Aquaman Family Pillows

A few weeks ago F.O.A.M.er Ray DeForest sent in pics of a custom-made Aquaman pillow he bought on Etsy. He liked it so much he ordered a larger, Aqua-Family-style set, featuring Aquaman, Mera, and Aqualad! Totally adorable!

Here's a link to the maker's Etsy page, where you can see even more Super-Pillows on display. Thanks Ray!

Random Panel of the Day #380

Challenge of the Super Friends, Episode 3

Episode 3: "The World's Deadliest Game"

This episode of Challenge of the Superfriends opens, as they usually do, with the Legion of Doom. Inside the giant Darth Vader head, one of the members, Solomon Grundy, is unhappy with his team's lack of success re: destroying the Super Friends, chiding them on their "stupid plans." This is Solomon Grundy saying this.

Anyway, Brainiac has a plan, the first step of which involves Wonder Woman, Hawkman, and Black Vulcan, who are in space helping NASA repair one of their busted satellites. Brainiac shoots a beam into space, which "cloaks" the Earth, making it appear invisible! So when the trio of heroes tries to go home, they find the Earth...gone!

The heroes then get a "message" from Superman (actually Toyman throwing his voice) telling the three Super Friends to find them in a far, far away sector of space. There's a momentary bit of confusion as to how the other heroes got there, but the Super Friends are a "can do" bunch, so they head out into deep space.

After traveling trillions of miles(!), Wonder Woman, Hawkman, and Black Lightning get caught in a black hole, and end up deposited on a crazy toy world, built by Toyman, where toy-related death traps await them at every turn:

Back on Earth, the rest of the Super Friends learn what has happened (thanks to oh-so-clever clues by the Legion of Doom), and try to find their friends. Various false leads take them to the Grand Canyon, where Captain Cold and Scarecrow are waiting to unleash their own death trap.

The mine shaft the Super Friends are in is flooded, but Superman and Green Lantern help everyone escape--including Aquaman, who meekly follows along:

Back on the toy planet, Wonder Woman and the others face new dangers, including a giant-sized dollhouse and its wailing inhabitant. This is where Hawkman gets to utter the immortal line, "That's no baby!":

The rest of the Super Friends learn where the others have gone--inside a black hole! In a cringe-inducing moment, Aquaman warns that entering a black hole means certain death, leading Flash to bravely suggest they have to follow anyway. Thanks Aquaman, you big fraidy-cat:

While on a planet inside the black hole, the Super Friends meet a race of women who attack and turn them all to stone. Flash, being the only one not affected, manages to free his friends and the search continues. Its a weird little sequence, since it doesn't have anything to do with the plot. Superman, for his part, is very tan:

(I guess Hal took Kal for some trips around the sun).

Finally, all the Super Friends meet up in deep space, and escape the black hole. They find the Legion of Doom back on Earth, where they are robbing the countries of the world blind. A fight ensues (sort of, since we never see any punches thrown), leaving the Legion a crumpled mess:

The Legion of Doom seems utterly defeated, but of course they have a back-up plan: Brainiac shoots a beam at himself and the others, transporting them away. This leaves the Super Friends to, once again, vow that the next time they meet, the bad guys won't get away:

...not The End!


I really wonder why the Legion of Doom bothers with these cockamamie schemes to get rich, which always lead to the Super Friends putting a stop to them. The inventions they come up with have such practical, money-making potential they could make each of the Legion of Doom into Steve Jobs. Heck, the tourism income alone from Toyman's Toy Planet would be more than whatever they could get by stealing all the world's gold, or whatever. Maybe they should listen to Solomon Grundy.

On a separate note, I've generally never bought into the theory that Aquaman's lack of use in the Super Friends caused him to get the reputation as lame. But I have to say, this episode certainly goes far towards proving that theory: Aquaman gets nothing to do except tag along, and the one time he says something its to try and get the rest of the heroes to chicken out, only to be corrected by The Flash. Yeesh.

This episode's Aqua-Content: Low


Post Script: We're all familiar with the occasional animation mistakes that cropped up in 70s and 80s cartoons. Most are easily ignored, but occasionally they make you laugh--like this shot of the three Super Friends in space. A little somethin' for the ladies:

Hey Katar, do fries come with that shake?

I'm going to send this over to the two Hawkman blogs I'm aware of, Being Carter Hall and Hawkman and Hawkgirl Fans. I think they'll enjoy it--I know I did.

Random Panel of the Day #379

Mera on the Web: Kicking Posterior

Over on the DC Women Kicking Ass blog, there's a poll on who was the most "Kick Ass" Mera artist. Go and vote, Mera fans!

The Fire and Water Podcast: Episode 12

THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST: Episode 12
The official podcast of THE AQUAMAN SHRINE and FIRESTORM FAN

Shag and I start the episode talking about THE FURY OF FIRESTORM: THE NUCLEAR MEN #5 (by Ethan Van Sciver, Gail Simone, Yildiray Cinar, and Norm Rapmund) and AQUAMAN #5 (by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Eber Ferreira, and Rod Reis)! Next up we share some of your listener feedback! Finally, we end the show with a discussion on the overall direction of FIRESTORM!

