Arthur Curry / Aquaman Appreciation Thread 2020

[Robanker]

Just reread Aquaman#56 and I can't handle how beautiful that book looks. I've long been a fan of Lopresti and he knocked this out of the park. Romulo Fajardo Jr's colors are the perfect compliment to his pencils and I'm absolutely in need of more Arthur and Mera from this art team.

They really managed to capture the look and feel of classic Arthur and Mera. They look timeless, like a modern take on the silver age run.

Don't get me wrong, I still adore Robson, but I need a second book with Lopresti, Ryan and Fajardo Jr on art.

[Flash Gordon]

Just reread Aquaman#56 and I can't handle how beautiful that book looks. I've long been a fan of Lopresti and he knocked this out of the park. Romulo Fajardo Jr's colors are the perfect compliment to his pencils and I'm absolutely in need of more Arthur and Mera from this art team.

They really managed to capture the look and feel of classic Arthur and Mera. They look timeless, like a modern take on the silver age run.

Don't get me wrong, I still adore Robson, but I need a second book with Lopresti, Ryan and Fajardo Jr on art.

Reread the past couple issues this week- and yeah, this book was gorgeous! I want more Lopresti on Aquaman and Mera.

[Psycwave]

Aquaman Giant #3 details -
* "Tempest," a 16-page story written by Steve Orlando with art by V Ken Marion and Sandu Florea

Aquaman and Tempest race to stop an enraged monster that has escaped its magical tomb under the city of New York.

* "Screaming Sea," an 8-page story written by Tom Taylor with art by Pop Mhan

Aquaman and Mera must stop Lex Luthor's plans to drill into the ocean floor.
* New cover by Emanuela Lupacchino

Plus, these reprint tales:
* "Throne of Atlantis Chapter 2," from Aquaman #15 (2013)
* "The Enemy of My Enemy," from Mera: Queen of Atlantis #3 (2017)
* "Blood of the Manta Chapter 1 from Teen Titans #9 (2018)

Kind of love how successful these have been!

[lemonpeace]

Definitely a great reason to dislike them.

Overall I just don’t like that they don’t serve a purpose. I don’t write blogs but I want to make one on how it’s probably the bottom bin of gift from the Gods a character has ever gotten in fiction.

What makes it worse these 6 or so gods came together when giving Aquaman this gift, like they gave him something worthwhile. It’s like 3 of your aunt and uncles saying they came together to buy you a single sweater for your birthday. Grandad Poseidon who past away having bought you a car last year.

Overall yeah it has nothing to do with the character though. I had a discussion on another site with someone and they said they should of used King Shark as the gateway for introducing the Polynesian Gods. That way it would be using what’s already in Aquaman’s mythos and expanding further with it. Heck I think it would of been awesome and especially worked given the last arc with Rath, King Shark/Nanue played a big role in.

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I don't like the tattoos because they're blatantly obvious movie synergy and miss the point of it being a part of Momoa's heritage that comic Arthur just doesn't fit with.

they've had YEARS, almost multiple DECADES, to use King Shark for a deeper dive into Islander culture and they never cared to; and just because Arthur has incorporated some Maori elements into his character doesn't mean they can't still do that.

while yes the tattoos were a nod to Mamoa's heritage, they are still a purely a movie creation for the character because Mamoa doesn't have those tattoos in real life. He suggested adding them to the character as a expression of his heritage but that is because of how much reverance his culture has for the ocean. it's also not as if they pretended Arthur's suddenly taking ownership of Pacific islander culture, which they could easily do by incorporating aspects of Islander/Polynesian culture into Atlantis the same way they've shoehorned in medieval european/arthurian imagery in over the years, he earned it as a show of gratitude and acceptance by the old gods, specifically the Maori god Tangarao; I don't think it needs to serve any magical mystical purpose beyond that. i don't see how him having the tattoos is any more egregious than all the times they cribbed european/arthurian mythology for him, which makes significantly less sense because, unlike polynesian/pacific islander culture, that affinity for the sea isn't there thematically.

