The Aquaman Shrine's Best of 2011: Happy 70th Birthday Aquaman!

We wrap up our look back at The Aquaman Shrine's Best of 2011 with--what else?--Aquaman's 70th Birthday Celebration, which ran on September 25:

Today is a very, very special day in the history of Aquaman--it's his 70th birthday!

And when we say 70th birthday, we don't mean the birthday DC Comics has seen fit to give him within their continuity--that's January 29. No, we mean that on this day seventy years ago--September 25, 1941--More Fun Comics #73, Aquaman's debut appearance, hit newsstands (you can see the book for sale in the above picture, two rows up and about four books to the left of the crowded news vendor).

So, with Aquaman hitting the big 7-0, and his new series only days away from debuting, the Shrine thought it a tribute fit for a king to reach out and collect birthday greetings from various writers, artists, and performers, all of whom have been involved with the Sea King in some way over these seven decades.

Some chose to offer old Arthur a birthday message; others reminisced about their time when they were creatively involved with the King of the Seven Seas. The one thing they have in common is that all of them have contributed, by their talent, vision, voice, or craft, to the seven-decade legend of Aquaman:

Dan Abnett, writer, Wonder Woman and The Furies: "Happy 70th Birthday to the Sea King...and sorry about what happened to Mera on my watch."

Norman Alden, voice actor, Super Friends: "I just tripped down a tall building and you know, after 70 years, I am kind of losing my taste for that stuff.

But really and truly I have to let the cat out of the bag and celebrate Aquaman's 70th and my 87th! The guys I worked with [on Super Friends] were the top of the line.

Rob, what this world--and Aquaman--needs is more friends like you. God bless you."

Art Baltazar, cartoonist, Tiny Titans, DC Super-Pets: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARTHUR! I'm here hanging out with Topo, Ark and Storm! So glad to work along side you and your Super-Pet pals, sir! I hear Aqualad is on his way to the party and he's bringing the Tiny Titans! We better save some cake! AW YEAH AQUAMAN!"

Tony Bedard, writer, Emperor Aquaman: "Happy Birthday, Your Majesty! I have to admit it was the 1960s Superman/Aquaman cartoon that hooked me on you, but I've always seen you as a first-stringer, and I prefer Happy Aquaman to Angry Aquaman any day! I spent my childhood pretending I was you every time I went swimming, and I still think that riding a giant seahorse is the manliest thing in the world! Long Live the Sea King!"

J.E. Bright, writer, Aquaman: Deepwater Disaster and Heroes of the High Seas: "Dearest Aquaman--Were you aware that you share your birthdate with Baroness Vivien Helen Stern CBE? Like you, Baroness Stern was voted into royalty, and like you, she has dedicated her life to criminal justice. Although she's certainly more academic and land-based than your adventurous aqua-self, perhaps there was something circling in the stars on September 25, 1941 that should make villains beware!
XOXO
J. E. Bright"

Kurt Busiek, writer, Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis: "Happy 70th, Aqua-guy! Whether you're the son of a scientist given powers via Atlantean secrets, the child of a lighthouse-keeper and an undersea princess, the all-Atlantean scion of an ancient sorcerer or whatever--as long as you're rocking the orange and green, you'll always be the King of the Seas!"

Nick Cardy, artist, Aquaman: "It was interesting for me to draw it [Aquaman], I enjoyed doing it. With Aquaman, I innovated a lot of things--the fish I used were actual fish. Sometimes I put too many fish in the water, and that can take more time than it does drawing the figures! But I really, really enjoyed it."

J.M. DeMatteis, writer, Adventure Comics and Action Comics: "My first regular superhero gig in comics was writing Aquaman in Adventure Comics (with art by the great Dick Giordano), so the Sea King has a very special place in my heart. I'll never forget the day editor Len Wein called and gave me the assignment: I felt like I'd finally arrived. Happy Birthday, Aquaman: here's to another 70!"

Dan Didio, writer, Co-Publisher, DC Comics: "Happy 70th Birthday to Aquaman, one of the true long lasting greats in DC's Pantheon Of Super Heroes!"

Sholly Fisch, writer, DC Super Friends and Batman: Brave and the Bold: "Your Royal Highness: After 70 years of guarding the seven seas, you've survived death (more than once), cancellation (more than once), and even chairing Justice League Detroit (thankfully, only once). All the best for the next 70 years...even if living underwater does make it hard to blow out the candles!"

Ramona Fradon, artist, Adventure Comics and Super Friends: "Aquaman was a wonderful feature for kids. While he had no personal super powers, his ability to communicate with sea creatures made him as effective as any other super hero, and his ingenious way of utilizing their abilities made them come to life for young readers. I have had more than one adult fan tell me that they had been inspired by reading Aquaman to become marine biologists."

