Showcase Presents: Aquaman, Vol. 3

The later half of the mid-1960s adventures of Aquaman are covered in this massive collection. We visit Atlantis just after the birth of the Aquababy. But things are far from idyllic. That's because the First Family of the Seven Seas are about to enter the era of the aqua enemies!

The shrimp-costume clad Fisherman was the only recurring villain introduced from the last volume. While he does return in this book, the Fisherman is far from the most dastardly criminal to put up his dukes against Aquaman. That distinction is a toss up between the Ocean Master, who happens to be Aquaman's murderous amnesiac half-brother or the mysterious Black Manta, a maniac who has little qualms with using Aquaman's infant son as murderous bait!

On the personal side of things, cracks in the foundation of the royal family are starting to form. Aqualad is beginning to experience the growing pains of puberty as Aquaman's kid sidekick as well as a third wheel compared to Mera and Aquababy. The insecurities of Queen Mera are also coming to the forefront whether it be in jealousy of another female who catches the King's eye or from conducting a series of childish pranks that result in severe chidings from her husband.

It's not all serious stuff in this volume. That's because right around the time these comics were being published new, Aquaman and Aqualad were the stars of a 30 minute animated segment of The Superman/Aquaman Hour. As the new stars of Saturday morning TV, every other issue of Aquaman was more geared towards younger readers. A blurb advertising the series adorns those covers and characters from the show pop up; like Aqualad's walrus pet, Tusky. But when it comes to the artwork of Nick Cardy, things feel a little bi-polar.

Instead of using his more matured look of art, in the kids-geared issues, Cardy reverts back to the more cartoony style he copied of Ramona Fradon (Metamorpho). One thing that remains constant are the dynamic paneling of the stories. The use of triangular panels and out of order sequencing are highly reminiscent of Jack Kirby! Add to it a lot of erratic lines and scribbled chapter titles, Cardy is able to invoke an underwater setting perfectly!

A team-up with Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen is where the volume ends. Volume 3 also marks the end of Showcase Presents' run of Aquaman stories. But it doesn't have to be the end for me. 

Pardon the pun, but I really got hooked on the adventures of Aquaman and I really want to read the rest of the pre-CRISIS story of the King of Atlantis. While there remains about 3 dozen issues of Aquaman and Adventure Comics, I don't have to resort to collecting the floppies. There are 3 color volumes of Aquaman stories. If I can get them for a good deal, I should have some great, but powerful, reads awaiting me one day soon.

If you are a fan of Jason Mamoa's Aquaman, this is the volume to read. A bunch of the characters that appear in that movie either make their debut in this era of Aquaman comics- or they are finally mentioned despite Aquaman having made his first appearance nearly 3 decades earlier.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Showcase Presents: Aquaman Vol. 2

The recent controversy behind the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard defamation case and the actresses' diminished role in the Aquaman sequel is not why I decided to read this collection of Aquaman reprints. Instead, I was inspired to have a topical (or maybe it's tropical) read on my recent beach vacation. While I didn't finish this book before I left Carolina Beach, I did keep smelling salt air and daily fresh catch as I read this collection of mid-1960s Aquaman comics. 

Nick Cardy tackles the artwork of the regular Aquaman series stories. Ramona Fradon (Metamorpho) illustrated the smaller stories that occupied the fill-in status in the pages of World's Finest Comics. Fradon's artwork was so fluid. I've been a fan of her's since I was a little kid from the stories I'd read in my dad's comic collection. Cardy's artwork is another story.

Somewhere around 1966 or '67, Nick Cardy's work shifted dramatically on this series. I think it's because for a while, Cardy was trying to (or being made to) copy Fradon's style. Before the 'shift', Cardy's Aquaman stories have heavy inks, rounder edges and look a bit like what you'd see from the Bob Kane camp (around this time.) I think once Fradon finally moved on from doing Aquaman stories, Cardy was free to start putting his deft touch on the comic. 

If you look at Cardy's other work, particularly Teen Titans, you'll notice that the paneling of the stories gets much bigger. The inks are thinner and the angling of the scenes are more dynamic. But above all, you see the artist's love of anatomy. I'm not saying Cardy was a freak or anything like that. Cardy does a lot of panels where he'll show Aquaman or another character in action in some sort of act of progression- kinda like how Carmine Infantino would show the Flash being super fast by drawing him like in one of those flip book poses. Sorry- I just don't know how to better explain it.

Aquaman gets a bad rap as being a weak member of the Justice League because all he can do is speak to fish. But really, that's not the case. Sure, as a part of a team, he's severely limited. He can't be out of water for longer than 60 minutes. (For some reason, I thought ther limit was 24-hours.) So, a lengthy trip to the Sahara is out of the question. But when you keep Aquaman in his element, he's a mighty warrior. He's strong. Can swim extremely fast. And yes, he can talk to fish.

