Aqualad by Ramona Fradon

This majestic shot of Aqualad by the legendary Ramona Fradon is currently up for auction over on Comic Link. If you've never had the good fortune to meet Ms. Fradon in person, then here's your chance to get an original from her!

(h/t: F.O.A.M.er Ilke Hincer)

Tiny Titans: Return to the Treehouse #4 - Nov. 2014

Comics Weekend "Tiny Titans" by Art Baltazar and Franco.

Aquaman is a busy man these days. Not only does he headline two monthly titles, he shows up (occasionally) in Justice League, plus in the last month he guest-starred in Scooby-Doo Team-Up, got his own Futures End one-shot, and still had time to hang out with the Tiny Titans!

This issue opens with Robin, who has heard of a new treehouse for his Titans pals in...Atlantis! Lagoon Boy leads the way, and in short order they meet up with Aqualad to join in one the fun:

Up on the surface, Beast Boy and Miss Martian, not knowing where their pals went, head out to find them. Back down below, it's not all just giggle and good times, because Black Manta is on the loose! Luckily, the King of the Seven Seas, Aquaman, is on the case:

...The Tiny Titans find their way to the treehouse, only to discover it takes so long to get to, they all have to get home for dinner now!


My only real comment about this book is, I could look at Art Baltazar's version of Aquaman all day.

If you're not buying Tiny Titans, you should be. Even if you don't have any kids in your life, buy it because A)It's great, B)It's a nice tonic to all the doom-and-gloom so prevalent in the New 52, and C)You can donate the comics to a local hospital, school, or library. Books like this are how we create a new generation of comics fans, like the previous generations did for us. Do it for Aqua-Cow!

Bootleg Lego Aqualad

Courtesy F.O.A.M.er Eric Stettmeier is this pic of a bootleg Aqualad Lego mini figurine, made in Japan by the company known as ShengYuan. This nifty little guy is part of a whole set of Teen Titans mini-figs, go check them out over on Eric's blog Toyriffic. Thanks Eric!

Teen Titans Go!: "Pirates"

Cartoon Weekend "Pirates", Directed by Luke Cormican, Written by Adam Tierney

Aqualad made a big guest appearance on a recent episode of Teen Titans Go!, so let's take a look!

"Pirates" opens under the sea, with Aqualad chilling out and watching a Spongebob-esque show on TV. Suddenly, he gets an urgent message from Robin, demanding Aqualad's presence topside pronto. Oh, also: "Bring lots of shrimp."

Aqualad grabs some of his finny friends and heads to the beach, where he finds not an emergency, but...a Teen Titans cookout! And Aqualad's shrimp pals are the "guests" of honor. Garth is horrified by the Titans are gleefully gulping down the shrimp, but gets distracted by the hooded cutie-pie known as Raven. As he tries to put the moves on her, Beast Boy (who also has a crush on her) is aghast, but Cyborg tells him to be careful, because Aqualad is a pirate, and pirates are tough:

Robin wonders (heh) why Cyborg thinks Aqualad is a pirate, and Cyborg confidently states that anyone who comes from the sea is a pirate. Fair enough.

The wooing continues, and Aqualad simply won't take no for an answer. He takes Raven to a trip under the sea, but arranges something that the dark-souled Raven might like: a battle royale among Aqualad's finny friends, featuring sharks, whales, an octopus, a turtle, and more. It's not pretty, but Raven is, and she loves it:

Beast Boy wants to fight Aqualad for Raven's affections, but it's mostly just a lot of insults back and forth. Raven doesn't want two boys fighting for her, unless it's for real: a battle to the death!

 

Aqualad refuses to fight, but Beast Boy has no such compunction. Using his shape-shifting abilities, he mops the floor with the Prince of the Sea, leaving Aqualad a bruised, crumpled heap on the floor. As he is carted off to the hospital, Raven gives Beast Boy a smooch: he's won this round!

Back at the hospital, Aqualad has been saved, but he's a slightly different guy than how he started:

 

...what is it with members of the Aqua-Family and hooks for hands?!?


Of course, it's great seeing Aqualad get such a spotlight on Teen Titans Go! I don't watch the show regularly, but I have found it charming and funny, and a real pleasure to look at. I think it's a funny adaptation--a very loose one, to be sure--of the situations first created by Haney, Cardy, Wolfman, Perez, etc.