Laura Gjovaag, creator, The Unofficial Aquaman Website: "Happy Birthday, Arthur! Seventy years is just a beginning. Who doesn't enjoy a tale an outcast orphan, a story of a person trying to find his place, the age-old journey of a hero? And when that story is told, you provide a tale of majesty, learning to lead, and being in command. The setting you provide has more potential than most heroes...you have mastered land and sea. Live on in our imaginations, Aquaman. In another 70 years you'll just be getting to middle age."

Patrick Gleason, artist, Aquaman: "Wow! Aquaman you are OLD!

But hey, don't sick a giant octopus on me yet! I'm just saying that I think that stands as a testament to the very real, and important legacy you hold in comics. Now blow out your candles...oh wait we're underwater. Glub, glub! Happy Birthday old chum!"

Bob Greenberger, editor, The Atlantis Chronicles, Who's Who in the DC Universe: "Aquaman entered my life when I began reading the JLA comic in the early 1960s but was delighted to learn more when he gained his own animated series, leading me to add his comic adventures to my expanding reading list. It wasn't until the 'Search for Mera' storyline that I really got to see his potential. I still recall that summer, away at camp, and desperate for the next issue to see what happened. That run, of course, introduced me to the fabulous art of Jim Aparo, who made the Sea King his own.

Since then, he has been interpreted and reinterpreted; denigrated and lauded. It's great to see that a new Aquaman series as part of the Rebooted DCU and to celebrate his 70th. DC isn't much for appreciating its history these days but true fans know and will be celebrating."

Mike Grell, artist, Adventure Comics: "Aquaman and I have a history that goes way back to the very beginning of my career in comics. Julie Schwartz had just looked at my portfolio and called Joe Orlando in to his office to see if there was some work he could throw my way. Joe took a chance and give me a seven page Aquaman backup story called "As The Undersea City Sleeps" by Steve Skeates that would appear in Adventure #435.

When I turned in the pencil pages, Joe pointed out that I had drawn the splash page with a shot of Aquaman angling away, body bent forward in a pose that not only blocked his face from view, I had him mooning the reader. Having survived the Dr. Wertham witchhunt of the '50s Joe felt it his solemn duty to test the Comics Code Authority at every opportunity, so he let it go just to see what would happen. Luckily it passed without incident--but--there was one panel that didn't even get past Joe.

The script called for Aquaman to be seated on his throne, but I had drawn his butt hanging down too far. Joe had me correct it, but not before showing it to Julie and just about everyone else who came by his office. Thirty-nine years later, that panel still bugs me.

That's how I became known as 'The Guy Who Drew Aquaman On The Toilet.'"

Yvet Guichet, artist, Aquaman: "I remember Obsidian Age built up quite a fresh thirst for the Waterbearer before he was reintroduced into the channel of DC lineups back in 2002. Arthur's revamp then was easily a thing of legend. When he needed a new look I had no idea when I designed his new digs how it would be taken off some guy instead of maybe grown? Sort of the way his water hand magically grew into place...then it would have done some unique things too like the hand did. One of those things should have been spawning the new look on his action figure, no? Happy 70th bro!"

Mark Gutleben, actor/performer, Sea World Superheroes Show: "Performing for the kiddies [as Aquaman] was fun. There were times when kids thought I was the Real McCoy! It was very exciting."

Ken Hooper, artist, Aquaman: "I remember getting the job--Kevin Dooley called and asked if I would like to draw the new Aquaman series, in 1990. I remember thinking, oh, Lord...the water guy...boring.... I owned all of one Aquaman book my entire thirty-year life at that point. Thanks, though, to Kevin, and, even more so, to Shaun, it was never boring. Never. And we had such grand plans..."

Michael Jelenic, Producer, Batman: Brave and the Bold: "Wishing you, Aquaman, an 'Outrageous' 70th Birthday...or as you like to call it: 'The One Where Aquaman Turned Seventy Years Old!'"

Phil Jimenez, writer/artist, Tempest: "So anyone that knows my work knows how important Aquaman and his world have been to me. I promise not to get too sentimental on his birthday, but I will say this--I can think of few characters out there who are as cool, and as underestimated, as Aquaman; few comic book worlds as awesome as Aquaman's homebase of Atlantis and the undersea "universe" he protects; few characters in comics as grand and Shakespearean; and very few that inspire such passion and vision in their fans (including one Neal Pozner, who found exceptional truths in Aquaman he was able to explore in the famous miniseries he wrote (and wherein he designed Aquaman's famous blue/white costume) in the mid 1980's).

And let's face it--no other super-hero has a kid partner as sweet and as awesomely powerful as Tempest, a personal favorite of mine (for obvious reasons).

