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Saturday, December 20, 2008

DC Universe Holiday Special - 2008

sgComics Weekend The return of Classic Aquaman!

Well, sort of--in the new DC Universe Holiday Special (released this week), there's a brand new Aquaman story, written by DC head honcho Dan Didio and drawn by Ian Churchill.

And this time around it isn't Arthur Joseph, or that weird sorta hybrid version hanging around in Final Crisis, but the original King of the Seven Seas we all know and love! It truly is a Christmas miracle.

The story inside is called "Somewhere Beyond The Sea", and starts off promisingly with a solid, iconic shot of our hero:

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...since this book just came out, and all of you should pick up a copy (how better to tell DC you want see Classic Aquaman back?) I'm not going to get into the specifics of the story.

But I will say I enjoyed it--its a nice, straightforward Christmas story--and the artwork by Churchill is fantastic. Aquaman looks tough, dynamic, and heroic, yet recognizably Aquaman:
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Its so nice to read an Aquaman story where he's generally a happy soul, despite all his hardships (which are referenced here). On top of that, he gets to look cool as he does his superhero stuff.

I don't expect Didio to do any more Aquaman writing than this little one-off, but I will say, I hope that this is the direction DC intends to take our hero in the future.
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Of course, there's other exciting Aqua-News going around--these are the upcoming Aquaman and Black Manta figures for the Brave and the Bold line, and I must say they look pretty spiffy to me--both the figures and the packaging.

Man, do I wish these were on store shelves in time for this Christmas--I'd buy as many as I could and hand them out the way Rockefeller gave away dimes.

Thanks to F.O.A.M. member Glenn Walker for the tip!
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This...intriguing image is by one of my all-time favorite artists, Kyle Baker, of Aquaman and Hawkman in a pitched battle with a T-Rex.

Baker mentions its from an upcoming "Hawkman project" but there's...something about the way he describes it (and his own work on it) that makes me feel like maybe he's been sarcastic, or its all a big joke, or something. I can't quite put my finger on it. Click the image to read the post from his blog and judge for yourself.

(By the way--I don't know if I've ever mentioned this before, but now's a good a time as any--if I ever got put in charge of DC, one of the first new books I'd start is a reboot of Adventure Comics, and fill it with four solo strips--Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, The Phantom Stranger, and Plastic Man, once again by Kyle Baker.)

Thanks to newest F.O.A.M. member Brian Knippenberg for the tip! Brian, welcome to F.O.A.M.!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I appreciate being a newly-inducted member of F.O.A.M., rob!, thanks! Just thought to mention that Adventure Comics is indeed getting a reboot. In February, we will see Adventure Comics #0 for $1.00, which will have a reprint of the first appearance of the Legion of Super-Heroes. There will also be 8 new pages, part of a back-up feature that will run in all of DC Comics for a while called "Origins & Omens", which will detail who or what will be featured in the new Adventure Comics. I do know that originally it was meant to feature Mon-El as the lead feature, but he will instead be in Superman for the time being. We'll find out who the new lead feature is in the Origins & Omens section of Adv. #0. No word yet as to the format yet. Hopefully, it will once again be an anthology returning many of the characters who once graced it's pages.

Anonymous said...

Also, about those Brave & Bold figures...the cool, unique part about them is that..."each figure will star Snap and Switch technology allowing fans to reconfigure each figure's accessories into multiple gadgets on different plug-in points. Batman's jet pack becomes his battle armor, or instead, plug it into Blue Beetle to arm an ally. Snap and Switch features even work across the line letting you reconfigure vehicle parts as well."

http://www.mattycollector.com/store/matty/ContentTheme/pbPage.News

Joe Huber said...

I really enjoyed the Aquaman feature in the Holiday special, but mainly for the art only. The story line was really good up until the end. I won't reveal too much, but after getting to the last page I was like "meh..."

The art blew me away-I hope that Churchill gets to be a part of any revamp that they might consider. As I read more of the DC Nation columns though, I become more concerned that dead Arthur is going to be a Black Lantern.

The Brave and the Bold figures look cool, but I just can't get excited over the "connectability" of the various pieces and parts. They are great for the kids, but as an older collector, I might actually pass on them.

Wings1295 said...

I have been so far out of the DC loop that I wasn't even aware of this coming out. Might pick it up, would be the first time I hit the comic store in almost a year, for comics anyway.

The action figures are cool enough, always good to have the Sea King on toy shelves!

SEAsons Greetings everyone!

Anonymous said...

The Brave and the Bold toys are on the shelves! I just got back from Target and saw three different Batman variations and a Kanjar Ro figure. My pulse was racing as I went through them on the hooks, thinking, "What if there's an Aquaman?!" Unfortunately, no such luck. But keep your eyes open, everybody. They could be coming to a toy department near you.

thedarknight said...

Wow.
Ian Churchill was always a master of drawing Cable+Domino, but seeing him draw the real Aquaman makes me wish he would do a regular title!!

Thanks for the tip, now I gotta somehow track down this issue