That said, and I'm probably taking all of this way too seriously, but it really bothered me that so much of this episode's humor revolved around cruelty to animals. The Titans gleefully eat Aqualad's self-described pals, he pits a bunch of them against each other for Raven's amusement, and a running gag involves Garth walking on a small turtle, who clearly is in pain because of it. I don't know, maybe it's my years of vegetarianism combined with my even more years of Aqua-Fandom, but it bothered me seeing Aqualad written as someone who would allow and participate in violence inflicted on his finny friends. It's the opposite of pretty much everything I like about Aquaman and related characters, and I wondered what I would say if a child of mine watched this show and thought it might be funny to, I don't know, step on a turtle.

I realize that violence against animals is a staple of animated hi-jinx, reaching back to the 1930s, but seeing adults do this to animals really wiped the smile off my face as the episode rolled on. Still, there are some funny gags here, and the episode moves at a lightning pace (the segment is a little over ten minutes, so it's over before you have time to get bored). It has been previously established that Aquaman exists in this universe, maybe he can make a return appearance to teach his protege the error of his ways?

Adventure Comics #269 - Feb. 1960

Comics Weekend "The Kid From Atlantis!" by Robert Bernstein and Ramona Fradon.

It's Adventure Sunday!

A large chunk of Aquaman History snaps into place with the addition of...Aqualad!

Aquaman tries to make the young foundling happy, but giving him a "hula hoop" made of eels, in an effort to get rid of his fear of sea creatures. That doesn't really work, so Aquaman tries again, taking the boy to a water spout. After a few minutes of frolicking, the Sea King reveals the spout is courtesy of a whale!

Seemingly making progress, Aquaman then introduces the boy to his octopus pal Topo:

...and so ends another adventure for Aquaman and Aqualad!


Yellow gloves be damned, we are now fin-deep into the adventures of the Earth-1 Aquaman, since now we've added Aqualad to the mix. After a decade and a half of the Sea King being all by himself, I guess DC felt that it would make sense to give Aquaman his own version of Robin or Speedy. I have never been a big fan of sidekicks as a general rule, but you can't help be charmed by this story: Aquaman is so sweet to this kid that it seems cruel not to keep them together.

Ramona Fradon once again does her usual stupendous job on the art; after years in the Teen Titans it's easy to forget how little a kid Aqualad once when he debuted: he looks about 7 or 8 here, so we got to watch him age over time.

Teen Titans #36 - Dec. 1971

Comics Weekend "The Girl of The Shadows" by Steve Skeates and Jim Aparo

You find the coolest stuff buried inside old DC Comics!

While I've read a lot of classic 1960s Teen Titans comics in my time, I haven't read every single issue. I was rooting around in them, looking for some Random Panels, and buried in the back of TT #36 is this awesome little mini-adventure starring Aqualad (who had long since left the team by then), written by Steve Skeates and drawn by Jim Aparo no less!

It's only three pages, so here's the whole adventure, first panel to last:

...and that's it! AFAIK, the young blonde and her alien captor were never seen before or since. Aqualad stumbles into this adventure, it's over, and he jumps back into the sea, The End.

I absolutely love weird little bits like this, the kind of thing that mainstream superhero comics just really don't do anymore. But let's not turn another post into a harangue of modern comics; let's just enjoy this fun little diversion for what it is: the classic team of Skeates and Aparo presenting us a bonus little Aqua-Adventure!

Bonus: I asked the legendary--and Friend of the Shrine--Mr. Skeates the hows and whys of this little story, and here's what he said:

"Rob--it was indeed originally produced for the Aquaman book! Dick [Giordano, Aquaman editor] came up with the idea of doing up a bunch of one-, two-, and three-pagers that, just in case my main story worked out to be a few pages short, we could toss in as a back-up! Besides this one, the two-page Aquagirl tale entitled "The Cave of Death" which showed up in our final Aquaman outing, and the two-page text story (illoed by Sal Amendola and Dick himself) that made it into the Aquaman annual (or whatever that was) were in the batch I came up with! Murray [Boltinoff, Teen Titans editor] inherited 'The Girl of the Shadows' from Dick; it sat around in Murray's slush pile for years, whereupon in a moment of weakness he threw it into the Teen Titans book!"

Steve is being way too modest; I think "The Girl of the Shadows" is a delightful throwaway; its brevity makes it perfectly charming. I could read a whole book of these things! 

DC Super-Pets: Deep-Sea Duel

A few months ago Capstone Books--maker of fine Aquaman-related tomes--was kind enough to send the Shrine a sneak peek at their newest DC Super Pets installment, Deep Sea Duel, starring Aqualad. Now that the book has been released, we can offer a glimpse inside!