I think the other Super Friends should have felt jealous of Wonder Woman every time she got to fly Aquaman around in her invisible jet. Just sayin'!

So happy birthday, Aquaman. You and yours inspired my best work in the business and my most personal work to date -- and for that I thank you. I wish you the best birthday this month, and many, many more to come!"

Dan Jurgens, writer, Aquaman: "I was first exposed to Aquaman as part of the Superman/Aquaman Hour, which was a relatively cool Saturday morning cartoon. That sent me scurrying for the actual comics and I loved what I found. For me, Aquaman was always something of a regal, majestic character. He was a king, for crying out loud!

I had a great time writing the book. Unfortunately, by the time I took it on, it was in really bad shape. Still, with great covers by Michael Kaluta and wonderful interior art by Steve Epting, we gave it our best.

Fortunately, the King of the Seven Seas is in good hands with Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis. Aquaman deserves nothing less!"

Paul Kupperberg, writer, Aquaman and Adventure Comics: "People make fun of Aquaman. They joke about his ability to 'talk' to fish, that his superpower is swimming, and about how the bad guys can escape him by just getting out of the water. Thanks to a couple of generations raised on Super Friends, the non-comics reading public may know who Aquaman is, but they don't take him seriously, not like they do the big guns. But for all his being better known as a punch line than a superhero, Aquaman has an endurance that few characters of his vintage can boast.

Beginning as a back-up feature in a 1941 issue of More Fun Comics, Aquaman was one of only a tiny number of comic book superheroes to survive the Golden Age and be continuously published, virtually without interruption, straight through to today. The others were Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Arrow, a handful of heroes in a sea of romance, western, crime, funny animals, and horror comics. Whatever it is about the King of the Seven Seas that saved him from the cancellations suffered by the majority of the 1940s heroes (including such luminaries as the Flash, Green Lantern, and the Atom), Aquaman's maintained it for seven incredible decades, still King of the Seven Seas, and now a major player in the DCU.

Laugh that off!"

Erik Larsen, writer, Aquaman: "Happy 70th Birthday to you, Aquaman. I had a fun visit."

Paul Levitz, writer, Adventure Comics, Publisher, DC Comics: "Congratulations, Aquaman--despite all the tragic tales, you've been one of comics' most consistent heroes over all these decades, swimming against the tides. And thanks for being the very first super-hero I got to write, over half your career ago!"

Original 70th Birthday Illustration by Stewart McKenny (DC Super Friends)!

Shaun McLaughlin, writer, Aquaman: ""Happy Birthday, Artie. You were my favorite super-hero as a kid and you opened some doors for me. I hope the next 70 years treat you kindly."

Darell McNeil, layout artist/animator, Challenge of the Super Friends/All-New Super Friends Hour: "I animated and laid out Aquaman and his Superfriends for three years at Hanna-Barbera on 'All-New Super Friends' and 'Challenge of the...' and I wanna toss a birthday sea bass to the once and future King of the Seas on his 70th. (Doesn't look a day over thirty....at least when I was drawing him!)"

David Michelinie, writer, Adventure Comics and Aquaman: "Congratulations, Aquaman! Few kings manage to reign for 70 years, even in the off-and-on manner that seems to have defined your rule. And yet here you are, after seven decades of battling monsters, pollution, political corruption, even that insidious bane of the publishing industry: cancellation. You still stand regal, hardy and whole (well, except for that pesky missing hand thing), giving truth to the classic Mel Brooks line, 'It's good ta be da king!' Happy Birthday, Arthur!"

Paula Nelson, actress/performer, Sea World Superheroes Show: "One of my most memorable Mera moments was of 'saving' the finale pyramid from disaster after one of the male superheroes had fallen. Only the guys supported the bottom of the pyramid, but I was confident my shoulders were strong enough to handle it. After all, I had been an Aquamaid (seriously, that's what we were called) at Cypress Gardens--World Water-Skiing Capital--and there women would step in if needed. I successfully filled in for one of the mighty male superheroes and was seriously scolded by the Justice League for doing so! 'Out of character', they said. Quite the contrary, I felt most Mera-like!

Aquaman,

Happy 70th Birthday to my favorite King of the Sea!
Here's to a bright, adventure-filled, BP spill-free year ahead.
Forever yours,
Mera"

Chuck Patton, artist, Justice League of America: "Happy Birthday, 'Your Majesty', from your pal Chuck Patton"

Joe Prado, artist, Brightest Day and Aquaman: "Happy 70th Birthday, Aquaman! Keep doing what you've always done! Being awesome and protecting us from menaces from the deep, deep seas! Keep your spirit, and brace yourself for a new era of adventures, my friend! And hey! Kick Manta's butt, and give Mera a kiss! :)"

Rod Reis, color artist, Aquaman: "To defend only a city like Gotham or Metropolis is very easy. To defend 70% of the planet Earth, live under water, talk to fishes and ride seahorses a true King is needed. Congratulations Arthur Curry, Happy 7-0 Aquaman! I am honored to color your magazine."

