posted January 22, 2003 12:29 PM            

I now hold it in my near-frost-bitten hands, and have read through a rather bland intro. by (you guessed it!) Roy Thomas.

On the back cover, as we suspected, just 2 oversized covers of the 2 Showcase issues displayed.

posted January 22, 2003 12:44 PM            

I'm certain that this is true to the original printing - I'd heard before about the gloves changing - I'm just surprised that even as late as 1959 this was still the case.

posted January 22, 2003 01:36 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Osgood Peabody:
a rather bland intro. by (you guessed it!) Roy Thomas.

---

Aaaaaaaarrrrrgggggghhhhhh! Guess Ms. Fradon was uninterested in writing an intro, which is a real shame.

posted January 22, 2003 02:42 PM            

I felt that when I was done reading it, I had not gleaned any info. about Aquaman that I didn't know already before. That he was Weisinger's knock-off of Namor, had non-descript adventures for his first 20 years, was fortunate to have Fradon come on board in 1954, received a new origin in 1958, and then having gained a boost from his entrance into the JLA, propelled himself into the Showcase try-outs and eventually his own title - I think most Aqua-fans would know this already.

I have no problem with some of Roy's other intros - I rather liked the one for All-Star 8, for instance. But I think you can infer from this intro. that his passion for Aquaman doesn't measure up to his passion for the JSA.

I for one would have liked to gained more inside info. on what energized Weisinger to "relaunch" the character, or how Fradon felt about drawing the character or why later under George Kashdan he seemed to languish for years, until Bob Haney began fleshing out the feature.

posted January 22, 2003 04:04 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by BillNolan:

Aaaaaaaarrrrrgggggghhhhhh! Guess Ms. Fradon was uninterested in writing an intro, which is a real shame.

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I'd have loved to hear from her too. But everything I've read about her in terms of interviews seems to indicate that she doesn't really like her Aquaman work that much. Which isn't to say that she has anything against the character or DC -- but this was among her first assignments out of art school, and I think she considers her drawing there a little rough around the edges. I love to watch artists develop, so I happen to think this is a complete treasure. But at the same time I know what it's like to look at a drawing you did just a few years ago and be dissatisfied. Maybe if some Metamorpho archives ever come out; I think she's more comfortable with her work there. But I agree, the publishing world isn't doing enough to spread the words of Ramona.

posted January 22, 2003 09:47 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Bgztl:
You know what I would REALLY like to know??

I'd love someone with inside knowledge to write about why DC (or was it Weisinger) engineered the salvation of Green Arrow and Aquaman (and Johnny Quick for a while I think) by moving them to Adventure Comics, but ditched Spectre and Dr. Fate--not to mention Sandman and Starman over in Adventure Comics. (Was it economics, loss of creators to "real" art work like advertising, kickbacks to Weisinger, honest support for the characters, etc.)

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This much is clear, Bgztl: The Green Arrow, Aquaman, and Johnny Quick were all Weisinger creations.

posted January 22, 2003 09:49 PM            

AAAAHHHHHH!!!! I'M DYING!!! ARGH!!! IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD!!! AAAAHHHHHH!!!!

I CAN'T GET IT UNTIL TOMORROW!!! ARGH!!!

Matthew

posted January 22, 2003 11:13 PM               

The only real bad thing I have to say is I had to pay full price for it! This is the only time I've ever paid that much for an archive! I just didn't notice that they didn't give me my discount for it. Anyway, that made up my mind for me to wait from now on and get from eBay. As long as I pay no more than $35-40 there, I'll be happy even though I'll have to wait a few days. It'll be a better discount than with my store.

-Steve

posted January 23, 2003 06:50 PM               

I also really appreciated the inclusion of both parts of teh Green Arrow/Aquaman quasi-crossover.

Lee Elias was a wonderful artist and the story itself brought fond memories.

Aquaman's second origin is still the best to me. I prefer it to the more recent Peter David one and the Golden Age one as well.

Some say it's sappy, I say it's just right.

Aqualad was my favorite kid sidekick. Honest. This volume contains two great stories that show why.

All in all, I'd call this Archive a personal fave.

It may never "pass up" All-Star Comics or Plastic Man in my personal pantheon but, like the Black Canary Archive, it certainly satisfied!!

