Retro Review -- A Confusing Aquaman Fish Story!
First Impressions:
The last issue of the Silver Age Aquaman, his first full series, script by Steve Skeates, who later went on to Marvel's Sub-Mariner (ironically).
The story is a bit bumpy and misleading as scattered minnows!
We find an unhappy middle class man being nagged by his wife. He just wants to watch TV. He flips on the channel and is annoyed that a news program interrupted his favorite show, a variety show where Aquaman would appear.
If anything this just made the story longer and did not contribute anything to the plot. We find that a satellite is keeping sunlight on the city of Detroit but it's also creating massive algae growth.
Despite the cover of the comic and the inside splash cover, there is no monster and nothing is destroying Detroit. However there is conflict!
Aquaman finds his pal at the police investigations building is behind this and tries to stop him. His pal it turns out is a superhero in disguise, named The Crusader. His passing is one of the most embarrassing scenes in comics.
Crusader was refused to join the JLA because he was too violent. Wow, he should see them now!
The story ends very abruptly. One blog suggests that the story continued three years later in the pages of The Sub-Mariner by the same writer, Steve Skeates. Read about it here: http://www.dialbforblog.com/archives/162/
Bottom Line:
All in all, a confusing story that has several plot holes at the end that never get tied up since the book is cancelled after this issue. Aparo's art is worth the price of admission.
There's a brief story of Aquagirl preventing a guy from swimming into the Cave of Death. No other explanation. Quite odd.
Overstreet NM Price: $35.00