I seriously doubt a sea-dwelling culture would evolve to even remotely resemble medieval culture (it would probably look more like Polynesian/Pacific Islanders to be honest) but that's fine? why? because he's white? but is he really though? he's definitely not european, his dad is american and his mom (who he gets him eye and hair color from) is Atlantian. sure, he may have been intended to be white initially (due to the caucasian-centric culture at the time) but nowadays, post-Flashpoint, he could be literally anything as far as we know; not that I'm specifically asking they retcon Tom as Polynesian but I'm just saying.

I say all that to say this, while I do think he should use his classic scalemail in the field, I simply don't see why just because it's Maori-inspired or because it's synergy from his most popular iteration of all time that the tattoos are so hard for people to get over. if no one cared when they heavily nod to arthurian/european then they should be able to live with a little Polynesian special sauce, especially if it's as respectfully done as it has been so far. my only gripe is they are over playing it times, particularly the covers. he should still be allowed to wear his scalemail costume when it makes sense to do so, but other than that, we should embrace letting characters having more culturally diverse elements to their mythology and aesthetics so long as it is done with respect to said culture.

[Robanker]

It comes across that way because nothing in Atlantis or Arthur's corner every incorporated Maori culture and, frankly, still doesn't. It's just because of the movie. It's shallow. The tatts would win more of us over if they started incorporating Maori culture into the books, but otherwise it's just going to look like movie synergy. Like organic webbing. It hasn't added anything and, even in-universe, they're basically a merit badge given to him to denote "this guy's alright" via a divine source. There's not really anything behind them. Picard's flute this is not.

I personally love his modernized classic look. Clean shaven, short haired and scalemail looks great. Not as much a fan of metal drummer at the beach, but to each their own. Doesn't stop me from enjoying the books.

[Flash Gordon]

It comes across that way because nothing in Atlantis or Arthur's corner every incorporated Maori culture and, frankly, still doesn't. It's just because of the movie. It's shallow. The tatts would win more of us over if they started incorporating Maori culture into the books, but otherwise it's just going to look like movie synergy. Like organic webbing. It hasn't added anything and, even in-universe, they're basically a merit badge given to him to denote "this guy's alright" via a divine source. There's not really anything behind them. Picard's flute this is not.

I personally love his modernized classic look. Clean shaven, short haired and scalemail looks great. Not as much a fan of metal drummer at the beach, but to each their own. Doesn't stop me from enjoying the books.

The modernized classic look is TOPS. It works so well on every level.

[Frontier]

Yeah, I think the tatoos would fit more if comic Arthur looked more like Mamoa then he does. Even with the long hair and beard he's still not Mamoa, so I feel like DC should stop trying to make Aquaman look like him.

Aquaman Giant #3 details -
* "Tempest," a 16-page story written by Steve Orlando with art by V Ken Marion and Sandu Florea

Aquaman and Tempest race to stop an enraged monster that has escaped its magical tomb under the city of New York.

* "Screaming Sea," an 8-page story written by Tom Taylor with art by Pop Mhan

Aquaman and Mera must stop Lex Luthor's plans to drill into the ocean floor.
* New cover by Emanuela Lupacchino

Plus, these reprint tales:
* "Throne of Atlantis Chapter 2," from Aquaman #15 (2013)
* "The Enemy of My Enemy," from Mera: Queen of Atlantis #3 (2017)
* "Blood of the Manta Chapter 1 from Teen Titans #9 (2018)

Kind of love how successful these have been!

Oh hey, somebody finally cares about Garth .