Have a question or comment? Send us an e-mail at: firewaterpodcast@comcast.net

Also, you can leave a comment on our sites:
THE AQUAMAN SHRINE - http://www.aquamanshrine.com
FIRESTORM FAN - http://firestormfan.com

Subscribe via iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-fire-and-water-podcast/id463855630

Outro music by Daniel Adams and The Bad Mamma Jammas!
http://www.facebook.com/BadMammaJammas


Thanks for listening! Fan the Flame and Ride the Wave!

AquaSketch by Rod Reis

This g-g-g-gorgeous original painting by Aquaman color artist Rod Reis was sent to us to as part of "Mera Month"--click the image to drink it all in, and thanks so much Rod!


(Dear DC: I really think an Aquaman pin-up book is warranted at this point, don't you agree?)

Adventure Comics #164 - May 1951

Comics Weekend "The Strangest Questions in the World!" by George Kashdan and John Daly.

It's Adventure Sunday!

Aquaman's expertise as King of the Seven Seas is put to the test in this month's adventure:

Aquaman gets the message from Brad, and relays a strange answer back. Brad orders the ship to throw all its seafood overboard immediately!

The order is carried out, and in a few moments everyone sees it worked! The seafood attracted a school of whales, and when the whales blow their spouts, it dissipates the dust storm. Score one for Brad!

A few days later, more trouble develops when a fire breaks out on a ship carrying millions in gold (the S.S. Ron Paul, apparently). The boat will most likely sink, taking the gold with it, unless...

...and with that, so ends another adventure with Aquaman!


The Department of Odd Questions had an annual budget for fifty-three billion dollars. Look it up.

I liked this story, despite the stakes being really, really, really low. Basically, Aquaman is using his amazing powers to help his buddy feel better about his job. I mean, come on. To make matters worse, Aquaman uses "your" when he means "you're" in the last panel. I'm guessing he's so bored mollifying Brad that he just got a little sleepy and careless, like the last page of a term paper written an hour before class.

But, once again, artist John Daly delivers a superb art job. Every panel is complete and well-detailed, but never crowded or visually unappealing. This guy was good!

Sadly, this was Daly's final Aquaman adventure. I guess I shouldn't say "sadly", because he was replaced on the strip by the incomparable Ramona Fradon, who is (IMO) one of the finest comic book artists that ever was, and eventually became one of The Great Aquaman Artists. So losing Daly for Fradon is almost the definitive win-win situation, for us Aqua-Fans.

That said, I'm a little sad there are now no new Aquaman stories by John Daly for me to discover...

"Aquaman Outsells The X-Men"

This swell cartoon celebrating the Sea King's sales dominance over the mighty X-Men (not to mention the entire Marvel line) is courtesy F.O.A.M.er Andrew Kapellusch! Thanks Andrew!

Young Justice #12 - March 2012

"The Pendulum" by Greg Weisman and Luciano Vecchio.

It's Young Justice Saturday!

Hey there again, everyone, Shrine Correspondent Andy Luckett here again with a review of Young Justice issue 12. Last issue, Batman and Robin foiled another plot of R'as Al Ghul's which ended in Ra's' apparent death. After Talia and Ubu scooped up the body and returned it to a Lazarus Pit, Ra's returned to life. However, soon after Ra's left, Clayface emerge from the Pit, calling Talia's name. Huh?

We pick up this issue not with Clayface and a perplexed Talia, but instead we see:

Busted! Aqualad is daydreaming about Tula as he and the other Young Justice members hunt for Clayface in a Gotham sewer. How did he get there? To find out, we flash back to a few hours earlier as Batman contacts the team at their headquarters. He tells them to track Clayface, but not to engage him until the Dynamic Duo can return with a strategy for taking him down. After that flashback ends, we flash back a few hours earlier, as Bruce Wayne and Lucius Fox inspect a suspicious crate that has arrived at the Wayne Foundation building. Of course, the crate doesn't stay mysterious for long, as:

Batman and Robin show up and take on the mud monster, but he escapes into a nearby sewer, thinking about how he arrived in Gotham. So yes, we flash back again to the previous night. Clayface emerged from the Pit calling for Talia, who knows him as Matt Hagen. He asks her what she did to him, but at this point R'as returns, demanding that he sleep. Clayface, who apparently has to obey R'as' commands since he works for him, promptly falls asleep. He is then shipped to Gotham as a punishment for Batman's earlier interference.

R'as demands to know of Talia how Clayface came to be, and we flash back yet again to months earlier. Turns out, since Batman has repeatedly spurned her advances, Talia has fallen for Hagen, a soldier in the League of Shadows. Her father does not approve, saying that Hagen is beneath her and that Batman must be her intended. Yet Talia has found happiness with Hagen, and her father relents. They meet at a nearby waterfall, where:

Turns out that Hagen has inoperable cancer, and needs a Lazarus Pit to save his life. He tells her he needs her, and that since she is R'as Al Ghul's daughter, she can gain him access to the Pit. Insulted that Hagen is interested in her only for whose daughter she is, Talia reluctantly agrees.