Alan Ritchson, actor, Smallville: "Happy 70th Aquaman! You will always be the king to me! I'll never forget your time on Smallville kicking Clark Kent's butt underwater! I loved knowing that I had the chance in some small way to remind everyone how great you really are! Having had the opportunity to portray the Sea King on Smallville, I was also welcomed into the best part of the comic world, the Aquaman family, the best fans in the world. Thanks AC and here's to another 70 years of greatness!"

Bob Rozakis, writer, Adventure Comics and Action Comics:
"Your pants, they are green
The ocean is blue
Happy 7-0, Sea King
Happy Birthday to you!"

Alex Saviuk, artist, Action Comics: "I can remember my excitement when Julie Schwartz asked me if i would like to do some Aquaman stories as back-up features in Action Comics. The oceans and what lies underneath have always intrigued me, and it was a real treat and an honor to follow in the footsteps of Ramona Fradon, Nick Cardy, and Jim Aparo in chronicling the Sea King's amazing adventures! I believe the mantle has now been passed on to Ivan Reis and Joe Prado and from what I have seen so far, Aquaman couldn't be in better hands! (although if Ivan and Joe ever need a break , I would love to step in for just one more adventure!)

Original 70th Birthday Illustration by Dan Schoening (Aquaman: Deepwater Disaster)!

Steve Skeates, writer, Aquaman: "Hereabouts there are not many heroes these days, even in comics. But Aquaman had been a hero from before even I was born, so I knew he was strong enough to survive my strange writing style--more into form than into content, sometimes silly, often too verbose. What I didn't know was that he would soon become both my best friend and my imagined self, and, as such, would make me not only a better writer, but a better human being as well. Don't ask me how that works; just allow me to thank the Sea King for being who he was."

Laurie S. Sutton, Editor, Arion: Lord of Atlantis
"Happy Birthday Wishes to King Arthur, Sovereign of the Sea, the one and only Aquaman! I had the great pleasure of chronicling the tails...er, tales of your Atlantean ancestors in Arion: Lord of Atlantis. This was a dream come true for me because I grew up reading your undersea adventures, which inspired me to write my own comic book stories and eventually become an editor at DC. Without Aquaman, I'd probably be working for Marvel. (Oh, wait, I did that. But don't worry, I never had eyes for Namor.) I lift my glass of Aquavit and offer a toast to His Marine Majesty--here's to 70 more years of aqua-tastic adventures!"

Roy Thomas, writer, All-Star Squadron: "I'll admit that, when as a kid in the late 1940s I paddled around the local swimming pool, it was always Sub-Mariner, and never Aquaman, that I pretended to be. However, I came to see over the years that Aquaman was (is) a great character in his own right, not just a copy of Prince Namor. I have a particular fondness for the work of Ramona Fradon and Jim Aparo on the character, although Nick Cardy and others have certainly had their moments. And I always loved the fact that, unlike Namor, Aquaman could speak to fish. For a couple of years there I really wanted a pet octopus I could name Topo! So--Happy 70th, Aquaman!"

A bunch of people (besides all those quoted above) were instrumental in the assembling of this special birthday post. The Aquaman Shrine gives special thanks to Correspondent Joe Slab, artist Bill Walko (who drew the above superb Aqua-Family pin-up, commissioned especially for this post!), Marc Tyler Nobleman, Eric Nolen-Weathington, John Karl Schwirian, and Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics, which (accidentally) inspired this whole thing in the first place. Every single one of them was invaluable in the creation of this post!


As we all know, Aquaman is starting his 71st year in a big, big way, with the debut of his new series this Wednesday, Sept. 28th. The Shrine cannot imagine a better way for the King of the Seven Seas to reclaim his rightful place in popular culture, and in the world of comics, than with this new series, written and drawn some of DC's top talent. And thanks to each and every person you see quoted above, the Sea King was able to be in the right place at the right time when this new generation of creators was ready to come along and grab the trident!

Happy Birthday Aquaman!

This post respectfully dedicated to the work of Jim Aparo, Otto Binder, John Daly, Dick Giordano, Bob Haney, Paul Norris, Neal Pozner, and Mort Weisinger.



Thanks Aqua-Fans, see you all in 2012!

The Aquaman Shrine's Best of 2011: Interview with Geoff Johns!

This interview with comics superstar Geoff Johns was important to the Shrine for several reasons, some more obvious than others.