[MadFacedKid]

they've had YEARS, almost multiple DECADES, to use King Shark for a deeper dive into Islander culture and they never cared to; and just because Arthur has incorporated some Maori elements into his character doesn't mean they can't still do that.

while yes the tattoos were a nod to Mamoa's heritage, they are still a purely a movie creation for the character because Mamoa doesn't have those tattoos in real life. He suggested adding them to the character as a expression of his heritage but that is because of how much reverance his culture has for the ocean. it's also not as if they pretended Arthur's suddenly taking ownership of Pacific islander culture, which they could easily do by incorporating aspects of Islander/Polynesian culture into Atlantis the same way they've shoehorned in medieval european/arthurian imagery in over the years, he earned it as a show of gratitude and acceptance by the old gods, specifically the Maori god Tangarao; I don't think it needs to serve any magical mystical purpose beyond that. i don't see how him having the tattoos is any more egregious than all the times they cribbed european/arthurian mythology for him, which makes significantly less sense because, unlike polynesian/pacific islander culture, that affinity for the sea isn't there thematically.

I seriously doubt a sea-dwelling culture would evolve to even remotely resemble medieval culture (it would probably look more like Polynesian/Pacific Islanders to be honest) but that's fine? why? because he's white? but is he really though? he's definitely not european, his dad is american and his mom (who he gets him eye and hair color from) is Atlantian. sure, he may have been intended to be white initially (due to the caucasian-centric culture at the time) but nowadays, post-Flashpoint, he could be literally anything as far as we know; not that I'm specifically asking they retcon Tom as Polynesian but I'm just saying.

I say all that to say this, while I do think he should use his classic scalemail in the field, I simply don't see why just because it's Maori-inspired or because it's synergy from his most popular iteration of all time that the tattoos are so hard for people to get over. if no one cared when they heavily nod to arthurian/european then they should be able to live with a little Polynesian special sauce, especially if it's as respectfully done as it has been so far. my only gripe is they are over playing it times, particularly the covers. he should still be allowed to wear his scalemail costume when it makes sense to do so, but other than that, we should embrace letting characters having more culturally diverse elements to their mythology and aesthetics so long as it is done with respect to said culture.

I don’t even think that any of the previous stuff about Atlantis and Aquaman was forced it felt more natural than anything. His name is Arthur and he’s a chosen king so the Arthurian stuff just felt natural though I’d rather Aquaman have his own set of mythos away from all that.

Atlantis is pretty Greek in origin so I think Poseidon/Neptune should be their main deity no matter what. Though given the scope of how big the continent was suppose to be and the fact it was said you had people from all over, I wouldn’t mind if their were other deities that Atlanteans worshipped. Any continent on the planet has different religions and beliefs so it makes sense. Especially given you have characters like King Shark. Heck I’d love to see African water gods, Chinese Water Gods possibly if they have any Celtic or Norse gods too. That would be cool. I don’t think Aquaman should have a connection past being water related to any of these Gods though or possibly if Poseidon had any past relations with these other Gods like in Drowned Earth. The tattoos just feel pointless to me, they add nothing whatsoever to the character atleast so far they haven’t added anything. He was already connected to the sea before the tats.

It takes away from the movie character as well, given he should be too durable for tats, I’m curious to the explanation on how he even got them given a sword bent when he was stabbed by it.

The whole Arthur could be anything is a weird point altogether though we’ve seen both his parents at the start of The New52 he’d have to be retconned to introduce Polynesian heritage. So KSD tried tying it in the best way she could. It’s still forced movie synergy.

Also Snyder based the tattoos on Aquamoa off his wrist tats

[Frontier]

I don’t even think that any of the previous stuff about Atlantis and Aquaman was forced it felt more natural than anything. His name is Arthur and he’s a chosen king so the Arthurian stuff just felt natural though I’d rather Aquaman have his own set of mythos away from all that.

Atlantis is pretty Greek in origin so I think Poseidon/Neptune should be their main deity no matter what. Though given the scope of how big the continent was suppose to be and the fact it was said you had people from all over, I wouldn’t mind if their were other deities that Atlanteans worshipped. Any continent on the planet has different religions and beliefs so it makes sense. Especially given you have characters like King Shark. Heck I’d love to see African water gods, Chinese Water Gods possibly if they have any Celtic or Norse gods too. That would be cool. I don’t think Aquaman should have a connection past being water related to any of these Gods though or possibly if Poseidon had any past relations with these other Gods like in Drowned Earth. The tattoos just feel pointless to me, they add nothing whatsoever to the character atleast so far they haven’t added anything. He was already connected to the sea before the tats.

