Posted By Dan Greenfield on Sep 19, 2024 | 3 comments

ANNIVERSARY ALERT! The Swift and Powerful Monarch of the Ocean debuted Sept. 19, 1941…

By PAUL KUPPERBERG

For a long time, Aquaman didn’t get no respect.

Twenty years a back-up feature, a superhero whose main power was the ability to talk to fish, who rode a giant seahorse and had a pet octopus named Topo, the King of the Seven Seas was never a character whose full potential had been explored by his early writers, including Mort Weisinger (co-creator with artist Paul Norris), Joseph Greene, Joe Samachson, Don Cameron, Otto Binder, George Kashdan, Jack Miller, Robert Bernstein, and Bob Haney. And during those same two decades, Aquaman never appeared on a single comic book cover except by name in “also featuring” blurbs.

He wasn’t even noted on the cover of More Fun Comics #73 — released 83 years ago, on Sept. 19, 1941 — the issue in which he was introduced (along with Weisinger and George Papp’s Green Arrow and Speedy). He wouldn’t make a cover appearance until The Brave and the Bold #28 (February/March 1960), as a member of the newly formed Justice League of America.

Of course, few DC characters of that era got a lot of respect. Superman was the mightiest being alive, but his stories were filled with silly schtick and stunts and the hero using his great powers to prank his pals. Batman was wearing goofy costumes, hanging with an other-dimensional imp, and fighting bighead aliens. And don’t get me started on Wonder Woman! Comics were created for 8- to 13- year-olds looking for a dime’s worth of entertainment.

By the time I entered fandom circa 1970, Aquaman had achieved full-blown jokehood, despite the fact that the previous decade had been one of maximum exposure for the character. He was a star of the DC Saturday morning animated world, having been selected from the entire superhero lineup to co-star with the Man of Steel in the Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure (1967-1968), and had been allowed in his own title to undergo unprecedented comic book character development by becoming the first superhero to get married (Aquaman #18, December 1964) and become a father (Aquaman #23, September/October 1965).

It would take later creators, like Steve Skeates, David Michelinie, and Peter David to find the strength and dignity in Arthur Curry and turn him from punchline to prince. I first got into the book as a 13-year-old during the epic 1968 Skeates/Jim Aparo “Search for Mera” storyline, and a decade later, Aquaman would be the first JLA-level hero I would be assigned to script in the final two issues of the title, wrapping up the “Death of a Prince” storyline, now with artist Don Newton and covers by Aparo.

I’ve maintained my fondness for the King of the Seven Seas across the years and stuck with him through costume changes, beards, and hooks, and I took a lot of nachas in his big budget movie successes.

Here then, by some of my favorite artists of all time, MY 13 FAVORITE AQUAMAN COVERS, in chronological order:

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The Brave and the Bold #28 (February/March 1960). Aquaman’s first cover appearance, art by Mike Sekowsky and Murphy Anderson.

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Showcase #30 (January/February 1961). Aquaman’s first solo cover appearance, art by Dick Dillin and Sheldon Moldoff.

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Aquaman #18 (December 1964). The marriage of Aquaman and Mera, art by Nick Cardy.

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Aquaman #23 (September/October 1965). The birth of Aquababy, art by Nick Cardy.

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Aquaman #45 (May/June 1969). Art by Nick Cardy.

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Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #115 (October 1968). Art by Neal Adams.

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Aquaman #50 (March/April 1970). Art by Nick Cardy.

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Adventure Comics #443 (January/February 1976). Art by Jim Aparo.

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Aquaman #62 (June/July 1978). Art by Jim Aparo.

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Aquaman #5 (October 1989). Art by Curt Swan and Al Vey.

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Justice League of America #1 (August 2015). Art by Bryan Hitch

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Aquaman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 (2021). Variant cover art by Ramona Fradon.

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Aquaman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 (2021). Variant cover art by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez.

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MORE

— Happy 60th Wedding Anniversary to AQUAMAN and MERA! Click here.

— 13 GREAT AQUAMAN MOMENTS: A STEVE SKEATES Tribute. Click here.

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PAUL KUPPERBERG was a Silver Age fan who grew up to become a Bronze Age comic book creator, writer of Superman, the Doom Patrol, and Green Lantern, creator of Arion Lord of Atlantis, Checkmate, and Takion, and slayer of Aquababy, Archie, and Vigilante. He is the Harvey and Eisner Award nominated writer of Archie Comics’ Life with Archie, and his YA novel Kevin was nominated for a GLAAD media award and won a Scribe Award from the IAMTW. He also wrote an essay for DC’s Aquaman: 80 Years of the King of the Seven Seas. Check out his new memoir, Panel by Panel: My Comic Book Life. 

Website: https://www.paulkupperberg.net/

Shop: https://www.paulkupperberg.net/shop-1