First, it was our first (and hopefully not last) talk with Johns, who has done more for the Sea King's presence in the DCU than any other writer in the past quarter-century, maybe more. Second, it garnered the Shrine a whole lot of new fans. And Third, it was the first time DC Comics acknowledged what we were doing here in some sort of substantial, formal way: it was they who initiated and arranged the interview, signaling to us that they recognized all the work we'd been doing in regards to Aquaman.

So here's our talk with Johns, which originally ran on October 26:

The Aquaman Shrine is very excited to present an interview with the one and only Geoff Johns--who, as every single person reading this knows, is currently writing Aquaman and Justice League, among other DC titles!

DC Comics itself played matchmaker for this interview, and gave me the chance to briefly chat with Geoff on the phone the other day. As you might expect, we talked about Aquaman...

Aquaman Shrine: Thanks for doing this, Geoff. I've wanted to talk to you about Aquaman ever since you talked about how much you loved the character on the audio commentary track you did for Challenge of the Super Friends.

Geoff Johns: [laughs] Yeah, I guess I always have.

AMS: And of course you've only become much more important to the character since. I want to talk about the new book and Justice League, of course, but I first wanted to ask: why Aquaman?

GJ: I don't know, I think--I don't know what kid doesn't like to play Aquaman in the swimming pool or lake. Aquaman always appealed to me as a character--I think the world of the ocean is really interesting and fascinating, I've always liked the those unsolved mysteries--Atlantis, the Loch Ness Monster, things like that--and I always thought that the character was an underrated superhero. I really got to love the character when Peter David wrote him even more. The character just appeals to me on a number of different levels--from a storytelling level to a conceptual level to just probably a world level.

AMS: You mentioned Peter David, and I was going to ask--do you have some favorite Aquaman runs? Is David's your favorite era of the character?

GJ: It's certainly the run that I grew up reading and I really got into it--it was the first Aquaman book that I bought regularly, because he didn't have a lot of titles when I first started buying comics. I've liked the character even in supporting roles in a lot of stuff, but that's the only Aquaman title that I read consistently.

AMS: Okay, now you're writing Aquaman both in his own book and in Justice League, which of course takes place five years in the past. In your mind, is there a sense of writing him differently in each of those books?

GJ: Yeah, certainly--he'll be written the same in both titles once Justice League is no longer five years in the past. But, in the past, Aquaman is--I don't want to say defensive, but he's a little more aggressive, a little more trying to prove himself and now, when we pick him up five years later, he knows exactly who he is, exactly what he wants, and doesn't care what anyone else says about him, he just does what's right, what he thinks is right.

And he's a guy whose life is all about making those hard decisions--he's been born with a responsibility he didn't ask for, but he shoulders nonetheless. He doesn't complain about it, he just does it. For me, its a really inspiring character trait, and you can't help but respect the guy and I love that he doesn't care what anyone else thinks, it just rolls off his back like water.

AMS: [laughs] Yeah, like he did in the diner.

GJ: Yeah, yeah.

AMS: One of the things I took away from you writing Aquaman in Blackest Night, then Brightest Day, and of course in the new book, was that the character is sort of being brought back to prominence in and out of the DCU, restoring him to the level of the other big characters.

GJ: One of the things I remember was talking to Dan [Didio] about, really early on, was--I knew we were going to do an Aquaman series at some point in the future, but before we did all that was something I really wanted to do was build up Aquaman prior to him having a series, and that started with Mera in Blackest Night.

Mera was a character that was kind of off to the side, but I thought was fairly well known and had a lot of potential that had yet to be tapped and that was really exciting to explore. So putting her center stage even before Aquaman was back, and having her--she really did break out in Blackest Night, it was great--

AMS: Absolutely.

GJ: People started to gravitate towards the character, and understand the character, and appreciate the character, and have her grow and change, and really stand on her own was really important for me, because I wanted to introduce her as her own character before we brought Aquaman back and I think it just makes Aquaman stronger to see another character like that in his world.

So that was that, and making them obviously prominent in Brightest Day, and I think far and away the most successful storyline that was in Brightest Day was really that Aquaman storyline, and I think Ivan, Joe and I building off of that and now doing another take, in a monthly book.

AMS: I was going to say, when Blackest Night was happening, people coming to the Shrine, saying "Wow, this Mera character is great!" You single-handedly put her--maybe not back on the A-list, but on the A-list of DC's female characters. I wouldn't have been that surprised, at the time, if Mera had come out of that with her own series.

GJ: Yeah, I was really happy with the response to her in that title.

AMS: Yeah, you had people going to conventions in Mera cosplay. You never saw that before.

GJ: Yeah, that's my hope--you can kinda tell by the comic con crowd what kind of characters resonate. There's still tons of Green Lanterns out there, all sorts of stuff, but I saw Aquaman and Mera at the New York Comic Con. The more Aquaman shirts, the more stuff you see, you can kinda gauge the success of the character. It goes well beyond the book, but the book hopefully triggers that passion and one of things I was really proud about with Aquaman was, a lot of people who didn't know the character, or had no opinion--or maybe not a great opinion--saw something different when they read that book. And of course Ivan and Joe bring a visual to that title like no one ever has.