It takes away from the movie character as well, given he should be too durable for tats, I’m curious to the explanation on how he even got them given a sword bent when he was stabbed by it.

The whole Arthur could be anything is a weird point altogether though we’ve seen both his parents at the start of The New52 he’d have to be retconned to introduce Polynesian heritage. So KSD tried tying it in the best way she could. It’s still forced movie synergy.

Also Snyder based the tattoos on Aquamoa off his wrist tats

Maybe each of the Seven Kingdoms have their own aquatic god they believe in.

[Flash Gordon]

Aquaman Giant #3 details -
* "Tempest," a 16-page story written by Steve Orlando with art by V Ken Marion and Sandu Florea

Aquaman and Tempest race to stop an enraged monster that has escaped its magical tomb under the city of New York.

* "Screaming Sea," an 8-page story written by Tom Taylor with art by Pop Mhan

Aquaman and Mera must stop Lex Luthor's plans to drill into the ocean floor.
* New cover by Emanuela Lupacchino

Plus, these reprint tales:
* "Throne of Atlantis Chapter 2," from Aquaman #15 (2013)
* "The Enemy of My Enemy," from Mera: Queen of Atlantis #3 (2017)
* "Blood of the Manta Chapter 1 from Teen Titans #9 (2018)

Kind of love how successful these have been!

Looking forward to this one! Nice to see Garth.

[MadFacedKid]

Maybe each of the Seven Kingdoms have their own aquatic god they believe in.

If handled that way I’d love to see what The Trench God is like, maybe their Atheist.

What I was talking about though is the way I would handle it is have every Atlantean have their own beliefs. Maybe the vast majority past/present still follow Poseidon maybe up until Aquaman’s arrival but I’d have Atlanteans like Vulko put more faith in science maybe though post-flashpoint Vulko seems more interested in old teachings but as an example have characters who have all different types of beliefs kind of mirroring how the world has different beliefs or certain countries do. Like in the States you have Christians, Muslims, Jews, atheist, etc

[Psycwave]

Maybe each of the Seven Kingdoms have their own aquatic god they believe in.

You know, I’d REALLY be into this type of storyline. Of course that means we’d need a writer who actually wants to take the time to build up the undersea realm beyond surface level (heh) stories. Abnett did some nice setup but never really pushed the limit of Atlantean magic, deities and all that. It’s a lot of stuff for future writers to build on.

I’m reading majority of x-books these days and the massive shake-up to their status quo has really had me wanting some drastic for Arthur. Taking us beyond losing the throne type stories. And a fully married Arthur and Mera.

[MadFacedKid]

You know, I’d REALLY be into this type of storyline. Of course that means we’d need a writer who actually wants to take the time to build up the undersea realm beyond surface level (heh) stories. Abnett did some nice setup but never really pushed the limit of Atlantean magic, deities and all that. It’s a lot of stuff for future writers to build on.

I’m reading majority of x-books these days and the massive shake-up to their status quo has really had me wanting some drastic for Arthur. Taking us beyond losing the throne type stories. And a fully married Arthur and Mera.

To be fair Abnett is the reason Aquaman isn’t on the throne and Mera is but then again it could be due to editorial given it didn’t happen until the end of his run. I’m still confused on how it makes sense, moreso than Orm was.

Regardless I’m wanting more stuff built on what’s already been shown as well. I don’t mind new fresh story points here and there but it would be nice to get an expansions of past stuff in the mythos as well.

[MadFacedKid]

https://www.newsarama.com/48911-dc-s...-timeline.html

I’d love Wally if he brought back a more classic looking Aquaman.

[Frontier]

Clean shaven Aquaman will always get a thumbs-up from me .