Aquaman #2

The top two comic moments in Aquaman's history has to be when he looses his son and this issue when he looses his hand.  Now if I read this book not knowing what would happen later with his hand I would have been outraged.  Aquaman in my experience had always been this brooding environmentalist that I loved as a kid but couldn't figure out why as an adult.  Loosening his hand however was just another thing to put on the guy.  He was already brooding.  He lost his son and wife and his sidekick was a tool.  What more were they going to do to the guy?
 
Keep in  mind too.  This was 1994.  During this time in comics everyone is DC had a target on their back.  Superman died, Batman's back broke, Hal Jordan was a villain, and to me Ice dying was the worst of all.  Mainly because she wasn't popular enough to bring back.  There are more examples but this, but this review is about Aquaman #2.    
 

The thing is in this time and ever since death was immanent.  A character like Dolphin could die easily without a second thought.  Don't even get me started on poor Dolphin's future from this point.  That said in this issue Charybdis kills a young woman in a mad and senseless moment.  Later, when he hold Dolphin's head over the piranha tank I got sick to my stomach because I thought it might just happen.
 
Now when I read this book for the first time Aquaman had already had the hook hand.  In other-words I was playing catchup.   I knew about Aquaman's hand but not about Dolphin.  (long story.)  Reading it after the fact I have to say it was a pretty great book.  I would have been wr....wr....wrong.   Man that is hard to say.  I love how this character evolved from here on out, and it was a great move by the Peter David.
 
On a side note, years later in an episode of the Justice League in the DC Animated Universe, Aquaman is forced to cut off his own hand to save the life of his son.  In retrospect that was a much better story, but that story would not have come if this one didn't.  It was also a more compelling villain, Ocean Master in the cartoon.
 
It is a great book.  With Aquaman's hand being cut off let's not forget Dolphins jeans.  It seems cut offs were good for both characters.  Tee hee.  Well, I said what I wanted to say and it felt great.  A historical moment is comic history and I got to be the first on comicvine to review it.  Awesome.  I recommend this book and gave it four stars.
 
In Liberty We Trust.