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Sunday, February 19, 2012

Adventure Comics #168 - Sept. 1951

Comics Weekend "Aquaman: One-Man Crew!" by George Kashdan and Ramona Fradon.

It's Adventure Sunday!

I don't even know what to say about that kid at left. I really don't. Nice ranch home in the back there, though.

Meanwhile, Aquaman marshals all of the creatures of the sea to help a friend in need:
The scheming Jules Rogers sees all this, and contacts the spy he has on board The Cathay. The spy sets off some dynamite, blasting a hole in the ships' hull, which will enable Rogers to rescue all aboard and look like a hero.

But Aquaman steps in, commanding two whales to keep The Cathay from tipping over and taking on water. Captain Cleary worries they can't keep doing that forever, but Aquaman is one step ahead of him:

This is a fairly low-key adventure, because the stakes are (relatively) small; Aquaman was always willing help out his Surface Dweller pals keep their jobs, as evidenced just last week!

Hands down, my favorite part of the story was the final panel:
...this pretty much sums up the appeal of Aquaman to me in one handy shot. Nice job, Mr. Kashdan and Ms. Fradon!


Anthony said...

I like the stories about Aquaman helping out the surface dwellers, too, even if it's something mundane like this (well, less mundane, per that "pick up the survivors" bit...).

Re: Superboy: The kid on the cover is, supposedly, Lana's "kid brother" Ronald, whose only appearance was in this story (later stories going with the idea of Lana being an only child, though one other story shows her with a kid brother IIRC). The plot: Lana challenges Ronald and his detective skills to prove Superboy's Clark Kent; cue the usual secret identity protection antics.

r duncan said...

Sea eagles. Cool.

Anonymous said...

Viva Adventure Sunday!

That sea-shell sky chariot should go down in history as one of Aquaman's coolest stunts. Just when you think you've seen everything...

Not sure about the Earth-One Aquaman, but with this story I've cracked the code on the Earth-Two sea king's rapport with sea-life. He doesn't command them at all. They see the lengths he goes to be a cool friend to his surface-dwelling buddies, and go to those same lengths themselves. Also, blowing up a pirate ship has to feel pretty darn fun if you're a seal.

James Chatterton