DC Super Friends #18 - Oct. 2009

Comics Weekend "This Am Not The Title!" by Sholly Fisch and J. Bone.

I've been doing looks at issues of DC Super Friends only every so often, but over the last few months I've seen a definite uptick of quality, both in the writing and the art.

Add that to the fact this book, still, is the only regular place where Classic Aquaman can be seen, I think we'll being doing regular Comics Weekend posts on DC Super Friends each month from now on.

And this issue is a great time to start, because it features another one of my favorites, Bizarro Aquaman!:

The Bizarro Super Friends get an emergency signal ("Relax", "Chill Out", etc.) and they spring into action, saving Bizarro Lois Lane from being crushed by a collapsing house, in their own inimitable Bizarro fashion.

It dawns on them that their world is perfect (in that its total chaos), so they really aren't needed. They decide to go somewhere they can "mess things up", and of course that means...Earth!

Meanwhile, the Super Friends are dealing with the super-powerful robot Amazo:

The fight seems to be a standstill until the Bizarro Super Friends show up, causing all sorts of commotion. They destroy a dam in the process, so the Super Friends have to stop chasing after Amazo and safe the local people from the leaking waters.

The Super Friends are, to say the least, shocked at who these beings are, and try and get a grip on the whole Bizarro concept:

Amazo starts wrecking a nearby rollercoaster, so the Super Friends tell their Bizarro counterparts to stay put and not get into any trouble. Of course, we all know how the Bizarros are going to take that, and they waste no time getting into the middle of the fight.

Overwhelmed, Wonder Woman and Superman get an idea of how to deal with both problems at once: they tell Amazo and his creator that they are giving up! The Bizarro Super Friends hear that, which is all they need to do the opposite: attack Amazo!

And since Amazo copies whoever he's fighting, he then starts becoming a clumsy, stupid Bizarro himself:

Amazo, inheriting Bizarro Flash's laziness and sloth, settles down for a nap. His creator and master gets so angry he turns Amazo off, screaming to the heavens in frustration that he has once again been outfoxed by the Super Friends!

The crowd start congratulating the Bizarros, which (of course) freak them out, so they decide to return to their home planet:

A wonderful story, completely true to the characters yet perfect for wee kid readers. J. Bone is the perfect artist for this series, making the characters look like the kid-safe versions the toy line created, but funky and quirky enough to give the book a real visual kick.

This is also comes with a handy guide helping you determine if you're a Super Friend or a Bizarro:

...that little girl poking a snoozing Bizarro Flash makes me laugh every time I look at it.

Aquaman (either version!) doesn't get much to do in this issue, but that's okay: every Super Friend gets their turn to shine in this series, and he'll surely have more to do in future issues.

DC Comics Presents #71 - July 1984

Comics Weekend The return of Bizarro Aquaman!

Not too long ago, I wrote a Comics Weekend post about Superman (Vol.1) #379, which featured the first-- and what I first thought was only-- appearance of Bizarro Aquaman.

But as soon as I bought the book, I looked the character up (using the nearly indispensable Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics) and discovered that, lo and behold, the shambling mess that is Bizarro Aquaman made a second--and final--appearance in DC Comics Presents #71.

The story this time around is titled "The Mark of Bizarro!", by E.Nelson Bridwell, Curt Swan, and Dave Hunt:

We get a brief history of how the Bizarro Justice League came to be--the original Bizarro created them to be his friends.

But Bizarro wanted some exercise, too, so he created Bizarro versions of some super-villains, like Bizarro Shaggy Man (who only just sits and thinks, 'natch) and Bizarro Joker. But that wasn't enough, so he created a Bizarro Amazo:

I love this transaction:

Bizarro Amazo: "...Me give you Bizarro-Aquaman's powers! Okay?"

Bizarro Green Lantern: "No-kay! Then me won't be big hero!"

Wow--Aquaman even gets dissed on the Bizarro World! Sheesh.

Unfortunately, just like in Superman #379, Bizarro Aquaman disappears from the story early, and never comes back. The story then moves onto how Bizarro and Bizarro-Amazo come to Earth, and how Supes and Bizarro have to team-up to stop the erstwhile Frankenstein.

Of course, Byrne's Superman reboot came along two years later, and all this Bizarro World stuff got wiped away, and Bizarro Aquaman never made another appearance in the DC Universe.

I guess Bizarro-Aquaman would've actually been happy about that.
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This cheery ad for the Brave and the Bold comic has been running in all the Johnny DC titles of the last two months--now having seen the show's take on Aquaman, I'm doubly glad to see how prominent he is in the marketing campaign for the show!

(Although in this particular drawing, Aquaman looks like he came right from a gig with Ren & Stimpy)

Superman #379 - Jan. 1983

Comics Weekend Meet Bizarro Aquaman!

I always found the Bizarro World concept to very creepy and disturbing. Bizarro by himself was a goofy, fun idea, but when it was expanded to a whole planet, it took on a whole nightmarish type of feel, at least to me.

Eventually, the Bizarro World concept kept getting developed, to the point where a Bizarro Justice League was introduced, which leads us to this comic, which featured the first appearance of Bizarro Aquaman!

The story, by Cary Bates, Curt Swan, and Dave Hunt, is titled "The Bizarro-Buster Is Loose!" and opens with Bizarro meeting with his fellow Bizarro Justice Leaguers:

Bizarro Batman talks of reports of things blowing up all over the planet for no good reason. He determines those reports are exaggerated, just as Bizarro Flash explodes immediately to his right.

Then the rest of them follow suit:

See? Horrifying.

Unfortunately, from here on in, Bizarro Aquaman doesn't make any more appearances in the story (why should the Bizarro Aquaman be any different from the original version?), so I'm not going to spend a lot time talking about the rest of the story.

Basically, Bizarro heads back to Earth, to steal Superman's Duplicator Ray so he can start making more Bizarros before they're all gone.

Superman is actually okay with this, but then he sees a bizarre creature made of orange smoke following Bizarro, who seems to suddenly become weak, and collapses into dust.

The creature metamorphoses into a different form:

...I know I've said before, I'm not a big fan of Curt Swan's work, but I gotta give him credit--that is one disgusting creature. *shudder*

Superman follows the creature back to Bizarro World, defeats it, and all the previously exploded Bizarros re-form:

...sadly, Bizarro Aquaman doesn't get an appearance here, even in this group shot. *sigh*

Turns out all of this was an accident, caused by...Bizarro Lex Luthor! Bizarro Luthor, of course, is a good guy:

...I love Superman's bewildered thoughts in the second panel. Let me get the heck out here!

Bizarro Aquaman did make a return appearance, his last, in DC Comics Presents #71. Maybe I'll pick that issue up to see if he gets any more to do that time around.

Years ago, I read that Alan Moore had worked up an idea for mini-series set entirely on the Bizarro World. He wanted to deal with some of the most mundane aspects of living on a square planet--how do you live on the corners?, and such.

Since I find the Bizarro World a creepy concept even under the gentile hands of Cary Bates and Curt Swan, I can't imagine what nightmares would've awaited us if DC had let Moore go ahead with it.