JLA-Z #1 - Nov. 2003

Comics Weekend JLA-Z was a Who's Who-style series that I somehow missed back when it first came out.

But while buying comics for my Phantom Stranger blog, I bought the third issue (since it featured a PS pin-up), and was impressed at the line-up of diverse talent DC recruited to do the pin-ups.

So I went back and bought the first issue in the series, seeing how Aquaman was represented:

A very nice pin-up, by Aquaman's then-regular artists Patrick Gleason and Christian Alamy; Arthur looks strong and tough, and I'm a sucker for a bright blue sky when you're talking about Aquaman (reminds me of those awesome Ramona Fradon stories from the Silver Age).

Aquaman's origin, as listed here, is the more modern version:

...ah well, can't have it all.

For anyone who's a fan of solid superhero pin-up art, you could do a lot worse than this series. Aside from Aquaman, there are other really beautiful shots in here, like Amazo by Rob Haynes, The Atom by the late great Mike Wieringo, Darkseid by Walt Simonson, and Despero by Dean Haspiel!

Limited Collectors' Edition #C41 - Dec. 1975

Comics Weekend Time for something a little different for today's Comics Weekend installment.

As most of you know, I am an obsessive fan of over-sized, "treasury" comics. But unfortunately, as an Aquaman fan, DC's treasuries were exceedingly frustrating, because Aquaman made so few appearances in them, even via reprints, from which most of these books were put together.

But this book--Limited Collectors' Edition #C41--is a glorious exception, because not only does it feature two Justice League of America reprints, but it comes with an amazing, all-new wraparound sequence, set in the Hall of Justice and drawn by the incomparable Alex Toth!

And since this book always reminds me of the summertime (even though it was released in September), I thought now was a good time to talk about it on the Shrine. Here's the opening pages, courtesy regular Super Friends writer E.Nelson Bridwell and Toth:

At this point, the book shifts to a reprint of "Operation: Jail the Justice League!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Sid Greene from Justice League of America #61.

This story is about all the JLAers posing as Green Arrow to help foil a plot by a group of super-villains, including a villain of Aquaman's named Cutlass Charlie, who was never seen before or heard from again:

Cutlass Charlie quickly got out of super-villainy and got a job as a greeter at Arthur Treacher's.

Anyway, after that first story is over, we catch back up with the Super Friends as they continue their tour for Wendy and Marvin:

Then its time for another reprint, "The Case of the Disabled Justice League!", from Justice League of America #36, by Fox, Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs.

This is a sweet story--one of my all-time favorites--where the JLA, in taking on the supervillain Brain Storm--show a group of disabled kids that being handicapped doesn't mean you can't lead a successful, fulfilling life (using examples like FDR, Helen Keller, and Beethoven).

We then get one last page of Toth's Super Friends, including a shot of...Aqua-Marvin?:

As if all this wasn't enough, the book finishes up with a ten-page article--drawn and hand-lettered by Toth in that famous style of his--about how TV cartoons are made. For a kid reading stuff like this for the first time, its an amazing glimpse into how these shows--which seemed like magic to my five-year-old mind--were actually made.

The book's back cover is this wonderfully...well, friendly goodbye from the Super Friends:

'Bye, Super Friends!

Undersea Heroes: Postscript

Last Friday, we wrapped up our Undersea Heroes Week with Harvey Comics' anemic underwater hero Pirana. At the end of the post, I mentioned a half-dozen other water-based heroes I hadn't gotten to, like Amphibian, Abe Sapien, Marina, and some others.

In the comments, F.O.A.M. member Brian Heiler added "Don't forget Filmation's Manta."

When I read that, I thought, "What the heck is Brian talking about? Who's 'Filmation's Manta'?"

So I did some research, and found that Manta--and his female partner Moray--was part of the Filmation Saturday Morning show Tarzan and the Super 7:

...now, I remember watching that show, but I have absolutely no memory of Manta, Moray, or the show. Maybe my opinion of the show at the time mirrored most of America's--apathy. Manta and Moray only lasted seven episodes, before disappearing forever.

While I love having (re?)learned of this character, since he definitely should've been added to last week's Undersea Heroes Addendum list, he really doesn't rate a whole special post all to himself like this, so what makes him so special?

Well, I learned in my research that Manta was a wee-bit too similar to Aquaman for DC's tastes, causing DC to actually sue Filmation for trademark infringement!

The suit was DC Comics, Inc. v. Filmation Assoc., 486 F. Supp 1273 (S.D.N.Y. 1980), and here's what the jury found:

"Protectable 'ingredients' recognized in this circuit include the names and nicknames of entertainment characters, as well as their physical appearances and costumes, but not their physical abilities or personality traits. The failure of any court so far to grant Lanham Act protection for character traits or abilities makes sense since it is difficult to see how such intangible qualities, having an infinite number of possible visible and audible manifestations, can achieve that fixture or consistency of representation that would seem necessary to constitute a symbol in the public mind."