Aquaman is throwing a family reunion, and everyone's invited (uh-oh!):

While at the party, Aqualad meets Mera's niece Nicoletta, who professes to be one of his biggest fans--causing Garth to blush. He offers to take Nicoletta to Blackbeard's Knoll, which supposedly is filled with haunted pirate ships. Nicoletta readily agrees to go on the adventure.

Mera isn't sure about letting them go, but Aquaman talks his Queen into agreeing--but not before they insist their shark pal Geoffrey go along for protection:

Just moments after Aqualad and Nicoletta depart, the one missing member of the family arrives for the party--Aquaman's half-brother Orm, aka Ocean Master, flanked by his two swordfish sidekicks, Johnny and Joey.

Meanwhile, Aqualad and Nicoletta explore Blackbeard's Knoll. After getting scared by the spooky skeletons, they decide to head home. Back in Atlantis, Ocean Master has let his brother aware of his presence, and how:

Aqualad and Nicolette see what has happened, and stay out of sight until they can formulate a plan. Aqualad makes a frontal assault on Orm, while Nicoletta and their fish pals go after Ocean Master's henchmen. After a quick fight, Aqualad gets close to Ocean Master:

Johnny and Joey try to help their master by lunging at Aqualad, but they miss and end up pinning Orm via his cape to the royal throne, pinning him to it. Aquaman decides to resume the party, leaving Orm and his pals to watch. The End!Like all the DC Super Pets books, Deep Sea Duel is a ton of fun: a cute story (by John Sazaklis) that hits all the marks in terms of a classic Aquaman adventure, brought to life by the always delightful visuals of Art Baltazar. For Aquaman fans, the book is a must-have--even if you don't have kids!

You can buy your own copy of Deep Sea Duel on Amazon by clicking below, which throws a few doubloons the Shrine's way:

Bonus! Tomorrow we'll be featuring an interview with the writer of Deep Sea Duel, John Sazaklis! Be here!

Teen Titans Episode 3

Episode 3: "Operation Rescue"

While testing out their new Titans Jet, Speedy and Aqualad see something truly unbelievable: a small boy being chased by some sort of prehistoric monster!

The creature chases the boy right off the cliff, into the water below. While Speedy distracts the beast with some smoke arrows, Aqualad does what Aqualad does, and head into the water to rescue the boy:

Speedy picks up Aqualad and the boy--named Jerry--and the frightened lad explains that he and his explorer father were searching for a supposed "lost civilization" hidden deep in the mountains. Jerry's father has disappeared, as well.

From above, Speedy and Aqualad find the lost tribe (which lives in a small village of fairly nice little cottages), but their new plane gets caught up in the ferocious mountain winds, making it an easy target for the bomb-spear-throwing tribesmen:

Back home, Wonder Girl and Kid Flash wonder what happened to their friends. Aqualad manages to issue a distress call, and "Wonder Doll" and "Twinkle Toes" make for Asia to rescue their teammates.

While Wonder Girl distracts the tribe by deflecting their spears, Kid Flash sneaks into the cell that Speedy, Aqualad, Jerry, and his father are being held. Returning Speedy's bow and quiver to them, they blast their way out, hopping back into the Titans Jet, which is still having problems getting lift off.

Wonder Girl lassos the jet with her Magic Lasso, and Kid Flash creates a mini-whirlwind which helps them get into the sky. As everyone departs, Kid Flash bids adieu to the tribesmen:

Jerry and his Dad thank the Titans for saving their lives, and our heroes head for home. The ever-lovin' end!


This was the final Teen Titans segment Filmation produced; while they're hardly the pinnacle of TV animation (that would be Penelope Pitstop) these were fun little mini-adventures and of course it was so cool to see such "B" characters be the stars. In this adventure, Wonder Girl almost lifts the Titan Jet all by herself--pretty impressive for a mere girl!

Aqualad frets a lot this time around. And that's all I have to say about that.

Teen Titans Episode 2

Episode 2: "The Space Beast Round-Up"

This penultimate episode of Filmation's Teen Titans opens up with an alien ship about to crash onto Earth!

Inside, the...interesting-looking aliens (who undoubtedly come from France) realize they are carrying too much weight, so they decide to drop their cargo: namely, a collection of huge alien beasts!

