Okay, here's a pair of Aquaman strips.
The top one, Fred really likes. The other one, not so much.
In fact, he suggested that I hold that one back until the end. After all, that 'working for scales' line is a really, really old joke.
There are a few factors that made me go with it now, however. First, I had another Aquaman strip ready for prime time, and second, the joke - as lame as it is - is kind of timely, what with Mr. Schultz's recent passing. There's also the fact that I'd like to get the strips out there on a faster pace, and one way of doing that is by doubling up on strips with the same characters. Finally, I think it's important to intersperse the really good ones with the not so really good strips; otherwise, my hit counter is going to drop to zero towards the end of this project, and nobody wants that to happen, right?
That being said, I have a confession to make about Aquaman.
I don't like him. Never did, in fact.
Well, let me qualify that. It isn't so much that I dislike the character, but rather I just feel a profound antipathy towards him. He's the kind of character that makes me wonder what exactly the point was.
My first exposure to Aquaman was probably in the pages of Justice League, although I also remember a 1970s reprint of a Green Arrow-Aquaman team-up, in which they traded milieus to track a pair of felons. It was a typically silly kind of story, livened up with some nice artwork by Ramona Fradon and Lee Elias.
Just what the heck was this guy doing in the Justice League, anyways? I'm not talking about the way he's currently depicted, with the claw-hook for a hand and a bitter, sullen personality. Look at the original 1960s roster of the League: Superman! Batman! Wonder Woman! The Flash! Green Lantern! The Martian Manhunter!
Who do they pick to be the seventh member? Some guy, who is admittedly strong, but can't be out of the water for more than an hour? You've got to be kidding me.
No wonder Metamorpho turned them down.
I think that the only time I've actually sought out old Aquaman stories was when I was in my must-have-everything-drawn-by-Neal-Adams phase, and tracked down the three issues he drew that guest-starred Deadman. I also did enjoy the Steve Skeates/Jim Aparo stories reprinted about ten years ago in the Adventure digests. It was refreshing to see a super-hero being scripted as a raving loon, long before it became trendy.
- NP