Which basically meant Filmation did infringe on DC's trademark of Aquaman. According to a quote from Andy Mangels on the show's Wiki page, "Due to lawsuits from Marvel Comics and DC Comics, Superstretch and MicroWoman, Manta & Moray and Web Woman have been withdrawn from distribution, and probably do not exist in the ER library at all. I don't think Hallmark ever transferred them. Very sad."

Indeed, when episodes of the series were released it on DVD, only the Freedom Force, Batman, and Jason of Star Command segments were included.

But fear not, Manta and Moray fans! Thanks (again!) to Brian and his blog Plaid Stallions, here's a few minutes of Manta and Moray:

Hmm...Manta can only be out the water a short time, has a walrus sidekick, and spends a lot of the adventure captured by the bad guy? Seems like Aquaman to me!


The reason I'm spending so much time on this very obscure character is the lawsuit was probably the most energy and care DC put towards Aquaman, ever--I mean, think about it: they cared about Aquaman* enough to file a lawsuit to stop the production of a pretty silly knockoff. I thought only Superman and Batman got that kind of respect!

Thanks, Manta and Moray--we hardly knew ye.



(*oh, okay, and Plastic Man, since he was part of the suit, too)

Aquaman by Bailey, Age 6

A couple of weeks ago, my pal (and F.O.A.M. member) Brian Dixon, of the awesome Crimson Lightning blog, posted a series of sketches by his niece Bailey, age 6.

She drew Superman and the Flash, and then just the Flash. I asked that, the next time she was taking commissions, could someone hand her the orange and green crayons? Little I did know, that just a few days later, the above masterpiece would arrive in my mailbox, an original Aquaman by the artist herself!

Dix told Bailey a little bit about Aquaman and the Shrine, and within minutes she was hard at work. I appreciate the addition of some of Aquaman's finny friends, and, as Dix pointed out, "Even a six-year-old can ensure that Arthur Curry's gloves are the appropriate color."

I love it--thanks Dix, and thanks Bailey!
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Just a reminder--you have only 4 days left to get in your submission for the Aquaman Casting Call Contest for a chance to win a copy of the hardcover book The Wolverine Files. Entries due Sunday, August 9th at 10pm!

Superman Match II Game - 1978

I absolutely love it when someone out there sends me pics of an item I never knew existed, like this Superman Match II Game from Ideal!

These pics are from the newest member of F.O.A.M., Shawn Myers, who had this to say about the game:

This is the Superman Match II game from my childhood. It's a superhero version of the kids game classic "Memory."

I loved this game and must have played it 12,578,495 times the first year I had it. Then when I was tired of playing it the regular way, I would flip over the tiles to form the letters of the alphabet.

It was manufactured by Ideal (in fact when the tiles are flipped into the starting position there is an Ideal logo on each of the tiles). There used to be plastic clips to place along each side of the board, but they have since been lost to to me.

As you flip over the tiles you have to remember the position of each hero--or villain to find the correct match:

But--being the Aqua-fan that you are, I'm sure that you're already spotted the reason why I'm sending you these pics:

Here's a pic of the entire board with all of the tiles in alphabetical order:

Not only does this game look like a ton of fun, but check out some of the characters represented on the tiles:

...wow, you didn't see a lot (read: any) of merchandise with Black Lightning on it!

Also interesting that they chose to use Ocean Master instead of Black Manta, which seemed like the more logical choice. I think that makes this game that much more awesome.

Thanks Shawn, and welcome to F.O.A.M!

Wednesday Comics #4 - 7/29/09

I meant to mention this earlier, but in last week's issue of DC's super-awesome Wednesday Comics series, #4, we got our first indication that Aquaman will indeed guest-star in Kyle Baker's also super-awesome Hawkman strip:

A-ha! "Not yet", indeed.

I've been enjoying the hell out of Baker's Hawkman strip; having Aquaman guest-star in it is just going to make it that much cooler!

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies

The made-for-DVD animated movie Superman/Batman: Public Enemies will be released on September 29, and while it's definitely something I would be intend on seeing, there's a couple of screenshots (from a preview on the new Green Lantern: First Flight DVD movie) that should be of special interest to us Aqua-Fans:

Wow, Black Manta?!? Versus the World's Finest Team? I am so there!

A bunch of F.O.A.M.ers sent me these screenshots, Christopher Chance was first out of the gate and into my in-box. Thanks Chris!

Baraquaman!

