If you consider yourself any kind of loyal fan of Aquaman, Rob Kelly is the most important person to know, next to Arthur Curry. And if you know what F.O.A.M. stands for, well, you’ve come to the right place. Rob is the host and caretaker of the Aquaman Shrine, the most endearingly exhaustive website devoted to the Sea King and founding father of the Justice League of America. Rob, like myself, hasn’t had a whole lot to look forward to on a monthly basis in terms of Aquaman material since his dubious passing in his own title (one I personally gave up on post-”Sub Diego” when the character arguably got the short shrift “One Year Later” following Infinite Crisis). And while Rob and I may not totally see eye to eye on the bigger story, I was personally enthused as to the use of Aquaman and his immediate supporting cast in Blackest Night#2.
My biggest hope is that someone on the creative side of DC has some exciting plans for the woefully underused Aquaman, and one thing that could help send a clear message to their editorial is an effort spearheaded by Mr. Kelly. As you may have seen this week in DC’s solicitations for February 2010, Brave and the Bold #32 will be starring none other than Aquaman and Etrigan the Demon!
Written by J. Michael Straczynski; Art and cover by Jesus Saiz
Terrors of the deep! A horrifying lost city has risen at the bottom of the ocean, and Aquaman must call on the supernatural might of Etrigan, the Demon to stand between humanity and the dark menace that lurks inside that forgotten realm! It’s an undersea chiller like no other!
32pg. Color $2.99 US; On Sale February 17, 2010
In the weeks and months between now and the release of this issue, Rob is going to give extensive coverage to this event, starting now as he’s already published an interview with series writer J. Michael Straczynski! If you or anyone you know supports Aquaman, now’s the time to be heard!
November 17th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Woo! Aquaman!
And I wouldn’t be too worried about his use in BN, if anything, that might lend some credence to the rumors that he will be amongst some of the heroes resurrected by the end. I mean DC went out of its way to retcon/explain the Aquaman in Final crisis, and I doubt they did that just to have a cold body to zombify.
November 17th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Not to burst any bubbles, but isn’t Brave and the Bold basically out of continuity?
I do think DC has something up its sleeve regarding Aquaman, but I don’t think this is where it happens.
November 17th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Seriously. What is wrong with DC? Aquaman shines in Smallville, Entourage, DC Direct, Batman: Brave & Bold, DC Super-Friends, Wednesday Comics…he even had his own postage stamps. He would have had his own TV series, if the WB Network had not imploded. How could you expect any character to have a higher profile? DC Direct just announced yet ANOTHER Aquaman statue. Plus, Mera’s a standout in Blackest Night.
Aquaman is an A-Lister everywhere except in the minds of the powers-that-be at DC Comics. Krypto and the Legion had their own cartoons. Aquaman should have a shot, too. A monthly comic, if ever done right, should be a no-brainer.
(PS to Rev OJ FLow: The Aquaman Shrine and Rob Kelly deserve to be spotlighted as a feature on the main newsarama.com page.)
November 17th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
There was never a suggestion that this book was within current continuity, especially going off the cover of B&TB #32. But there IS the desire among diehard Aquaman fans to show that a book with this character on the cover can sell well enough to solidify his relevance going forward.
November 17th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Rev OJ-
Exactly!
The banner I created asking the question is just a bit of comic book-style hyperbole. We already know that this story takes place in the past, and is not the “Triumphant Return of…”
Thanks for the plug, I really appreciate it. I want DC to know us AquaFans are waiting the return of our hero!!
November 18th, 2009 at 3:52 am
I dropped Brave and Bold after the Raven and Supergirl two issue bore-fest. But, as a long time aqua=fan I will definitely pick this one up. As far as I can see the issue, and the series, are in-continuity, but obviously set in the past ala Legends of the Dark Knight. I think they’re doing the same with the Superman/ Batman title until Bruce Wayne returns.
I don’t have high hopes for Aquaman though – Didio’s recent comments on his Question/Answer column gave indications that the character is not a high priority (he thinks he’s B-list at most). Maybe he’ll show up in JLA sometime in the future.
Cheers
May 6th, 2013 at 8:52 pm
I wanted to construct a brief note to be able to say thanks to you for some of the splendid concepts you are showing on this website. My particularly long internet research has at the end of the day been rewarded with awesome suggestions to write about with my close friends. I ‘d express that we readers actually are undoubtedly lucky to dwell in a really good network with very many wonderful professionals with insightful advice. I feel extremely lucky to have seen your web page and look forward to plenty of more exciting minutes reading here. Thanks once again for everything.