She takes him to the Pit, where she tells him he must submerge. Predictably, as he does, she shuts the lid and locks him in. Should've seen that one coming, Matt! So, by being locked in the energized fluids of the Lazarus Pit for months, Matt becomes Clayface, and another grotesque Batman villain is born! As we see, however, the Dynamic Duo is not the only opponents he's after:

To be continued!


Okay, well, another issue of Young Justice that features cameos by Young Justice. Not that this issue was a bad read, it just seems like a strange choice of story for this book. Even Batman and Robin are relegated to the sidelines as we explore the origin of Clayface. I did enjoy seeing a more vindictive side to Talia that shows her less as a directionless pawn caught between her father and Batman, and more as a powerful woman not be be messed with. I do hope next issue that the action involves the team much more. And to be honest, the flashback upon flashback structure of this issue was a little unnecessary. At times it felt like watching that Seinfeld episode in India that plays in reverse.

As stated above, Aqualad makes only a couple of appearances in this issue, once daydreaming of Tula (which was a nice surprise for the opening page) and once in battle with Clayface at the end. But I do still feel that this comic as a whole has leaned more toward individual member stories than adventures where everyone works together. In the future I hope to see more team adventures that have a bit of that old Gardner Fox early-JLA teamwork feel, but we'll see.

Random Panel of the Day #378

Aquaman (Vol.1) #11 - Oct. 1963

Comics Weekend "The Doom From Dimension Aqua" by Jack Miller and Nick Cardy.

Since February is Mera Month on the Shrine, it was only appropriate to go back and check out the Sea Queen's very first appearance, way back in 1963:

...talk about a Meet-Cute!

The beautiful stranger tells our heroes she is Mera, queen from another dimension. But when Mera was threatened by a violent coup, she was sent via a multi-dimensional portal for her safety.

Aquaman tries to comfort Mera by promising to look after her. But before they can decide what to do next, a fleet of submarines come flying through the air, landing all around our trio. Who could be responsible for this?

Turns out it's the work of Leron, the very man who tried to usurp Mera's throne! Aquaman, Mera, and Aqualad try to swim away, but Leron turns the water around them into hard steel, freezing them in place. Leron makes one demand: turn Mera over to him!

Mera is relieved to know that Aquaman was never considering giving Mera up, but just stalling for time. Leron is overwhelmed by all the fish, vowing to come back and find Mera no matter what.

Shortly thereafter, Leron does return, which a small army of his friends in tow. They spot our heroes, and Leron opens up a whirlpool under the sea, which sucks Aquaman and the rest in--but Aquaman manages to free himself and Mera and Aqualad, making a beeline for Leron afterward.

Aquaman threatens Leron with his hard water powers (huh?), and when Leron doesn't back down, the Sea King does just that, creating hard water projectiles! How is this happening?

The answer is...Quisp, that magical imp who first appeared in Aquaman #1! Aquaman called Quisp in for help, and it was he(?) who created the illusion that Aquaman had such powers. Unfortunately, Leron has changed form into a shark, and has been spying on them all. He follows Quisp, and:

Leron fires some sort of weapon at the trio, trapping them in some sort of giant bag. He then has his men drag them back through the portal, back to their home dimension. Leron them locks them all in a coral cage, dragging the scientist who created the portal in front of her. They demand to know how he created the portal, and threaten to kill Mera if he does not confess!

As he is dragged off, Aquaman calls his finny friends from across the portal, which grab the coral cage and smash it open. Aquaman, Mera, and Aqualad go back home, with Leron back in pursuit.

All this time, Mera's hard water powers have been gone, and she cannot understand why. But Aquaman gets a hunch about the cause when he wipes some oil off of Mera's arm, and her powers return, allowing her to use them to capture a couple of Leron's men. He enacts a plan:

...so what about it, dear reader? Would you like to see Mera return! We bet Aquaman would!


With this issue, Aquaman as a series took a giant leap in the right direction--not only was it the first appearance of Mera, but it was the last appearance of Quisp. As you can see here, the little imp was already becoming a bit of story crutch--Aquaman calls him (again, ?) in to do something amazing, he does it, then he is dispatched a few panels later. Of course, inter-dimensional imps were all the rage in DC superhero comics of the 50s and 60s (see: Bat-Mite, Mr. Mxyzptlk, etc.), but to me a little of them went a long way. So swapping out Quisp for Mera is the definition of trading up.

Despite the final blurb asking readers what they thought about Mera, writer Jack Miller (and editor George Kashdan) clearly had plans to bring her back--she would pop up again just two issues later, in Aquaman #13!

Random Panel of the Day #377

Aquaman Sales - January 2012

Hey Aqua-Fans, check it out! Aquaman is increasing in sales every month! In October the book was #18, in December the book was at #14, and this month it's at #10!

Congrats all around to DC and specifically the Aqua-Team of Johns, Reis, Prado, and Reis!

Aquaman Art Gallery: Agnes Garbowska

This adorable portrait of Li'l Aquaman ad Li'l Mera is by Agnes Garbowska, whose work can be seen here!

Great job Ms. Garbowska!