The three beasts, not terribly happy about being caged and then dropped onto a a strange planet, go on a rampage, attacking a small town nearby. Luckily, the Teen Titans are there to help--Wonder Girl, Speedy, Aqualad, and Kid Flash:

I know it's easy (and fun) to goof on Filmation's extremely limited animation, but I have to say I thought this was a really cool effect on Kid Flash.

Anyway, the Titans gang up on one of the beasts, with Aqualad taking a very direct approach, and Wonder Girl...um...

The aliens return, having righted their ship and ready to reclaim their cargo. When they see the Titans approaching, they think they are attacking and fire back. Wonder Girl tells them they're trying to help, which mollifies the aliens.

Speedy fires a bunch of arrows at the creatures, which knock them for a loop, long enough for the Titans to subdue two of them. The third, which wanders out to sea, is captured by dropping a net over it, which Aqualad tugs back to shore.

The aliens apologize (they're "just" intergalactic hunters) for causing so much trouble. The Teen Titans are good sports, saying no harm, no foul, and the aliens depart while the Titans split up, but ready for another adventure.


The Filmation writers could not get enough of the Titans calling each other nicknames, like "Wonder Doll" and "Twinkle Toes." Speedy uses the latter so much I kept hoping he'd be killed in action and replaced by Lilith or something. Also, it could be worth pointing out that Aqualad doesn't get a whole lot to do, but when the whole segment is only five minutes long, no one gets a whole lot to do!

Teen Titans Episode 1

Episode 1: "The Monster Machine"

Aqualad tends to get the short end of the trident on the Shrine, so it seemed appropriate to give him some time in the spotlight. Case in point, starting this week we're going to take a look at the Filmation Teen Titans cartoon series, which aired as interstitials during the Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure (for you younger fans out there: yes, that was a real show).

This first episode opens up simply enough: with a giant robot on a rampage!

Speedy, in between shooting up, is on Teen Titan Monitor Duty (or whatever they call it), and sees the robot rampaging on a viewscreen. He puts out a call to his fellow Titans: Aqualad, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, and...that's it:

The Titans arrive and take on the robot. But its so powerful that it quickly fends them all off, leaving them in a pile. It retreats back into the sea, which is Aqualad's cue to take it on himself (great idea, Garth), only to lead to the young hero caught helpless in the robot's pincers.

The robot then heads down the coast, and the Titans follow. Aqualad frees himself, and they see that the robot comes from a massive alien ship:

The ship seems be controlled by the above supercomputer, which unleashes several robot monsters at the Titans. But this time, they are better prepared, and thanks to some quick thinking (and indestructible Amazonian bracelets), its the robots' turn to be left, defeated, in a pile.

This causes the computer to overload and explode, taking the base with it. The Teen Titans leap into their jet and escape in the nick of time, with Wonder Girl and Aqualad soon making quick departures themselves:

This leaves Kid Flash and Speedy to take the jet home, ready for another adventure. The End!


These Teen Titans shorts were about five minutes long, leaving no time for anything other than the most bare bones plot: a robot attacks, the Titans try to stop it, fail, try again, and win. We never meet the supposed alien invaders, and the Titans don't get the chance to even investigate. The base blows up, let's call it a day!

I remember watching re-runs of these shows as a wee lad, and as much as I loved Aquaman in his own adventures (and I *did* love it), I was also jazzed at seeing such "B" level characters such as Kid Flash and Speedy in animated form. I always thought it was weird Robin didn't participate, but hey that just meant more time for the rest of the Titans!


Fun Fact: Aqualad was played by actor Jerry Dexter, who had a long career both in live action and voice over. In addition to essaying Aqualad on both Teen Titans and Aquaman, he could also be heard on shows like Goober and the Ghost Chasers, Fangface, and Shazzan.

Young Justice Volume 3 on DVD Contest Entries!

Back in May, the Shrine launched a contest where the prize was a copy of Young Justice Season One, Volume Three on DVD, which Warner Bros. was kind enough to provide for the Shrine. All you had to to enter was submit an original drawing of the new Aqualad, with the winner decided on by all of you!

The Shrine did receive a number of entries, which we are finally getting around to posting today! So check 'em out:

Aqualad #1: Andy Begin


Aqualad #2: Russell Burbage


Aqualad #3: Kieran Foster


Aqualad #4: Corey Hodgdon


Aqualad #5: Andrew Kapellusch


Aqualad #6: Scott Williams

All you have to do is pick which one is your favorite in the poll at right, which ends in one week. The winner will receive Young Justice Season One, Volume Three on DVD!


(Apologies to Andy, Russell, Kiernan, Corey, Andrew, and Scott for the delay)