Tempest is hot on the trail of the "mystical disturbance" he's been sensing the past few days:
Accompanied by Rodunn, they find the spot where Arthur and Mera were last seen before they disappeared. Garth doesn't know what's going on, but he's assured its something bad.
Meanwhile, on Skartaris, Aquaman and Mera are being informed by Travis Morgan about Valgos, who Morgan calls "The Greatest Enemy Skartaris has ever known." Valgos is a tyrant and a murderer who uses sorcery to get what he wants. We see evidence of that when the giant beings our heroes have stumbled upon attack!
Morgan tries a direct approach, while Aquaman saves people from being trampled. At the same time, Mera tries to tip one of the giants over with her hard-water powers:
Temporarily escaping, Morgan and Aquaman have it out over who's in charge. Mera reminds Morgan that Aquaman is a King, in charge of more territory than every head of state on Earth combined. The Warlord agrees to go along, uneasily.
Meanwhile, back in "our" dimension, we see Vulko dealing with problems of state in his king's absence. The U.N. Ambassador wants to meet with Arthur or Garth, and is none too pleased to learn they are both absent.
We find Garth and Rodunn still searching, and they come across a giant glowing pit. Tempest is going in.
Back in Skartaris, Aquaman, Mera, and Morgan make their way to Valgos's hangout:
Meanwhile, back in "our" dimension, we see Vulko dealing with problems of state in his king's absence. The U.N. Ambassador wants to meet with Arthur or Garth, and is none too pleased to learn they are both absent.
We find Garth and Rodunn still searching, and they come across a giant glowing pit. Tempest is going in.
Back in Skartaris, Aquaman, Mera, and Morgan make their way to Valgos's hangout:
They try a two-pronged approach, with Morgan scaling the fort's face (literally), while Aquaman and Mera try to swim underneath it.
They make their way in, and are attacked by two friends of Morgan, Machiste and Mariah, who seem to be under the control of Volgos, as well as a giant hooded bad guy who seems to be doing the controlling.
Machiste attacks Aquaman, and Mariah attacks Mera (redhead on redhead action!). Aquaman tries his best to match Machiste fist to fist:
They make their way in, and are attacked by two friends of Morgan, Machiste and Mariah, who seem to be under the control of Volgos, as well as a giant hooded bad guy who seems to be doing the controlling.
Machiste attacks Aquaman, and Mariah attacks Mera (redhead on redhead action!). Aquaman tries his best to match Machiste fist to fist:
We find Morgan finally having made his way in, and things are not good:
There's trouble back home as well, as we see a mysterious figure sneaking into Dolphin's bed chamber, and they seem to have plans for the baby Cerdian:
I love that moment with Machiste where Aquaman is going on and on and Machiste basically tells him to shut up. Priceless.
Be here tomorrow for the concluding chapter of Aquaman and Mera lost in Skartaris!
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I'm going to assume, since this is the third volume of Aquaman reprints, that the series is selling well enough to keep going past this, so that means in Volume 4 we'll get to the Steve Skeates/Jim Aparo run on the book, which--incredibly--has never been reprinted in any sort of complete form before.
I'm glad to see this series is continuing, and glad to see so much Classic Aquaman is out for people at a (very) reasonable price!
3 comments:
That's one great looking cover for Aquaman 72. I wouldn't have thought that an Aquaman / Warlord team-up would have worked but it really does.
I would have never thought of it, but I don't know why, since it totally makes sense! This story continues to be interesting, and mysteries afoot as well? Cool stuff.
I'm glad that the showcase volumes continue to come, but I REALLY wish that DC would keep printing the Archives as well...or better yet, do DVD comic collections like Marvel. Showcases are all well and good, but you lose so much when you lose the color.
I'd expect Aquaman is a popular enough character to be reprinted up until the 1976 royalty cut-off, but they'll likely end before the short-lived Skeates/Aparo reunion and return to Adventure Comics.
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