AMS: What has it been like working with Ivan and Joe and Rod? They've been great with us, we met them at the New York Comic Con. What's it been like working with them on the new book?

GJ: Oh, it's been great. If you look at it, we've been working with Aquaman and Mera and the characters since Blackest Night. So we did Blackest Night together, we did Brightest Day together, and now we're working on Aquaman together, so we've been in this world, and we've been talking about our passion and love for Aquaman, and what happens with this title, is that it kicks it up a notch, in that we can focus solely on him and the world around him, and really get into it.

He's been prominent in a couple of high-profile events for DC like Blackest Night and Brightest Day, and now coming off of that, tied into the New 52 more importantly, its become a great entry point, a great starting point, for us to hit the ground running with Aquaman #1.

Its great--Joe and Ivan bring such as much love and passion to comic books and the art form as anybody, to work with them, and to have a character like Aquaman get this kind of treatment, that shows how popular Aquaman is, that these guys want to spend their time and their life working on the character.

AMS: Yeah! I was thrilled to see Aquaman was one of the top-selling New 52 books.

GJ: Yeah, I think it surprised a lot of people, in-house and out. It did over 100,000, and I know it seemed to get a good response, so we hope the book will find an audience.

AMS: In your mind, whether you plan to state it in the book or not, do you have a timeline for Aquaman, in that you've decided what previous stories are in the history of this Aquaman?

GJ: I won't be delving into his past too much in the beginning; that's why we're introducing The Trench, we have a couple new supporting characters we're going to be introducing, one from the past in issue three, and in the stories we're telling, we're really going to try and move it forward, and not look backward too much. Those other stories that happened have happened, but we're not going to get into the history right now.

I hate to state in interviews what's going to happen before doing it in the comics.

AMS: Oh, sure. I've read interviews with you before where people want to know what's going to happen, and I don't! I just want to read it in the comics, read it as it unfolds.

GJ: One of the things I hope that happens is whether you've read every Aquaman comic or never read an Aquaman comic book, that this book is very accessible and enjoyable for anybody. The whole point of this book and particularly with issue #1 was we wanted to create a book--a lot of people have heard of Aquaman, and its available digitally and in comic stores, we hoped people would come in, and they're going to buy the Batmans and the Green Lanterns and the Supermans and stuff, but we were hoping some people would see Aquaman and go "Oh, I've never read an Aquaman before" or "I didn't even realize he had his own book, let me check this out", and there would be something in the first issue that would hook them, and get them to give the book and the character a try.

AMS: One last thing--is there anything in particular you want to mention to the Aquaman fans, since the Shrine is where they are the most centrally located? Anything we should be looking out for?

GJ: We're going to be adding a lot of new characters, a lot of new villains, we're going to be doing a new take on Atlantis, but I am going to be using some of the classic Aquaman villains. Eventually you will see Black Manta and Ocean Master of course, but we're going to revamping a pretty obscure Aquaman villain and they can try and guess who that's going to be!

AMS: [laughs]

GJ: Revamping a la Black Hand, you know we made Black Hand a really big character in the Green Lantern titles, and hopefully this character will have as much importance to Aquaman and his world.

AMS: Well, Geoff, thanks for doing this, and thanks for all you've done for Aquaman. You've really, you know, turned it around for him!

GJ: Well, thanks--hopefully we've have a really long...our hope is to have a really long, good run on Aquaman.



The Aquaman Shrine is thrilled we finally got to talk to Geoff Johns, who has done more for the Sea King and Mera than probably any single writer since...well, ever! Also thanks to DC Comics itself, for reaching out to us and giving us a chance to talk to Geoff. We've said it before, we'll say it again: Aquaman couldn't be in better hands right now.

The Aquaman Shrine's Best of 2011: Death of a Prince Intro!

At the risk of really waxing my own car, I put this custom intro I wrote for the Aquaman: Death of a Prince TPB on the "Best of 2011" list because A)it proved very popular, both in comments and downloads, and B)its the kind of original content that I've always hoped the Shrine would do more of: long-form essays about various Aqua-related subjects. Frequently, as deadlines approach, we end up just writing about Aquaman Underoos or whatever, so these more ambitious pieces get put aside.

So while we haven't quite been able to keep up with #2, this intro I thought was a big step in the right direction. It first ran on July 12:

Back when the Shrine did a post about the Aquaman: Death of a Prince TPB, I quibbled over the fact that the book did not include any sort of introduction.

