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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Aquaman Shrine's 3rd Anniversary

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Today is The Aquaman Shrine's 3rd anniversary!

Last year, for our 2nd anniversary, I had a long post featuring scans of the Shrine in its early, pre-blog incarnation, then I threw the rest of the post open to the rest of you to show off your personal shrines. It was really cool and I enjoyed seeing how everyone else paid homage to the Sea King.

This year, I decided to keep it simple: for a long time, I've had a list of some of my favorite artists whom I've always wanted to get an Aquaman sketch from, but have never had the opportunity before.

But before I get into the details, let's just show off the piece--here's Aquaman by one of of all-time favorite artists, Kevin Nowlan:
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(click to see a bigger version!)

...beauty, ain't it?

I've never met Mr. Nowlan in person, but he was an early fan of my TreasuryComics.com site, occasionally sending me art or writing credits that I didn't list, or correcting me when I mis-attributed something to the wrong person.

I was thrilled that someone who I'm such a fan of was paying attention to one of my sites, so at one point earlier in the year I asked Kevin about doing an Aquaman sketch for the Shrine's 3rd anniversary. I figured giving him months to work on it would increase the chances of Kevin having the time to fit it into his schedule.

Luckily, for all of us, he said yes. At first he sent me a little marker sketch, which by itself I would've been happy with! Once I drooled over that, a few weeks later the original arrived, in all its glory. Its truly a gorgeous piece, and I thought a perfect way to celebrate the Shrine's anniversary.


I thought I'd take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who stops by to see what I'm doing here. For whatever reason, the Shrine's audience has exploded fairly recently--we're now at about double the daily hits we had this time last year. I don't know where you're all coming from, folks, but I'm glad you're here!

So...tomorrow, we start The Aquaman Shrine: Year Four--stay with us, folks! There's a lot more to come!

27 comments:

Dixon said...

Congratulations, Rob!

The reasons behind the Shrine's success are simple: you continue to showcase an undeniably impressive collection of items and amusements dedicated to one of comicdom's coolest superheroes, and you do so with your trademark wit and charm! And it doesn't hurt that much of the artwork you feature, including this latest sketch from Kevin Nowlan, is absolutely gorgeous!

Thanks, Rob! I can't imagine facing each day without a visit to this blog. You're an inspiration to us all. Here's to another fun-filled year under the sea at the Aquaman Shrine!

IADW said...

I second that - it's great to have an Aquaman resource on the web, let alone one that is so well looked after and put together!

Thanks for all your hardwork Rob - as an Aquafan it's really appreciated!

Unknown said...

Congratulations, Rob. I've enjoyed your blog for a long time now and look forward to following it for a long time to come!

Randy said...

Happy Anniversary, Rob. Kevin Nowlan is a favorite of mine as well. Nice artwork.

Russell said...

Yay, Aquaman!
Yay, Rob!!
Yay, Aquaman Shrine!!!

'nuff said.

Orin's Dad said...

Happy Birthday to the Shrine, and thanks to you, Rob, for making it such a great place to visit every day!

Tim said...

The Shrine has quickly become my favorite part of my morning work "routine." Thanks for making my morning just a little bit brighter! :-)

r duncan said...

I don't know where you're all coming from, folks, but I'm glad you're here!

I guess it's like an Aquaman version of Field of Dreams: if you blog it, they will come.

As always, Rob, thanks for one of the best sites anywhere.

wich2 said...

As an old Irish-American friend says, Mr. Kelly -

"A fish stinks (or DOESN'T!) from the head."

- and the Head Fish here is a great guy. Which attracts a school of minnows of like quality.

Continued best,
-Craig W.

Wings1295 said...

Your work here is always appreciated, Rob! Thanks for three great years, and here's to many, many more!

And thanks, as well, for sharing that sketch. Beautiful, respectful shot of Aquaman. Love it!

Andy Luckett said...

Congratulations, Rob! And you thought you wouldn't have enough content to sustain this site.

How lucky we are that particular hypothesis was wrong, my friend. The Shrine continues to be my number 1 stop of the day and my favorite as well.

You should be proud of the success of the Shrine so far, and I know it's going to get better from here. Well done, sir!

Viva la Aquaman Shrine!

mistral1 said...

Way to go Rob, congratulations on this achievement!!!!

¡Felicitaciones!

Sergio, from Chile.

Aaron said...

Happy Anniversary, Rob. May the Aquaman Shrine last longer than any of Aquaman's series. Looking forward to more,
Aaron

Doug said...

Happy aniiiversary! Happy anniversary! Happy anniversary! Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaapppy Anniversaryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!

chunky B said...

Happy Anniversary Rob! You know I'll be back for more Aquaman!

Anonymous said...

Happy Anniversary Rob!

Plaidstallions said...

Here's to many more years of orange and green!

Rick L. Phillips said...

Happy 3rd anniversary Rob!
So far the shrine has lasted longer then some of Aquaman's series. It is alot of fun to read.

The Irredeemable Shag said...

Congrats on three years! As I always say, you are the gold standard for superhero blogs!

Here's to another year!

The Irredeemable Shag
http://onceuponageek.com
http://firestormfan.com

matthew jones said...

Congratulations on your third year as well Rob. Long may the Aquaman Shrine continue. Love the Kevin Nowlan sketch as well.

Josh Hill said...

Happy Anniversary! I love the Shrine, it's become one of the first things I check on the net every morning. Honestly, it's the sole reason I've become an Aquaman fan again. It reminds me of how good it felt when I had my fan letter printed in AQUAMAN: TIME AND TIDE no. 4!

Vincent Paul Bartilucci said...

Happy Anniversary to the Shrine, my favorite place on the web.

Thanks for all your hard work, Rob. I don'tknow how you do it but I'm sure glad you do!

JoséVC said...

Congratulations, and keep it up. Your work here has been an inspiration and an example to follow. Jose

Jay said...

Congrats!!!

Sean Tiffany said...

Congrats on another year! And you thought you'd run out of stuff to talk about the first year out! Here's to another great year ahead!

Oscar Olalde said...

Congratulations Rob, all the blessings for you on all the projects you run, keep 'em coming.

Finding the Aqua-shrine was exactly what this Aquaman fan needed. Thank you for your work.

JRainey said...

Happy Anniversary! Thanks for a place to showcase 'old green gloves. Cheers to you Rob. And to all the Aquaman fans out there.