I can hardly wait to see if we get a volume 2 -- or maybe even a Golden Age volume (with an introduction by Paul Norris while that is still possible).

Where do we send Aquaman Archive fan mail these days, guys?!?!?!?

posted January 23, 2003 10:24 PM            

It's BEEEEYOOOOOOOOTEEEEFULL!!!

I've actually only read the first two stories, but I've looked thru it, and soon I'll be done interneting and *IN* I will plunge!

--------------------

greene,

"Indeed, I did pay full price for it, as I have virtually all my archives. Maybe I'm crazy, but I like to help out the local comic shop"

That's pretty much me, too. I now own twelve Archives now (fourteen if you throw in the two Tor tomes), and I've bought all but two of them from my comic book shop. One I got from Bud Plant when it was on sale for $35.00 (plus free shipping), and I certainly don't mind supporting BP; one was a gift (for which I am very grateful!). And one that I got from the shop I got with a gift certificate for the store I'd been given, but, still.

The others I got full-price, and I imagine I'll be getting most of them full-price from my comic book shop in the future. Unless a worthy, "little-guy" type of business offers a sale somewhere along the line, I, too, want to support my shop -- even tho it costs me an arm and a leg to do so. They've been good to me at my place and I don't want them to one day become yet another direct market casualty.

--------------------

Now, let me get my message boarding done so I can get back to Aquaman and RAMONA!!!

posted January 23, 2003 11:45 PM               

A couple years ago I met Ramona Fradon at a convention and got her autograph on an old Adventure Comic featuring Aquaman. I hope I have the opportunity to get this archive signed.

posted January 24, 2003 08:36 PM            

First, Mort and the gang screwed up by not sticking with Lisa Morel, Aquagirl. What a babe! In '59, were there any male/female superteams? I can't think of any. It would have been a much fresher angle than...

Second, what's up with the nameless orphan? Not once in this story does the kid in the red shirt give his name. When does Garth get his name? And when does he get curly/wavy black hair, instead of straight brown hair?

Third, the water helmet. What would Gardner and Julie have done over in JLA with that? I suppose they could have broken it, as the first 20 or so JLA stories require our intrepid heroes to inconveniently run into situations that are overflowing in each hero's weakness. Had Aquaman had use of a water helmet, maybe he wouldn't have seemed so useless in those early JLA stories. Or maybe he would have still be a fish out of the sea as...

Fourth, everything depends on Aquaman's use of slave labor. Aquaman's only useful ability seems to be a command of the sea creatures. The formula is as gimmicky as Ollie Queen's trick arrows. Always the right sea creature in a pinch. I'm looking forward to the more varied and epic scope of the actual Aquaman magazine.

posted January 24, 2003 09:41 PM            

Oh. My. God. I'm only thru the Green Arrow story so far, but, other than Fradon and, well, just Aquaman himself, this is my favorite thing in the book I've read. What a great line. I hooted out loud! But, really, how often do you get superhero comic book dialog that's this real? If you'd been thwarted by Aquaman and then left to possibly drown, wouldn't you think something pretty just like it?

I wonder if the person who wrote the GA story wasn't one of the writers of the previous stories. The GA tale put an *extraordinary* amount of expositional detail in the dialog rather than in caption form (or even *as well as in caption form!*). Some of it was REALLY hilarious, and that bee-striped shirt henchman is the biggest offender: "Unluckily, the harpoon kayoed our electronic control system!" and "For rescuing the convicts, who all swam to us from the prison ship, each convict promises to pay you from future robberies!"

From one of the captains: "Strange men and convicts... coming out of the berg and surrendering to us!"

Even the star of the show gets in on the action: "We're free now to capture *The Wizard* who took a ringside seat on that cliff to watch us die!"

You can really tell that these these stories are written with little kids in mind (god, I hope), and this one in particular, with all this exposition in the dialog -- often repeated in the narration. This one is REALLY loopy, with its all-too-obvious Godzilla swipe and that over-the-top climax... Ollie suddenly sporting aqua-telepathy and chatting with Topo!

I'm greatly enjoying this book so far.

Matthew

posted January 24, 2003 10:22 PM               

-Steve