Since many of DC's collected editions do, and that this volume was clearly timed to appeal to all the new fans Aquaman has thanks to Brightest Day and Flashpoint, I thought it would have been appropriate to get any of the handful of writers who worked on the stories contained therein to jot down a few words. Then I ended by joking that if none of those writers was available, "...well, DC, you have my number."

It then occurred to me that, over the years, the Shrine had interviewed almost all the major creative participants in these stories, and in almost all cases explicitly asked about this 1970s Adventure run. The material was already there.

Figuring what the hell, I decided to write an introduction to the Death of a Prince TPB, as if DC actually had asked me to do it. I hope you enjoy:

Introduction

In 1974, Aquaman was a man without a country. After a decade that saw him as the headliner of his own title, a founding and active member of the Justice League of America, the star of his own cartoon series (the back half of Filmation's Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure), and, for the first time in his three decade history, the subject of mass merchandising, the 70s crashed down on the Sea King like the pounding surf.

It started in 1971, when his solo book, coming off an extraordinarily successful run by writer Steve Skeates, artist Jim Aparo, and editor Dick Giordano (known affectionately as "SAG") was cancelled, a move so abrupt it didn't even give Skeates time to finish off a continued story he had planned. Strangely, Aquaman, as a title, was actually selling fairly well, the book being a victim as much as anything of inter-office politics.

That left Aquaman with no regular home, so he could only be found in the pages of Justice League of America. By 1971, however, that book had changed significantly from its early issues: gone were the days when Aquaman participated in every adventure, with marquee stars Superman and Batman relegated to minor appearances (not wanting their characters to be overexposed, the Superman and Batman editors of the time asked their characters only appear sparingly in JLA; a move that seems charming in its innocence nowadays). By this point, the League had added members, and many of the newer recruits were given more "screen time" than the Sea King. While his fellow JLAers were building up their rich histories in solo titles, Aquaman was relegated to guest appearances or one-off team-ups.

In 1973, DC's venerable Adventure Comics book was coming off a long run of unusual characters as the star: The Vigilante, Captain Fear, and Black Orchid were all given their shot, none of them lasting longer than a few months in the lead. In early 1974, the book was handed off to the Golden Age character The Spectre, for a run of stories still considered shocking even today: writer Michael Fleisher and former Aquaman artist Jim Aparo had the supernatural hero mete out harsh justice to crooks, turning them into glass, melting them, or converting bad guys into wood and then running them through a buzzsaw. In an age when the Comics Code still had a lot of power and rendered DC's mystery titles mostly toothless affairs, The Spectre feature harkened back to the heyday of EC Comics, where bad men got what was coming to them (indeed, Adventure's editor, Joe Orlando, worked on those self-same ECs). The strip was gutsy and unsentimental; and of course it didn't last.

In Adventure Comics #435, Aquaman returned to the title had been his home for years (running nearly uninterrupted from issue #103 to #284) as a back-up to The Spectre. He was once again written by Steve Skeates, but drawn by an artist new to comics looking to make an, ahem, splash: Mike Grell. Grell was thrilled at the opportunity: "He [legendary DC editor Julius Schwartz] looked at my portfolio and called Joe Orlando in. By now I had told this guy my story, and he told Joe this guy moved with his wife and his dog, and he was looking for work, and is there anything you can give him?

Joe looked at the stuff very carefully and said, 'Yeah, come on into my office.' And he gave me my first assignment, which was the Aquaman story, 'As The Undersea City Sleeps.' It was the launch of my career. It was one of the biggest breaks I ever got."

By the third segment, Skeates has been replaced by another writer, Paul Levitz. Like Grell, Levitz was a newcomer to superhero comics, and didn't really care who it was he was writing: "I have to say, it wasn't, 'Oh my God, I can get my hands on Aquaman.' It was much more at that moment in my life and career, 'I can write a superhero and not these mystery stories which I really liked to read as a kid? Please, sir!'"

Aquaman then disappeared from Adventure for a couple of months. When he returned, it was as the star of the book, featured on its cover (for the first time!) and again drawn by Jim Aparo. Co-written by Levitz and David Michelinie, "The Pirate Who Plundered Atantis!" is a fast-paced, brightly-lit seagoing adventure, with Aquaman alongside his bride Mera.

In the next few issues, Levitz (helped by a revolving door of co-writers, like Michelinie, Gerry Conway and Martin Pasko) brought in members of Aquaman's supporting cast (Aqualad, Aquagirl, Aquababy, Vulko), trip-hammered through the Sea King's Rogues Gallery: The Fisherman, Ocean Master, and Black Manta, developed ongoing subplots, and introduced the greatest playset Mego Toys Never Made, The Aqua-Cave. Steve Skeates returned for an issue, giving Aquaman a new foe, the Marine Marauder. With Adventure Comics #450, co-writer David Michelinie took over the strip, drafting established DC villains to take on the Sea King, like Starro the Conqueror and The Weather Wizard.

