Aquaman 35....HTF ?

[Speedy-D]

But I gotta admit I like Black Manta's 2nd appearance cover better than #35...

 

 

 

 

Yeah, #35 is a pretty weak cover for that part of the run.

[zosocane]

But I gotta admit I like Black Manta's 2nd appearance cover better than #35...

 

 

 

 

Yeah, #35 is a pretty weak cover for that part of the run.

 

It is. Which is why, for the Aqua-baddies, I really like Aquaman #29, a really good cover, first appearance of Ocean Master, who is also Arthur's step-brother. He appears at the very end of the 2014 JLA animated movie, setting it up for the sequel JLA animated movie out maybe in 2015?

[akaSteveRogers]

But I gotta admit I like Black Manta's 2nd appearance cover better than #35...

 

 

 

 

Yeah, #35 is a pretty weak cover for that part of the run.

 

It is. Which is why, for the Aqua-baddies, I really like Aquaman #29, a really good cover, first appearance of Ocean Master, who is also Arthur's step-brother. He appears at the very end of the 2014 JLA animated movie, setting it up for the sequel JLA animated movie out maybe in 2015?

 

Indeed. A lot of great Nick Cardy covers from #38 through #40s as well.

 

[Number 6]

But I gotta admit I like Black Manta's 2nd appearance cover better than #35...

 

 

 

 

Yeah, #35 is a pretty weak cover for that part of the run.

 

It is. Which is why, for the Aqua-baddies, I really like Aquaman #29, a really good cover, first appearance of Ocean Master, who is also Arthur's step-brother. He appears at the very end of the 2014 JLA animated movie, setting it up for the sequel JLA animated movie out maybe in 2015?

 

Don't mean to be obnoxiously nerdy, but I believe Ocean Master is Aquaman's half-brother.

 

I think it's safe to say that Black Manta is the most well-known and popular Aquaman villain. The media exposure he received from the Super Friends cartoon I think is largely responsible for this. He does have a cool look and name, and what he did in the 70's made him a bad-*spoon* long before it became the prevailing trend.

 

Black Manta also has the added allure of being an "under-appreciated" key; Ocean Master's first appearance has been broken out in Overstreet for quite awhile.

 

But he's not a particularly fleshed-out villain. Issue #35 is his first appearance in comics, but there's no origin, no hint at an identity, not even any explanation for why he does what he does. The story reads as though it's assumed that the reader knows who he is and what he's all about. It's not until the late 70's that they made an attempt to give him some background - but still no origin.

 

In fact, he really didn't appear that much in the comics. I think he's been used more in the last couple of years than he was in the previous 45.

 

To me, he seems cool, but he's kind of like the Penguin or the Riddler: if it wasn't for the media exposure those characters got in the Batman T.V. show, would comic collectors really care about those characters that much?

 

By contrast, I think Ocean Master is a more fully realized and interesting Aquaman villain. He was used far more in the original comics and his relationship with Arthur goes much deeper. (Geoff Johns has recently shoe-horned some drama into the Aquaman/Black Manta dynamic but it seems silly and forced to me). To me, Ocean Master is more like Aquaman's version of Ra's Al Ghul - a much more intimate villain. And I agree that #29 is a slightly better cover than #35 but still not one of my favorites:

 

 

It will be interesting to see which of these characters they choose to use in upcoming film projects.

 

BTW, this is one of my favorites covers from the period:

 

 

But yeah, #42 is definitely one of the best:

 

 

[conditionfreak]

Aquaman is and has always been, lame. But many of his covers are really nice. Lot's of yellows.

[Hepcat]

Aquaman is and has always been, lame.

 

Nonsense. Aquaman is a great hero! So good in fact that I subscribed to his comic in 1963.

 

 

 

 

[MusterMark]

Aquaman is and has always been, lame.

 

Nonsense. Aquaman is a great hero! So good in fact that I subscribed to his comic in 1963.

 

 

 

 

I could not agree more with Hepcat.

 

Aquaman is awesome.

[Heronext]

Aquaman is and has always been, lame.

 

Nonsense. Aquaman is a great hero! So good in fact that I subscribed to his comic in 1963

 

I could not agree more with Hepcat.

 

Aquaman is awesome.

 

Here's a couple'a mine

 

 

[zosocane]

 

 

 

[zosocane]

 

Also one of my all-time favorite covers from any period -- the composition, the colors, the drama. Cardy used depth to great advantage. Look at how, on this one, there is a very clear foreground, midground and background.

[zosocane]

Aquaman is and has always been, lame.

 

Nonsense. Aquaman is a great hero! So good in fact that I subscribed to his comic in 1963.

 

 

Anyone who thinks Aquaman is lame will change his/her mind about Aquaman within 24 months.

 

Hepcat, do you still have your original subscription copies of Aquaman from the 60s??

[Hepcat]

Which is why, for the Aqua-baddies, I really like Aquaman #29, a really good cover, first appearance of Ocean Master....

 

And I agree that #29 is a slightly better cover than #35....

 

Yes, I agree that #29 has a better cover than #35. Here's a scan of my copy of the former:

 

 

Hmmmmm. Seems I need a whiter, brighter copy though....

 

[Hepcat]

Aquaman is and has always been, lame.

 

Nonsense. Aquaman is a great hero! So good in fact that I subscribed to his comic in 1963.

 

Anyone who thinks Aquaman is lame will change his/her mind about Aquaman within 24 months.

 

Anyone who thinks Aquaman is lame might want to check out the redhead on the cover of this issue which is the one that prompted me to subscribe:

 

 

 

Hepcat, do you still have your original subscription copies of Aquaman from the 60s??

 

No, unfortunately they're long gone with the other comics I purchased from 1963 to 1965. They all had the dreaded subscription crease anyway so I shouldn't have to feel so bad about selling them to the variety store in the spring of 1965 with the rest of my hundred or so comics for three cents each, should I?