Friday, September 21, 2012

New BLB #17 Aquaman

"Scourge of the Sea"
by Paul S. Newman

I don't think this is my original, since it's got a $1.00 sticker on the inside cover.  wish I remembered when I bought it, think it was at a sale at a mall.  I got several that day, I believe.  the cover... well, it's interesting.  Aquaman doesn't look very heroic.

in this one, a mysterious radioactive object drops from the sky into the ocean (presumably near Atlantis).  Aquaman and "his mermaid mate" Mera are called in to investigate.  they soon are captured by a net, but Mera's hard water powers quickly free them.  she makes a giant pair of scissors.  why not a couple of cutlasses, keeping with an underwater theme?

the alien Pisces stuns them, and they float to the top of the ocean, where they will die if they don't breathe water in an hour.  Pisces, from the distant planet of Pisces (this should be a clue, really) plans to take one billion dollars of diamonds back to their planet.

Aqualad rescues Aquaman and Mera and the counterattack begins.  this lasts several chapters of captures and rescues and talking to sea life and hard water powers on display.  finally the aliens are unmasked as common Earthlings and everything is set right.

the story would fit right in with the standard Aquaman comics at the time. the art is nice and the characterization is pretty right on.  one of the better books, if a little padded.

No comments: