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Saturday, January 24, 2009

Aquaman (Vol.6) #66 - April 2000

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Comics Weekend "Common Battleground"

Continuing our look at Dan Jurgens and Steve Epting's run (although this issue is guest-pencilled by Paul Ryan) on the sixth volume of Aquaman, we left off last weekend with Aquaman prepared to go to war with Cerdia, and finding that the Justice League has now chosen to step in.


Like the previous issues, the framing sequence is set in the future, with an aged Garth talking to his granddaughter Donna who is writing a report on Atlantis:

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While the ruler of Cerdia, Queen Charlanda, puts out a "cry for help" from the United Nations, claiming they are under attack by Aquaman, Arthur and Garth have a face-to-face with the JLA:
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With the counter-attack by Atlantis imminent, Superman and Wonder Woman convince their former teammate to ask his soldiers to stand down for the moment, so they can has this out.

With the sky filled with Atlantean warships, Aquaman is handed a communicator from his chief lieutenant, Rodunn, and he does just that.

He then informs the JLA what has happened, of Cerdia's sneak attack via the coral, and he tells Superman of the Atlantean school that was destroyed, along with all the kids inside it. Superman, using his telescopic vision, is horrified to see that what Arthur says is true.

Unfortunately, he doesn't agree that there's any evidence Cerdia was behind it, which Arthur and Garth don't take well (Rodunn, for his part, wants to arrest the JLA for daring to talk to his king so boldly!).

Meanwhile, we see further evidence of Cerdia's treachery, as Counselor Whynt uses some advanced technology to fool the Atlantean fleet into attacking:
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Arthur, Garth, and the JLA watch as the Atlanteans attack Cerdia, bombing its buildings!

This causes some of Cerdia's army to start firing at Aquaman and Tempest, and while the JLA fight them off, Arthur and Garth board an Atlantean hoverbike and head for Queen Charlanda's quarters.

While the JLA try to stop both sides from fighting, Arthur and Garth make their way into Charlanda's palace, where they get to kick a little Cerdian butt:
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They get inside the throne room, but the Queen isn't there. Instead, its someone much worse:
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...oh, great.

To be continued!



Having only a tiny handful of arch-villains, I wonder how frustrated Aquaman must get having to see that nearly every giant mess he finds himself in almost always ends up having Black Manta or Ocean Master behind it. At least Batman gets a little variety in his crime-fighting life.

Be here tomorrow for the continuing battle between Aquaman versus Cerdia and Ocean Master!
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Speaking of the Justice League, I recommend all you old-time comics fans pick up this week's issue of Justice League of America, #29.

While it is part of some bigger storyline (aren't all comics, nowadays?), I find you can read and enjoy this issue all on its own--its a retelling of sorts of Justice League of America #s 96 and 97, where the World's Greatest Super-Heroes take on the cosmic vampire known as The Starbreaker.

But the fun part is that this issue is written by classic JLA writer Len Wein, and that he has rewritten it to include all the members of the team. And, unlike in the original issues, Aquaman gets to be involved, and personally pound the snot out of Starbreaker:
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...yeah!

Dear DC: I'd like to see more of this--both Len Wein writing your comics again, and more Classic Aquaman. Get on it, please.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah!!!

Anonymous said...

Now THAT'S more like it!