Review: "Aquaman: The Search for Mera"
Plots that continued over multiple issues were a rare thing in DC Comics of the 1960s. But as the publisher took on younger creators and began competing with Marvel more an older, more sophisticated readership, serial storytelling became more and more prominent.
This book, which collects a story told over nine issues of Aquaman published in 1968 and 1969, is an early example.
The plot is pretty straightforward - Aquaman's wife, Mera, is mysteriously abducted - and character development, as was typical of DC at the time, is minimal. But it's still entertaining thanks to the excellent pacing and storytelling of writer Steve Skeates and then-new Aquaman artist Jim Aparo.
Skeates keeps the suspense going and develops new challenges, include a scuffle with Black Manta and a forced battle between Aquaman and his sidekick, Aqualad, during each chapter of the Sea King's quest. There's also some palace intrigue involving the aide Aquaman leaves in charge of his kingdom while he's away.
Aparo's art, as would be expected, is excellent. His line is somewhat softer and his characters' features less angular than his later art of the 1970s and early 1980s, but still distinctively his own. The underwater landscapes are imaginative and beautifully rendered, and the action scenes intense and dynamic. Aparo uses his trademark diagonal panels to speed up the pacing of the story when warranted. Even early on during his tenure at DC, his mastery of the form is evident.
For fans of Aparo and the Bronze-Age Aquaman, this collection is a must and, amazingly, it's never been collected before. Younger readers may enjoy it, too, as there's nothing too scary going on here. They should be warned, though, that this isn't the bare-chested,underwater barbarian of the recent Aquaman movie, but the blond-haired, orange-suited guy who rides a seahorse. The Real Aquaman, as I like to call him.
The hardcover is worth springing for, in my opinion, for Aparo's nicely reproduced art, alone. All of Nick Cardy's excellent cover art is also included and the color reconstruction throughout is beautiful.
New Music Friday: The Specials
Our picks, er, pick, this week. Click the link to order discounted items from Amazon.
Pop Culture Roundup: Kiss mini-golf; Joe Kubert; DC Comics; Marvel Comics
ITEM! Kiss mini-golf in Las Vegas! What's not to love? (via Atlas Obscura.)
ITEM! Check out Joe Kubert's little-known 1940 superhero, the Zebra (via Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine.)
ITEM! A fantastic DC Comics promo poster by the fantastic Jose Garcia Lopez (via Rip Jagger's Dojo.)
Plus one for Marvel, by the great John Romita!
ITEM! Check out Joe Kubert's little-known 1940 superhero, the Zebra (via Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine.)
Coming Up: The Seeds - Pushin' Too Hard Soundtrack
Our March 8. Order from Amazon now.
Details from Ace Records:
Big Beat's series of reissues dedicated to the Seeds reaches its apex with the compilation 'Pushin' Too Hard: The Seeds', the accompanying soundtrack to an acclaimed rockumentary tracing the rise and fall of these 60s garage icons. Directed by GNP Crescendo's Neil Norman and written/produced by Ace's own Alec Palao, 'Pushin' Too Hard: The Seeds' is an extensive trip through the career of the exemplary quartet, and its eccentric front man, Sky Saxon. Aficionados will be glad to note that several of the group's own selections are presented here as alternate takes or different versions, providing more evidence of the driving, hypnotic brand of rock'n'roll the Seeds pioneered.
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