] type='image/vnd.microsoft.icon'/>

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Aquaman Meets The Blackhawks?

sg
No, this isn't an episode of Surf & Turf: The Animated Series. (Oh, if only...)

This still, from a presumably unproduced episode of Filmation's Aquaman animated series, appeared in the back of Les Daniel's
DC Comics encyclopedia, published way back in 1995.

Maddeningly, Daniels doesn't provide any context for the still other than the caption seen above. But since The Blackhawks never showed up on the show, it's a safe bet that this team-up didn't get much past this. Too bad, Aquaman and the Blackhawks pounding the crap out of some would-be alien conquerors sounds like fun five or six minutes.

I had forgotten all about this still until newest F.O.A.M. member
Marc Tyler Nobleman asked me about it, and generously scanned it in for me to post here.

Thanks Marc, welcome to F.O.A.M.!


Update: As reflected in the comments, there was an article in an issue of Back Issue! that explained where the above piece came from and what it was for.

I went and found it, it was in the fifth issue in a piece written by Darren McNeil:

sg
So this was a "presentation drawing", nothing more. Ok, good to know.

But now I know there were--are?--more out there, featuring Filmation Aquaman cavorting with The Flash, Metamorpho, Plastic Man, The Doom Patrol, the Metal Men, and B'Wana Beast! Great Neptune!

13 comments:

Plaidstallions said...

It's from a Filmation concept that they were pitching, they wanted to add more heroes such as the Black Hawks, Metamorho and Bwana Beast to the Saturday Morning Rouster.

I have an article on it somewhere...

rob! said...

oh, man, ANINMATED B'wana Beast?!?

>>I have an article on it somewhere...<<

start digging!

Plaidstallions said...

will do, it's a back issue that has it i belive.
Lots of weird concepts, superhero monsters, batman in outer space...

rob! said...

oh, i have all the BIs, i'll look for it. funny, i don't remember that article!

Unknown said...

I've been looking at that picture for years wondering what it really was.

I knew about the Metamorpho plans, but man, red jacket animated Blackhawks just puts me in fanboy heaven...

Somebody find that BI please! :-)

Anonymous said...

I THINK that article is in the issue with the Alex Ross Lynda Carter cover.

Chris

Plaidstallions said...

Chris is right, that's the issue.

Doug said...

Awesomeness! I knew about the Metamorpho (which, I seem to recall was in some phase of production) cartoon, but not the rest of this group. Seems like the B&B concept 40 years early.

The Doom Patrol imagery calls out to me, though. Must find…

Anonymous said...

(Thanks for the contributions, all.)

Neat stuff indeed - and I recall the mentions in National Pubs. at the time...

...but, MAN - talk about catching the 'Hawks in their lowest "oh, how the mighty have fallen" version!

Best,
-Craig W.

Unknown said...

Oh come on now, wich2, the red jacket 'Hawks were cool. The low point was when they got those stupid super powers and nicknames. Groan...

Anonymous said...

Glenn, I'll grant you that the "Super-Hawks" were even worse!
But the Red-Suits were basically just Challs rippoffs.

I'll stick with the Dirty Nazi/Commie fighters, by Crandall, Boyette, Evans, Speigle, etc.!

Great weekend,
-Craig W.

Rick L. Phillips said...

Wow! So Aquaman's series was so popular they were going to team him up each week with other DC heroes to give them pilots for new shows! Too bad Batman's live show was so popular that Aquaman got bumped from his own show. Doesn't seem fair to me. He should have kept his own series and give Batman a separate new show.

hobbyfan said...

Bat-mania was dying out, actually, since the live-action Batman ended in March '68, and due to 20th Century Fox having the rights to Batman & Robin at the time, Filmation couldn't use the Dynamic Duo for the Justice League & Teen Titans shorts during the Superman-Aquaman Hour of Adventure.

Once the live-action Batman ended, Filmation was free to do a Bat-toon, and it made sense for CBS to pick it up, since ABC seemingly had divested itself of the Bat-phenomenon....!