Aquaman Appreciation 2019

[dornwolf]

To summarize the Aquaman portion of the interview:
-Bendis was the one who suggested the job to her when he was in the hospital and she & Matt Fraction visited him
-She wanted to get a handle on Arthur’s voice and she felt like she needed to sideline Mera for a bit because Mera has such a strong voice it threatened to overpower Arthur’s for her
-The Gods are all based on real world mythologies, she wanted to explore Panthenons beyond Greek and Norse
-She wants to make Amnesty Bay feel as real and as vibrant as Gotham and Metropolis, since that to Arthur is more his “home” than Atlantis given how the City has constantly rejected him (I look forward to Amnesty Bay getting more love)
-She says it’s refreshing to go from the Marvel Universe’s “Daddy issues” to Arthur’s hang-ups about his relationship with his mom
-She’s not a fan of love triangles but editorial at DC & Marvel are huge fans of them, and want her to include them in every book
-She got approval for a baby but editorial doesn’t want them married and she’s pushing for them to get married (its bizarre to me that DC is ok with babies out of wedlock but not marriages, I guess that’s a result of Damian?)
-She doesn’t have any plans to kill the baby, as a mother she really has no desire to go there, but she is aware of the history in regards to past Aquababies
-She thinks there is plenty of opportunity for drama with married couples
-She’s wanted to bring Kaldur and Arthur together for a while

I might have to give her run more thought after reading this

[Flash Gordon]

Okay so I read this again and...I love it? The prior issues have been weak but THIS feels like the beginning. Just Tula being there is enough to make me happy. Vulko, Murk, Wonder Woman. The stuff with Erika and her AA meeting, which is wonderful representation. Just everything feels so alive and vibrant.

I'm so happy.

[Robanker]

Okay so I read this again and...I love it? The prior issues have been weak but THIS feels like the beginning. Just Tula being there is enough to make me happy. Vulko, Murk, Wonder Woman. The stuff with Erika and her AA meeting, which is wonderful representation. Just everything feels so alive and vibrant.

I'm so happy.

I was hesitant when the first news came out because so much of it sounded like the usual suspects of a editorial which stopped caring. (amnesia, relationship drama in a DC book, movie synergy), but I liked the first issue and the art was lovely. Each issue they've been picking up some momentum and I'm glad I gave this creative team the benefit of the doubt. Thus far, we've had one bad status quo (the Bunn six) since the New 52. What a time to be an Aquafan!

I'm glad you came around and gave the book another shot. There was a period where everyone here was boycotting it and I felt like I was shouting praise in a vacuum.

[Flash Gordon]

I was hesitant when the first news came out because so much of it sounded like the usual suspects of a editorial which stopped caring. (amnesia, relationship drama in a DC book, movie synergy), but I liked the first issue and the art was lovely. Each issue they've been picking up some momentum and I'm glad I gave this creative team the benefit of the doubt. Thus far, we've had one bad status quo (the Bunn six) since the New 52. What a time to be an Aquafan!

I'm glad you came around and gave the book another shot. There was a period where everyone here was boycotting it and I felt like I was shouting praise in a vacuum.

Really is a great time to be an Aqua-fan!

I think we seem to have similar tastes in these superheroic things and seeing as you kept mentioning it getting better I figured it was worth another look (plus that Black Manta cover is beyond dope). I was not into KSD's first few issues at all, but man #50 was REALLY good. Like, exactly what I want from comic books down to a T.

So, thanks for shouting that praise into the vacuum!

[Psycwave]

Coming in October: AQUAMAN ANNUAL #2 by
KSD, Vita Ayala & co: A “Year of the Villain” tie-in issue: Tensions between Aquaman & the people of Amnesty Bay reach an all-time high and even worse -- Aquaman’s dog Salty has gone missing!



And in the main title!


AQUAMAN #53
written by KELLY SUE DeCONNICK
art by ROBSON ROCHA and DANIEL HENRIQUES
cover by ROBSON ROCHA and JASON PAZ
variant cover by RAFA SANDOVAL
It’s the reunion everyone will be talking about as Aquaman and Mera finally come face to face! Meanwhile, Aqualad and the Old Gods put the murder charges to rest when the true culprit is revealed…and Black Manta makes his move on Aquaman!

