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Sunday, April 08, 2012

Adventure Comics #176 - May 1952

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Comics Weekend "The Ex-King of the Sea!" by George Kashdan(?) and Ramona Fradon.

It's Adventure Sunday!

I sense some wacky hi-jinx with Superboy this month!

But of course, we're here to talk about Aquaman. This time around, the King of the Seven Seas loses his title!
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Aquaman tries again, but this time the whale that comes to his call is real, convincing the crooks that the Sea King's powers have returned--little do they know, Aquaman dropped some whale food nearby, attracting it.

Unfortunately, a wave carries the food away, and the whale unknowingly follows it. Desmond and his crew notice this, and prepare to take over the Bonnie Prince, assuming Aquaman is no threat. Aquaman then dives into the ocean, with a can of water-proof paint in tow, and heads for the ship's propeller, with a plan:
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...and with that, so ends another adventure with Aquaman!


I think this particular story, beautifully drawn by Ramona Fradon (Ibid), belongs in the Shrine's "Bonk! Bonk! On The Head" feature in toto, since the whole plot hinges on Aquaman getting hit on the head!

It's kind of funny to reflect on this adventure, and how crooks regard Aquaman as no threat because he can no longer talk to his finny friends--clearly his most impressive super-power. Contrast that with the latest incarnation of the Sea King, who feels the need to downplay this particular ability. How times change.

2 comments:

Anthony said...

Happy Easter for the Earth-2 Sea King.

Guess it's very much the Golden Age backstory here (a learned ability to speak to sea creatures), versus the more modern versions' being innate (via telepathy)...

And yet another generic pirate in a role that Black Jack could've fulfilled. So why'd they get rid of him?

Re: Superboy: I don't have a description of this story, but I'm sure "wacky hijinks" *did* ensue. Probably another "somebody wants to try to adopt Superboy or Clark Kent for some reason" story... ;-)

Unknown said...

Viva Adventure Suanday!

Oh, I see why this Desmond replaced Black Jack. He listens with both ears.

Another enjoyably goofy tale. I imagine Aquaman had some explaining to do with that octopus.

Octopus: "Next time try asking. I almost had an octo-heart attack trying to rescue that propeller you drew."

James Chatterton