Today is the President's birthday, so I figured this would be the most appropriate time to post this goofy image I found on one of those LOL sites. Aside from the clever word play, I wonder how the heck did the photographer even get this shot? Sitting atop a surfboard?

Over the course of the year, I got a couple of other Obama-related Aquaman items in, and I considered doing a theme week. But then I decided that would be a bit much, so I'm posting all the stuff I have today.

In addition to the above photo, I also found this strange item:

...why someone would think of subbing in Aquaman in this context, and then go to the trouble of shooting their own photo, I have no idea. But I enjoy it for its sheer oddness.

Finally, there's this little homemade doll, sent to me by F.O.A.M.er Mac Schafer and Family:

Mac says: "Here is a pic of our latest creation. At Urban Outfitters they sell a 'Do it yourself' Obama. I present to you two pics of Aqua Obama."

I love it, thanks Schafer Family...and happy birthday, Mr. President!

Aquaman Vs. Black Manta Action League - 2009

I stopped by my local Target on Friday, and what did I find? Pure gold, that's what!

This is the Aquaman vs. Black Manta "Action League" two-pack, part of a new line of Brave and the Bold toys. Not only is it just great that Aquaman gets another action figure, but I really love this sculpting style--its fun, dynamic, and, well, bold.

These are some snazzy-looking figures--and dig the old school seascape on the package, it looks like a Filmation background painting!

The other two-packs in this line are Batman Vs. Kanjar Ro, Plastic Man and Blue Beetle, and Batman and Red Tornado. There's also a six-pack available, featuring an exclusive Gentleman Ghost figure.

Its quite possible, when all is said and done, Brave and the Bold will do more for Aquaman than it will for Batman!

From Atlantis To Hollywood, Part 1

Hey AquaFans! Today we're starting a new feature called "From Atlantis to Hollywood", which will try and track the development of the (fingers and flippers crossed) Aquaman live-action movie.

It all started when I saw this story from The Hollywood Reporter, that Leonardo DiCaprio's production company, Appian Way, is supposedly developing the Sea King as a movie.

What gave me the idea to start an ongoing feature was another article (sent to me by an Anonymous commenter--DiCaprio himself, surely), this one from Total Film, saying something similar.

Now...I'm not going to get too excited here (as a comics fan, I remember reading about the Batman movie that was sure to hit movie screens in...Summer 1981), since from what I've read there's not even a script yet, so of course there's about a million steps between where we are now and sitting in a movie theater watching Aquaman: The Movie.

But, as we all know, movie studios take obsessive fans (guilty!) more seriously now than they used to, and some productions have even given certain blogs exclusive details about said movie, as a way to make nice and to help build buzz for the movie (Peter Jackson's King Kong comes to mind as particularly fine example of this trend).

So starting today, I want the Shrine to keep track of, and talk about, every single instance of "the" Aquaman movie as it moves along the production process. If any of you come across an article about a possible Aquaman movie, please send it in to the Shrine and we'll post it here (for those of you so inclined who are not yet F.O.A.M. members, this will get you enrolled!). There's a "From Atlantis to Hollywood" button now permanently affixed to the list of labels on the right so anyone who wants to send something in can check and see if we've covered it previously.

And maybe, just maybe, if an Aquaman movie does start to become a reality, those people responsible for making it will turn to the most centralized on-line location for die-hard AquaFans they can find...The Aquaman Shrine.*

So keep an eye out, True Believers!


(*No offense, Laura!)

Adventures in The DC Universe #18 - Sept. 1998

Comics Weekend "Destroy the JLA!" by Steve Vance, John Delaney, and Ron Boyd.

This issue of Adventures in the DC Universe, the last to star the JLA, hits the ground running with a knock-down, drag-out battle against Amazo:

Amazo defeats all of the JLA...until we see that the whole thing is a training exercise, an elaborate illusion created by Professor Ivo, Amazo's creator.

Ivo is happy to see how well Amazo performs against the fake JLAers, but what he doesn't realize is that his creation has somehow started to develop human-like feelings. He just wants to please his creator, and takes pride in the compliments Ivo gives him.

Ivo then gives Amazo his marching orders: to get the JLA's attention by arriving in one of their member's hometown, Metropolis!

From the Watchtower, the JLA sees the "Die JLA" threat carved into the ground of Metropolis Park, so of course they show up:

The JLA is careful not to let the battle with Amazo get to out of control, otherwise it could spill over and wreck Metropolis and hurt innocent people.

They go after Amazo as a team, but his ability to mimic the powers of all the JLAers keep them at bay:

...ouch!

Since Amazo can't use more than one of his powers at a time, the JLA tries to keep Amazo off balance, giving them the time for Batman to come up with a plan.

