course he does. Since the virus can mutate near instantly, the Atom needs to see it, for himself, up close. He jumps aboard a needle, and is injected into The Flash's system.

Meanwhile, more news reports are broadcast about the virus, and some begin to question if this crisis should be handled by masked superheroes, "some of whom aren't even human." Oh, that darn Fox News!

The Atom encounters the virus, and relays a message to Batman the precise balance of chemicals needed to counteract it. Batman mixes the medicinal cocktail, and it immediately revives the Flash. He then uses his super-steed to synthesize it in mass quantities, and he takes off.

As chaos begins to break out on the streets of America, Superman (who has joined his teammates at the Bat-Cave), Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and the Atom decide what to do:

We see the JLAers fan out: Green Arrow and Black Canary stop a militia from taking over a small bar (and claiming its waitresses as a "prize"), Hawkman and Hawkgirl stop rioters, and others, like Zatanna, Captain Marvel, Red Tornado, Plastic Man, Elongated Man, and Metamorpho help prevent crime and restore order.

News reports, featuring footage of scary-looking "heroes" like Metamorpho and Plastic Man, help stoke the fires of panic. Even Aquaman and the Atom, not used to urban combat, get in on the action:

Batman stops his old foe Poison Ivy from taking advantage of the panic, and Wonder Woman rounds up a throng of rioters with her Magic Lasso.

One woman, sure the world was ending, decides to end it all by jumping off a bridge. But, luckily...

...no one dies tonight.

Meanwhile, Flash and Green Lantern use their combined powers to create a wind tunnel which will blow the contaminated air into space. The crisis--at least, the easier one--is over.

But there's still a lot of public trust to rebuild, so the next day the JLA makes an address at the United Nations, led by Superman. But as we see, this event is being covered by mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent, so...?

In the middle of Superman's speech, he reveals himself to actually be the Martian Manhunter, who was initially shy about presenting himself so prominently to the people of Earth. He apologizes for the JLA's inadvertent blindness about how people perceive them, and he promises they will work harder at mutual trust, essential for them to do their work. In the back of the main U.N. hall, billionaire industrialist Bruce Wayne smiles.

Manhunter reiterates the League's mission and what it means:

Finally, he and Superman carry the meteorite into space, where Superman immolates it with his heat vision. Gazing at the Earth from space, Manunter hopes one day earthlings will see their home with the childlike wonder that he does. The end.


As you can tell from my breathless description, I simply love this comic. Not only is it a giant, treasury-sized Justice League adventure (something we came close to in the 70s, but never quite got), but its just a great story, perfectly executed.

It features all the classic members of the League (minus Firestorm, one could argue), as well as some heroes that probably should have been on the team, many of them getting a great little moment. Some, like Aquaman, getting more than one great moment. I may be crazy, but I think this would make a great template for a JLA movie.

Alex Ross is a professed Aquaman fan, so I think we can safely assume his significant role in the story is at least partially because of him. That initial two-page sequence should open any Aquaman comic in perpetuity, it so perfectly encapsulates the character in just a few sentences.

(Special Thanks to a F.O.A.M.er, who asked to remain anonymous, who oh-so-helpfully provided me with scans of all this entire book. Couldn't have done it without you!)

DC Universe Online Legends #0

Last week I mentioned the DC Universe Online game, and that same day F.O.A.M.er D.C. Dill sent me this, an all-new comic book that serves as a sort of prequel to the game.

The comic is only about twelve pages, and in many respects is reflective of the game, especially when it comes to the paucity of Aquaman's role in it:

...yep, that's it for Aquaman: two panels, one of them unconscious. I guess it was hard making room for the Sea King when so much panel space is taken up by Wonder Woman's ginormous boobs. He didn't even rate the cover, with Hawkman taking what would normally be Aquaman's spot (no dis to Carter intended; I love Hawkman!).

The comic is a weekly online supplement to the game, revealing details about the storyline and whatnot. I haven't seen any future installments (if there are any yet), so let's all hope Aquaman wakes up from his enforced nap and gets in on the action.

Thanks D.C.!