Despite the high turnaround in writers, these stories maintained a generally consistent tone and feel, much of it due to the work of Jim Aparo, operating at the peak of his artistic powers. A master at both character expression and slam-bang action, he made Aquaman look as iconic as he ever had. The sun always seemed to be shining in these stories, and with his family of solid supporting characters, it felt as though the rough patch Aquaman went through a few years earlier was now over, and he was about to reclaim his proper place in the nascent "DCU."

But then something happened.

In Adventure Comics #452, writer David Michelinie, had Aquaman's most fearsome opponent, Black Manta, deliver the most personal, shocking blow any supervillain has ever dealt a superhero: the murder of his son, Arthur Jr.

The story, "Dark Destiny, Deadly Dreams" still stands out, some thirty-odd years later, as one of the most startling moments in a superhero comic: never had a superhero suffered so greatly at the hands of one of his arch foes. Aquaman was the first "mainstream" superhero to even have a child. Now the character was breaking the mold yet again, this time in the most nightmarish way possible.

Amazingly, this move was not even considered particularly controversial in the halls of DC at the time. According to Michelinie, he was most likely simply paying off something Paul Levitz was building towards: "I don't think it was my idea--that possibility doesn't ring any bells. But I can't officially deny it, either. Paul Levitz was plotting the book for a while and I and other writers were doing scripts from his plots. So the most likely scenario is that the death storyline was something Paul was building up to and I just carried it through when I took over plotting the book."

While Aquaman was suffering the worst defeat any hero could imagine, as a character he was never in better shape: after this issue, it was announced he was being returned to his solo series, picking up where it had left off, at Aquaman #57!

Featuring the same creative team, Aquaman picked up right where Adventure left off: with the Sea King chasing after Manta, in a quest for vengeance. Over the next few issues, Aquaman history was made with several firsts: Mera was given her first solo shot as a back-up feature (written by Paul Kupperberg; remember that name), and artist Don Newton took over for Aparo, giving the character and book a different, but just as dynamic, look. At the same time, over in Adventure, Aqualad was starring in his own strip (also written by Kupperberg), another first in Aqua-history.

After a tussle with Kobra, the Mera strip ended, and Kupperberg took over the book from Michelinie. Mera rejoined her husband, the death of their son threatening to tear their seemingly-bedrock relationship apart. Aquaman #63 was a real family reunion: Aqualad returned to the fold, and Aquaman's half-brother Ocean Master showed up to again be a thorn in his brother's side. It seemed like all the various Aquaman Family strips (Aquaman, Aqualad in Adventure, and the Mera back-ups) were all coalescing around some big pay-off, a pretty coordinated piece of comic book scheduling, in an era before the advent of regular summer crossover "events."

Aquaman #63 ends on a down note, with Aqualad only then realizing Arthur Jr. was dead. In some ways, even more cruel was the little commercial paste-up DC put at the bottom of the page: "Next issue on sale during the first week of July."

This author waited a long time for Aquaman #64. But the infamous "DC Implosion", a financial catastrophe that led DC to abruptly cancel dozens of titles, forced Aquaman off the schedule, never to return. It seems that readers weren't the only ones surprised that the book was cancelled; its writer was, too! Paul Kupperberg: "I didn't know the axe was about to fall! Aquaman was my first regularly assigned gig when I took it over with #62 (July '78) from David Michelinie, a writer whose work I tremendously admired. I knew it wasn't the healthiest title on the schedule, but I really did expect to have a longer than two issue run on it. I didn't know the book was dead until after I turned in the script for #63."

While Aquaman kept swimming (back into the safe, warm waters of Adventure Comics), he would not return as the star of his own book for another eight years, and even then in just a mini-series. DC wouldn't deem the Sea King ready for another ongoing until 1991. After some moments of true success, and even more moments of failure, Aquaman would continue to struggle to prove he could be a solo star again. Now, in the 21st Century, thanks to his participation in high-profile "event" series such as Brightest Day and Flashpoint and a stable of talented writers and artists who love the character, Aquaman is ready to reclaim the throne as DC's premiere seafaring superhero, and one of the main pillars of the DCU.

It was the stories contained in this volume that helped cement Aquaman as a hero, a loyal and brave man of action, to a new generation. We hope this look back at some of his finest moments will do the same for you.

--Rob Kelly, July 2011

Rob Kelly is the creator and EIC of The Aquaman Shrine, an online daily devotional to the Sea King since 2006.



Might As Well Go All The Way Department: If you click here, you can download a PDF of this introduction, sized so it can be cut and placed directly inside your copy of Aquaman: Death of a Prince!