While Amazo fights Superman, Batman clues Green Lantern in on his plan: setting off a small nuclear device(!), which Green Lantern will contain with his power ring. He then harnesses the massive electromagnetic pulse that comes from the explosion, aiming it at Amazo, nearly destroying him!

Professor Ivo, watching all this from afar, orders Amazo to disengage and return home until Ivo can rework him. But Amazo won't listen, and wakes up, resuming his attack on the JLA.

Ivo finally demands Amazo stop his attack, and he listens. The JLA follows Amazo, but when they get close to Ivo's base, they find all their powers have disappeared!

Ivo confronts them, and says he plans to drain all their powers completely. Not for Amazo, who Ivo is ready to junk, but for the army of Amazos he has ready to go:

:

A solid story, with a great ending, too bad Aquaman got so little to do!

In the end, though, this is really a story about Amazo and Ivo, with the JLA as the catalysts, so I guess its understandable that most of them don't play that large a role.


This was the JLA's, and Aquaman's, final appearance in Adventures in the DC Universe, and the title, sadly, would be canceled a few issues later. Too bad; it was a decent series, and a lot of fun. I would have liked to see Vance, Delaney, and Boyd's take on a Classic Aquaman story.

Pop Culture Aquaman

Both these photos showed up on the web the last few days, and while I didn't want to build a whole regular day's post around them, I really wanted to make sure the Shrine took note--after all, they both feature Aquaman!

The first one is a shot from the swell blog Mike Sterling's Progressive Ruin--these are two of Mike's employees, "Kid Chris and Aaron", both sporting Aquaman hats! Sockamagee!

The second is from Cal's Canadian Cave of Coolness, which has photos of a wedding where the bride and groom dressed up as Superman and Wonder Woman--with other heroes, including Aquaman, in attendance! (Thanks to F.O.A.M.er Joe Mello for the tip!)

Adventures in The DC Universe #12 - March 1998

Comics Weekend "Cipher Rules!" by Steve Vance, John Delaney, and Ron Boyd.

A few weeks ago, we covered the first issue of Adventures in the DC Universe, which featured all of the JLA battling a bunch of villains under the direction of as-yet-unseen foe.

The book then went on to feature other heroes, picking up the threads of that first issue here, a year later:

Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter save some planes from falling out of the sky when their computer systems fail. Manhunter seems suspicious :

Aquaman tries to stop the launch of the sub's nuclear missiles, but the Captain fires all of them simultaneously, and a few get past the Sea King!

Luckily Batman has been following all this from the Batcave, and he directs the other JLAers as to where the missiles are headed. Each of the heroes accomplishes their mission, and Aquaman has gotten a hold of the Captain to "question" him:

The sub captain reveals he was given official orders to launch the missiles, but in his home country of Luvania they deny giving any such order. Either one of them is lying, or, Manhunter concludes, someone hacked into their communications system!

Turns out Manhunter was right--the villain behind all this reveals himself via a computer screen--it's Cipher, "Earth's New Master"!

He demands the complete surrender of the JLA, or he will launch Luvania's entire nuclear arsenal. As the JLA decides what to do next, they see that riots have already started to break out in panic. A TV Network chairman named Winston McKienney breaks into his own channel, to demand that the JLA prove they "are more than glory-seeking vigilantes" and surrender to Cipher for the good of mankind.

The JLA decide to just that, and agree to have themselves beamed to Cipher's secret HQ:

(I love the above moment with Batman...worthy of Looney Tunes!)

Cipher has his henchmen claim all the JLA's weapons, like Batman's utility belt and Green Lantern's ring. While he decides what to do with his prisoners, he promises to wreak more havoc with the world's computer systems.

He then puts all the JLAers into individual cells, where they are monitored. But when the Martian Manhunter seems to have escaped (really, he just turned invisible), The Flash uses that half-second diversion to help the others escape.

The JLA then fight their way through some of Cipher's defenses, like armed henchmen and giant robots. But that doesn't take them long, and they break into Cipher's lair, only to find:

Back in the base, though, we see that McKinney was just a ruse, and the real Cipher was actually the cowering henchmen they discovered earlier. Thanks to a high-tech body harness, Cipher has the power of shape-shifting!

He then tries to make his escape, bumping right into an invisible Martian Manhunter:

Despite the general light-hearted tone of this series, this issue's ending is grimly straightforward, a nice way to balance the whole story out.

Aquaman gets a decent amount to do, and there's a couple of panels where, despite the cartoony art style, penciller Delaney and inker Boyd use shadows to pull off some really impressive, moody shots of Aquaman in action, like the one with him and the nuclear sub. All in all, a good effort.


The JLA got one more issue of Adventures in the DC Universe all to their own, which we'll see here tomorrow!