Having successfully fought Atsiul, Arthur Joseph and King Shark have met up again and are having a drink in a sleazy little watering hole:
We flashback to when Arthur left Atlantis, and he tells her about his journey to Maine. She provides him with some food and coin, hoping to see him again.
After leaving the bar, Arthur is feeling a little guilty about leaving the citizens of Atlantis while still under threat from barbarian invaders, but his thoughts are interrupted by a comely mermaid who followed Arthur out of the bar.
She is bold, to say the least:
After leaving the bar, Arthur is feeling a little guilty about leaving the citizens of Atlantis while still under threat from barbarian invaders, but his thoughts are interrupted by a comely mermaid who followed Arthur out of the bar.
She is bold, to say the least:
Later, Arthur wakes up find to find all his food and coin are being pilfered by the mermaid's gruff-looking associates. She advises: "He'll resist. Better kill him."
Arthur, enraged, tears apart the small dank room he and the mermaid used, causing the bar its attached to to crumble. King Shark takes this all in stride, still trying to order a drink as the place falls down around him! He then meets up with Arthur, and they take off.
As they talk about what Arthur might do if his father isn't alive, they're interrupted by some sort of telepathic transmission, by someone looking for Aquaman!
At first Arthur wants to ignore the cry for help, insisting he's not Aquaman: "I'm not Aquaman. They got the wrong guy. They can get someone else to get their Aqua-Cat out of their Aqua-Tree, or whatever."
But, despite his protestations, Arthur feels the pull to help, and they make their way to the source of the transmission:
Arthur climbs aboard and is met by Dane Dorrance, leader of the Sea Devils! At first they are panicked by the sight of King Shark, not to mention the fact that this isn't the "real" Aquaman.
A fight looks like its going to break out, but its stopped by the captain of this floating base, a man named Jimmy Lockhart. After Arthur explains who he is and all that has happened, Lockhart reveals what this base is: its a floating think tank, populated by scientists, philosophers, and mystics, all together to try and figure out solutions to the world's biggest problems.
Arthur asks what the trouble is, and even though they need the original Aquaman, they show him anyway. Following Dane, he sees an amazing sight:
Arthur, enraged, tears apart the small dank room he and the mermaid used, causing the bar its attached to to crumble. King Shark takes this all in stride, still trying to order a drink as the place falls down around him! He then meets up with Arthur, and they take off.
As they talk about what Arthur might do if his father isn't alive, they're interrupted by some sort of telepathic transmission, by someone looking for Aquaman!
At first Arthur wants to ignore the cry for help, insisting he's not Aquaman: "I'm not Aquaman. They got the wrong guy. They can get someone else to get their Aqua-Cat out of their Aqua-Tree, or whatever."
But, despite his protestations, Arthur feels the pull to help, and they make their way to the source of the transmission:
A fight looks like its going to break out, but its stopped by the captain of this floating base, a man named Jimmy Lockhart. After Arthur explains who he is and all that has happened, Lockhart reveals what this base is: its a floating think tank, populated by scientists, philosophers, and mystics, all together to try and figure out solutions to the world's biggest problems.
Arthur asks what the trouble is, and even though they need the original Aquaman, they show him anyway. Following Dane, he sees an amazing sight:
...to be continued!
I love the whole sequence of Arthur getting "rolled" by a pretty face, and King Shark's reaction, as if he knew it was coming, but chose to let Arthur discover it for himself.
Also, the floating think tank is cool--it would've made for a great action figure playset if they have ever made a Sword of Atlantis toy line!
I love the whole sequence of Arthur getting "rolled" by a pretty face, and King Shark's reaction, as if he knew it was coming, but chose to let Arthur discover it for himself.
Also, the floating think tank is cool--it would've made for a great action figure playset if they have ever made a Sword of Atlantis toy line!
2 comments:
I loved the floating house/think tank thing. I thought it was a great, fantastical addition to the DCU! Have we ever seen it again?
And ghost Vulko was interesting. Guess he is gone, too?
My favorite part of this issue was the vertical design Guice gave the village in that title page. Too often artists depict undersea architecture the same way it would look on the surface which doesn't make sense. They swim in all directions, why wouldn't their cities and villages reflect that? I don't know if that was included in Busiek's script or if it was just a touch Guice added himself, but it really worked for me.
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