While Aquaman's rogue's gallery is still a tad away from being firmly established at this moment, he's assortment of allies are formed in the volume. Future wife, Mera, the inter-dimensional aquatic princess, the Aquababy, and several denizens of Atlantis are introduced here. If you need a fix on the villains, it's mostly two-bit crooks and the odd extraterrestrial baddie who troubles the King of the Seven Seas. Only the angling Fisherman is a recurring villain I recall from later comic stories.

A very good collection of stories. They may not be the best DC had to offer. But they were nostalgic and nautical. And once Nick Cardy found his footing, the artwork began to look a lot like my 60s DC guilty pleasure, Sea Devils. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Showcase Presents: Teen Titans, Vol. 1

I will read anything in comic book form. But if you had to make me choose between

Marvel and DC, I'd have to side with the Distinguished Competition. That being said,

DC has never been perfect. It's had just as many hits as it has had misses. One thing that Marvel destroyed DC on was how it published the generation gap of the late 1960s.

The very book that I am reviewing today is an excellent case in point in how the elder

statesmen writers of DC had trouble relating to the teens of the Vietnam era.

This book collects the first 18 issues of the original Teen Titans series along with the team's very first appearances in The Brave and the Bold and Showcase. From the first story, the main theme was that when it comes to teens, adults just

don't understand. When the teens of a small coastal town go on strike, the sidekicks

of Batman, Aquaman and the Flash agree to intervene.

The Teen Titans were created to help troubled teenagers have a voice when the old

folks won't listen. Even the Caped Crusader shows his age in the earliest adventures

calling Robin a wild and rebellious teen. Yet the Titans are anything but. Along with late addition Wonder Girl, these heroes would go undercover as regular teens. Yet, they're so clean cut that anyone else with street smarts would finger these kids as narcs.

Bob Haney does manage to create some pretty awesome villains for the Titans to combat. There's the British fop, the Mad Mod, who rivals the Joker in level of criminal

genius. Then there's the grotesquely costumed Gargoyle. He's got a vendetta against

one of the Teen Titans. But unfortunately, we never find out why in this volume. Plus who can forget Ebenezer Scrounge in the classic Christmas caper?!

Yes, Teen Titans did villains well. But in terms of the teens themselves, I think

someone did their research on kids from the 1940s. All of the teens in this book are

squares- except for the guest stars! Speedy, Beast Boy and a Russian lad named

Starfire are all welcome visitors to this massive collection. But as for Robin and his

cohorts, they might as well be speaking Japanese with their ridiculous attempts at

young adult slang!

Things do seem to be changing for the better in the last 3-4 stories. We get different writers contributing including an early stint by New Teen Titanslegend, Marv Wolfman.

I found myself disappointed that this volume came to a close when it did. Things

started getting good!

At least there's a volume 2. However it's getting increasingly difficult to find Showcasecollected volumes for a good price, much less at all.

A mixed bag of teen angst from a time when DC's best and brightest just couldn't

relate.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Young Justice, Volume 1 (Family Comic Friday)

     Last November, it was announced that acclaimed Cartoon Network series Young Justice would finally be getting a third season after a massive write-in campaign on Facebook. It has been 3 years since the show went off the air abruptly. Lots of fans were highly disappointed in the cancellation I was one of those fans. I was also one of those fans who demanded more of that awesome series.

     I'm not really sure why Cartoon Network cancelled the show. It had strong ratings, critics loved it, and DVD sales of seasons 1 and 2 were very strong. One thing that the show didn't have much of a following in was readership of the comic book tie-in.

     Recently, I found a trade paper back edition of the first few issues of the series. I was totally blown away by it. Briefly, the book gives a kind of overhead that's just like the series. How the team of Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash got together with the niece of the Martian Manhunter and a clone of Superman from Cadmus, a research facility of questionable means is taken straight from Cartoon Network. 
     After the intros, the book follows the plot of the series but ventures off unto it's own after that. The Young Justice team are used as a covert strike force by the Justice League. Their main enemy are the secret villains of the League of Shadows. Plus, Superboy seeks both his place in this world and Superman's acceptance. It's great stuff full of action, twists, and turns.

     Anybody wanna guess who the writing talents are behind this amazing series based on the equally amazing series of the same name? Why it's Art Baltazar and Franco of Tiny Titans fame. The artwork is just as breathtaking. The combined efforts of Christopher Jones (Batman '66) and Mike Norton (Hack/Slash) looks so much like the characters of the series. Overall, this was the right group to chronicle the paper adventures of Young Justice.

     This series has been out of circulation since 2013. So why am I reviewing their efforts now? Well, with Young Justice 3 just in the development stage, the hype for the comics is very low. But that's not going to be for long. Copies of this book can be found in bargain bins for a dollar or less. But, that's not the case on Amazon. 3 of the 4 trades that collect this series are being listed for prices of anywhere $20-$100+!

      I'm telling you folks, this series is going to get hot quick! When your children fall in love with the new series and you can't find these comics, don't come crying to me! You've been warned!

      Young Justice is not an all-ages book but it is family friendly. Readers aged 10- up will delight in these adventures. You just have to find them and for a collector like me, that's half of the fun!

    Worth Consuming

     Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.