Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Aqua-Fans!

Comic Shop News by Hembeck

 

You all know how much I love my Hembeck, so when he draws Aquaman it's extra good. Kudos to Comic Shop News for tapping him to do the cover for their Christmas Special!

I grew up reading Fred's stuff, and one of the things he regularly did was mix characters from different companies, something almost never seen in the "real" comics of the time. That tradition continues here, with Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Sea King mixing with Wolverine and...Medusa?!? Sure, why not? It's Hembeck!

(h/t: F.O.A.M.er Rick Duncan)

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day Aqua-Fans!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from The Aquaman Shrine!

Aquaman Halloween Costume

I stole this graphic from SpidermanCollector.net back around November of last year, and I've been waiting all this time to use it! I believe this is from a newspaper article on Halloween costumes, featuring Aquaman in the coolest super-team ever!

Coil Man?

Aquaman Mother's Day Coupon

DC Comics posted some Mother's Day "coupons" to give out to the mom in your life featuring their characters promising to do various chores. Thankfully, Aquaman was not left out of the festivities!

Does anyone recognize this stock art? It's obviously not JLGL (PBHN) but whoever it is, their work has been appearing on different pieces of merch in the last few years:

Happy Belated Mother's Day to all you Moms out there!

Aqua-Easter Egg

This adorable Aqua-Easter Egg is the work of F.O.A.M.er Brent Almond!

Made for his superhero-loving son, Brent crafted the egg out of several different tiny, delicate parts (see his blog for the complete list) and it ended up, in his own words, "looking awfully cool on the shelf with the rest of my Aquaman stuff."

Awesome work Brent!

Young Romance Special - 2013

"The Lighthouse" by Cecil Costellucci and Inaki Miranda.

Our story opens in Amnesty Bay, and a storm is a-brewing:

Via the letters, Mera reads the story of Samuel Wentworth and Felicity Markham, who met one night at a party. Many men have tried to woo Felicity, but her father has always kept all potential suitors at bay. Wentworth is determined however, and during a dance with Felicity they make a connection--only to have it interrupted when Felicity's father yanks her away from the sailor:

That night, awaiting the storm, Aquaman and Mera talk about what happened to Felicity. Suddenly the lights go out in the lighthouse, just as they did years ago. Mera, determined to not let a ship get lost, heads out into the choppy seas, with Aquaman right behind.

This did not happen with Felicity and her father, who see the wreckage of ships floating in the water--but there is no sign of Samuel's ship, the Autumn's Daughter. Her father is sure Samuel is dead, but Felicity has hope, something Aquaman and Mera are providing in the present:

Aquaman, with the help of his finny friends, helps direct ships tossed in the waves to safety, as Mera controls the water to lessen the storm's imact.

Hours later as the storm passes and the sun pops out of the clouds, Mera emerges with the figurehead from the Autumn's Daughter, buried in the ocean floor for so long. Arthur and Mera embrace, just as the ghosts of Samuel and Felicity do--two couple reunited. The End.

In contrast to the less-than-romantic cover (which would befit a Young Dry Hump Special, should DC decide to put that out), this is a sweet, gooey story, something you'd see in a romance novel, but for the inclusion of superheroes. I really liked the work of Inaki Miranda, someone whose work I was only dimly aware of before now. Miranda's gentle line fits the story quite well, and manages to keep everything in the story clear despite having to fit a lot in just a few pages. I'd love to see him tackle Aquaman and Mera again.

All in all, a fun little diversion, and only fitting that DC comics' premier superhero couple get to appear in a Valentine's Day special. More holiday specials, more Aquaman and Mera please!

Note: Suggested musical accompaniment while reading this story is "Brandy(You're A Fine Girl)" by Looking Glass

Happy Valentine's Day!

This Aquaman valentine appeared in the Young Romance special that DC put out last week, just in time for Valentine's Day! Aw, how sweet!

We should have covered the Young Romance one-shot last week, since it features an all-new Aquaman/Mera story! But we goofed, so look for it this Saturday!