[Sam]

So I've been reading back issues of Aquaman, getting more familiar with his stories. I just finished the Maelstrom arc of Jeff Parker's run, and I have some questions about it. I loved it for the most part, until the resolution, which I found kind of sudden. After all that work finding his mom, I found it hard to believe that Arthur would go, "Well, I found her. That's all I wanted. Let's go. Never need to talk to her again." It rang real false. So what I'm wondering is if that was an editorial decision. I know Jeff Parker left the book after the run. Did DC want the status quo reset so they could go in a new direction, forcing Parker to rush the ending? Does anyone know?

[Flash Gordon]

Tula! I want this as a poster.

[Flash Gordon]

Anybody have any hopes for who will be the creative team on the new material in the AQUAMAN 100 pagers?

I'm stoked that we will be basically having 2 titles a month!

[Frontier]

RIP Aquaman's shirt.

So I've been reading back issues of Aquaman, getting more familiar with his stories. I just finished the Maelstrom arc of Jeff Parker's run, and I have some questions about it. I loved it for the most part, until the resolution, which I found kind of sudden. After all that work finding his mom, I found it hard to believe that Arthur would go, "Well, I found her. That's all I wanted. Let's go. Never need to talk to her again." It rang real false. So what I'm wondering is if that was an editorial decision. I know Jeff Parker left the book after the run. Did DC want the status quo reset so they could go in a new direction, forcing Parker to rush the ending? Does anyone know?

Either that or no other writer was interested in dealing with Aquaman's mom being alive and in another dimension.

[Agent Z]

You know, unless they retcon Arthur into being Polynesian, he really has no business wearing those tattoos.

[Robanker]

I think in-story, Arthur is giving his mother time to return on her own accord. She's alive, well and she knows that he is (and has a lady taking care of her boy who he loves dearly). Out of universe, they don't know what to do (and I think KSD actually forgot his issues with her were resolved in Parker's run, or just didn't read it).

As for the 100-pager, I remember Manapul mentioning he was working on Earth-1 Aquaman at one point. Perhaps those pages will be recycled for this? If so, dammit, Manapul on Aquaman? I'll buy two!

The tattoos... I don't like them either, but given that they're a gift from Gods, they're easily reversed. So far KSD has been a real writer's writer because while she's laying a ton of foundation for a great run, so far she hasn't taken anything off the table. It's all additive. You can just have him shave, lose the blessing tats and cut his hair and you've got the classic Arthur and his status quo is easily restored. It's kind of great. She gets to tell her run, put some new stuff in the mythology for others to pick and isn't scorching any Earth the way King is with his Batman run (love it or hate it, his Batman has derailed Nightwing and forced Catwoman into this stalling spiral where it's on hold until he steals the character back and gets to control Selina).

Really enjoying this run so far and the art's been phenomenal.

[Robanker]

Really is a great time to be an Aqua-fan!

I think we seem to have similar tastes in these superheroic things and seeing as you kept mentioning it getting better I figured it was worth another look (plus that Black Manta cover is beyond dope). I was not into KSD's first few issues at all, but man #50 was REALLY good. Like, exactly what I want from comic books down to a T.

So, thanks for shouting that praise into the vacuum!

Glad to hear it, dude. There were a few times I'd read solicits (and colored by editorial's history), I would be nervous but I wanted to give KSD the benefit of the doubt and so far she's done nothing but prove it was the better choice. Yeah, I hate the tats and don't care for the long hair, but I can live with it. Robson/Viktor pull it off so even I like it. If that's my major complaint so far then I think we're in for a solid run unless editorial swings some dead weight, and given KSD's Word Balloon podcast interview, I have every belief we're in for a good time.

[kjn]

You know, unless they retcon Arthur into being Polynesian, he really has no business wearing those tattoos.

Why? They were earned in-story, shows his connection with a bunch of real mythological gods of the seas, and marks him as a protector of the ocean.

(Though I'd have preferred if they arrived in bits and pieces, the final ones after her vision quest with Mother Shark.)

[married guy]

I'm glad I stuck with the book. Although #43 wasn't great, it got better with each issue.

[Sam]

I think in-story, Arthur is giving his mother time to return on her own accord. She's alive, well and she knows that he is (and has a lady taking care of her boy who he loves dearly). Out of universe, they don't know what to do (and I think KSD actually forgot his issues with her were resolved in Parker's run, or just didn't read it).

I don't think knowing his mother is alive would magically solve his abandonment issues. It doesn't change that she left him in the first place. Him still having these issues makes a lot of sense.