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Saturday, December 11, 2010

Guest Post by Dennis Doucette

sgWelcome to another Aquaman Shrine Guest Post!

Due to circumstances I should have been able to control but didn't, the Shrine had no Comics Weekend post ready for today.

So I put out a call to the hallowed ranks of F.O.A.M. to see if anyone out there wanted to write a last-minute Guest Post, and
F.O.A.M.er Dennis Doucette stepped up to the plate. Take it away, Dennis!



Hi. My name is Dennis Doucette and I love Aquaman.
sg

I started loving Aquaman around my sophomore year in high school.

sg

I couldn't really say exactly why I liked Aquaman so much. I just get him I guess. Of course I feel I have a lot in common with Aquaman because of my job at Weeki Wachee. For those of you who don't know what Weeki Wachee is or those of you who want to know more it is one of Florida's oldest roadside attractions. The park is built around the end of the Weeki Wachee River.

In 1947, Weeki Wachee opened and featured underwater shows consisting of mermaids. It is now over sixty years later I am one of the lucky few who get to be a part of this history. I perform as the Prince in the underwater show based on Hans Christian Anderson's book, The Little Mermaid. Now due to my awesomeness I get to write and direct all of the Weeki Wachee Halloween shows which we perform a new show for every year. My very first Halloween show of course I decided to write about superheroes. Of course wrote myself the part to play Aquaman.

sg

As you can see. We have quite a few characters in the show. The shows story line was basically:
--Mermaids find bomb in spring that was planted by the Joker.
--Some of the Justice League make a splashy entrance (pun intended) into the water.
--Superman and others cant understand what the mermaids are saying because they speak fish.
--Superman calls for the only man who can help save the day...AQUAMAN.
--Mermaids tell Aquaman were the bomb is and he retrieves it and saves everyone at the last second.
--The Joker enters the spring with his Society of Evil.
--Fight ensues.
--Kryptonite is used to disable Superman and Supergirl.
--Aquaman beats up the Joker and all his evil pals and calls upon the mermaids to wrap them all up with seaweed and take them away.
--Everybody dances... (underwater)

So that was pretty much the show. Remember all of this story does take place underwater and also during the night time. All of the halloween shows take place at night.

sg
I love swimming with every fiber of my being. And I suppose Aquaman does too. I love marine life and I truly believe that being able to talk to fish and just hang out underwater with super strength at my disposal is kinda the best super power out there. Also what draws me to Aquaman is how he is so alike to the characters in the DCU but then again he is also so very different from them all. I try to collect and read all things Aquaman all the time. All of the Aquaman statues cost a buttload. But it's not like I have a choice. I HAVE TO BUY IT! Most recently I've been super excited that Aquaman is alive and kicking again currently in Brightest Day.

My favorite version of Aquaman has always and forever will remain to be the classic orange and green outfit(don't forget the gloves). I don't know about you but David Finch's Aquaman is pretty high up on my favorite Aquaman Artists list:

1. Mike Allred What I like the most about Mike Allred's Aquaman is that he draws him as a fun spirited hero. And Mike Allred has a very classic touch.
sg

2: Darwyn Cooke Let's just get it straight right now that Darwyn Cooke is an amazing comic book artist/writer. His characters are always so Iconic and classic, and with Aquaman he doesn't miss a beat.
sg
3. David Finch I think it's pretty self explanatory why David Finch is on my list. I love the royal look he gives to Aquaman on the covers in Brightest Day. David Finch's Aquaman was the very first we all saw of as the newly resurrected king.
sg
4. Alex Ross Alex Ross is known for taking a more realistic route with his artwork then most other comic book artists. And being able to see what a real like Aquaman could look like is simple amazing and quite a treat.
sg
5. Ivan Reis I first saw Ivan Reis' Aquaman while reading Blackest Night. Once I saw Ivan's Zombie Aquaman I hoped he would be able to draw some un-dead Aquaman soon. And here my prayers are answered with Brightest Day. I think Ivan Reis is the perfect artist to be kind of representing Aquaman right now to possible new Aquaman fans.
sg
Three are three words I would like to depart on.
1. Aquaman
2. Kicks
3. Ass


10 comments:

Tegan said...

Excellent post!

Eric said...

Fun post!

I'm glad Weeki Wachee is still around. I followed Thomas J. Kelly's "Little Merman" blog a while back, but he never finished it, and I never did my own follow-up to see what happened.

Looks like things are in good hands!

Wings1295 said...

Great post! And totally agree with ya!

Bribaby said...

Cool! I go kayaking at Weeki Wachee every summer, but haven't seen the mermaid show in years. I'll have to make it a point to do that now.

David J. Cutler said...

Awesome post--and very interesting top 5 Aqua-artists!

Joe Slab said...

What a great guest post!

Dennis takes being an Aquaman fan to a new level!!! More than most any of us, Dennis IS Aquaman :)

Orin's dad said...

Awesome post Dennis!

Russell said...

Nice job! Makes me want to vacation in Florida! :-)

IADW said...

What a nice guest post1 It's great seeing how Aquaman affects fans in their day-to-day lives, and those are some pretty great picks for top Aqua artists as well!

Great job Dennis!

Oscar Olalde said...

What a great dude! and what a fan! awesome to have him on Aquaman's side... his aqua attitude is Outra... contagious!