 

AquaMemories: Brian Butler

I found this classic Christmas Morning pic on the truly amazing Mego Museum site, of a young Mego fan named Brian Butler getting an Aquaman and a Tarzan from Santa!

The Sea King is a little hard to make out, but he's there:

...now that's a Merry Christmas!

It's An Aquaman Adrock Christmas!

These festive photos come from F.O.A.M. member Alexander Adrock, who says that Aquaman topping their family Christmas tree has become a holiday tradition.

Pictured with Alex--rocking his Aqua-Hoodie--is his daughter Iris ("sadly not named Mera and happiloy not named Dolphin", he adds), who potentially would have been named Orin if the whole chromosome thing had gone the other way.

Thanks for the great pics, Alex, and Merry Christmas!

Aquaman (Vol.5) Annual #4 - 1998

It's Halloween--time for a spooky superhero blog crossover!

All across teh interwebs today, various superhero blogs are covering their particular characters from a Halloween-esque perspective, and the Aquaman Shrine is joining in the fun!

In our case, we're covering Aquaman Annual #4, which itself was part of a theme across several DC annuals--"Ghosts." As we all know, the Sea King has a lot of ghosts in his past...

Arthur Jr.'s ghost disappears as quickly as it appeared, which (of course) enrges Aquaman. He's sure he wasn't imagining it, and assumes this is someone's demented joke. He takes off, looking to draw this person out into the open.

Meanwhile, in another part of the city, a woman who murdered her husband is also visited by a ghost...of the very man she killed! She "kills" him again, convinced this is all a nightmare. Another ghost--in the form of Atlantean mytic Shalako--also appears at a church function. What's going on?

Vulko and Koryak also come across some ghosts, in this case taking the form of Honsu the Conqueror and Prince Kraken, who are busy beating up some royal guards. After making a speech, Honsu asks them all to help in their fight against the surface world--which is met with enthusiastic support, even from Vulko and Koryak!

Tempest is also visited by the ghost of Tula, aka Aquagirl, who asks if he would be with her again if she were alive again. "In a heartbeat", he answers.

Meanwhile, Aquaman confers with Orin the First, who reveals that the various ghosts of the original Atlanteans have come back to try and affect the living. Aquaman, naturally want to bring the fight, but Lorelei says that perhaps if the current residents of Atlantis are so easily whipped into a mob, maybe there's no point in saving them. She has...other ideas how to spend the time:

 

Dear Atlantis Forum: I never thought this would happen to me, but...

As Arthur, Orin, and Lorelei make Frederic Wetham spin in his grave, the ghosts who have been popping up across Atlantis start making their various pitches: Shalako's is more war-like, while Tula plays on Garth's undying love for her.

Meanwhile, back at the AquaCave:

 

Aquaman and Orin bring the fight to the other Atlantean ghosts, while trying to talk sense into the crazed mob. Orin takes on his brother Shalako, and using their two-pronged attack, defeat them all, just as the sun rises and the darkness of night fades.

Unfortunately, there is still one ghost left:

 

As the book says, The End? Who can really say, when you're talking about ghosts?

Make sure to visit the other participating sites to see other spooky content:

• The Atom @ Power of the Atom
• Batman @ Batman: Gotham Knights Online 
• Booster Gold @ Boosterrific
• DC Bloodlines @ DC Bloodlines
• Firestorm @ Firestorm Fan
• The Flash @ Speedforce
• Green Lantern @ Indigo Tribe
• Green Lantern @ Corps Conjecture
• JLA @ The Captain's JLA Blog
• JLD @ Justice League Detroit 
• Martian Manhunter @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• The Phantom Stranger @ I Am The Phantom Stranger
• Ragman @ The Suit of Souls
• The Spectre @ Siegel & Shuster Mythmaking 
• Superman @ Great Krpyton!
• Swamp Thing @ The Blog From The Bog
• Wonder Woman @ New Adventures of Wonder Woman

Thanks to Chad Bokelman for putting this all together!