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Friday, December 18, 2009

Entertainment Weekly - 12/11/09

sg
This little throwaway Aquaman reference appeared in the December 11, 2009 edition of Entertainment Weekly, their "Best of the Decade" issue.

I realize I may have long ago drank the Kool-Aid on this one, but I really believe its stuff like this that puts the lie to DC's insistence that Flash and Green Lantern are somehow more known in the greater culture than Aquaman. Can you picture a national magazine like this tossing off a Flash or Green Lantern reference without having to explain it in some way?

I realize that calling Michael Phelps "Aquaman" is not EW's invention (it sprang up immediately after his performances at the Olympics), but there's something about the way this is just thrown in there that underscores my belief that Aquaman, still, has a much greater "Q rating" than either Flash or Green Lantern...if only DC could see it, maybe they'd treat Arthur accordingly.

9 comments:

Airship Over Water said...

No, I totally see your point.

I remember last summer when he was winning all the events Aquaman had quite an "internet fame" surge with those edited motivational posters and stuff about Aquaman and Michael Phelps being buddies.

Not to mention I actually heard a girl in one of my classes last fall claim that she heard Michael Phelps was in talks to do an Aquaman movie. I rubbed my eyes and sighed, knowing that either she had heard that from someone who said it as a joke or I was too dumb to tell if she was joking herself.

But that's beside the point. Aquaman is a household name. I love Green Lantern and Flash, but "Aquaman" is a name that comes out of mouths before naming a lot of other super-heroes.

Russell said...

Amen, brothers!

Earth 2 Chris said...

I'd have to agree, I've never heard of an Olympic runner called "The Flash". I think Aquaman is more widely known to the general public, but the fact that his title is constantly canceled and rebooted makes WB/DC push Flash and GL more, because, aside from a few hiccups here in there, they've had a regular series going since the late 50s/early 60s.

Chris

Wings1295 said...

Totally agree with you, Rob!

rob! said...

I think DC confuses the comic book sales records' of their characters with mainstream viability.

Flash and GL, as comic books, sell consistently, while Aquaman (like, say, the Atom and Hawkman) doesn't.

But Wonder Woman has always been a sales "dog", yet she's an icon so DC pushes her relentlessly as part of the holy trinity.

I'd say Aquaman holds a unique position in that he's less known than the big three, but more known than the rest of the DCU...leaving no one quite sure what to do with him.

WW's 80s reboot had a huge jumpstart when George Perez ran the book for like, what, over 50 issues straight? Imagine what a creator of Perez's talent and popularity could do on an Aquaman book.

Saranga said...

it helps that his name is a description of his powers. even if you don't know who aquaman is you'll get the reference in the article.

IADW said...

Yeah I totally agree, Rob! Aquaman people have the image of - whereas Green Lantern, more often than not still requires explanation.

Rick L. Phillips said...

I understand what you mean Rob. I think Aquaman at lest ties Flash in the public eye. Green Lantern needs explaining. I believe Plastic Man also falls in that catagory with Aquaman. If you mention Plastic Man to people they know who you mean. Mention Elongated Man and they don't have a clue.

IADW said...

Hardcase - in the latest 20 questions with Dan Didio on the rama he says that he keeps getting asked if the next 'earth one' books are Wonder Woman, Flash, or Aquaman. Does that not show something?