Why are so many people saying Aquaman is awesome now? I've read his new 52 comics. His character isn't interesting and the stories are average. I don't see why so many people are jumping on the Aquafan bandwagon.

Its a solid Aquaman story, which he hasn't had in ages. That said, I think its overrated. Not nearly as badass as people make it out to be. ReVeal on issue #9 though... That was good Jones.

Because it's good?

Rick Vietch's Aquaman was the best treatment the character ever received. Johns just (no pun intended) watered that down and made him mainstream "badass". 

The New 52 comic is great although I have to admit I'm not reading it nowadays as much as I used to...

@FadeToBlackBolt said:

Rick Vietch's Aquaman was the best treatment the character ever received. Johns just (no pun intended) watered that down and made him mainstream "badass".

I can't agree with you on that, as much as I would have liked to. I love Rick Veitch and I love Aquaman, but Veitch's portrayal of Aquaman left a lot to be desired.

Aquaman spent most of Veitch's entire run being pretty useless, chalking up one humiliating loss right after another. Veitch took far too long to bring us to the point where Aquaman got to actually be successful at anything. There were a lot of points during which Aquaman seemed to be little more than a witness to things that were all beyond him. If there was ever an Aquaman run that tempted me into thinking he really was as lame as the media portrayed him, it would have been the Rick Veitch run.

That said, there were definitely some bright points to the Veitch run:

1. The Water hand - It had a lot of potential, but it never seemed to be consistent in its portrayal, but I did love the idea behind the hand.

2. Arthur & Garth - We had an honest-to-goodness mentor/sidekick relationship in modern comics! I LOVED that. Arthur and Garth played off each other very well.

3. Black Manta's new origin - Although I don't think anyone ever alluded to them since then, I personally loved the elements Veitch added to Manta's origin. It's almost certainly no longer canon in the New 52.

4. The Thirst - Despite the flaws of Veitch's story, I loved how creepy this guy was and I would love to see another writer try to do something more with him. It would be a challenge, but not an impossible one.

5. The Lighthouse supporting cast - The old sailor and the local police officer/love interest. I can't remember their names but I thought their voices were so refreshing in every scene in which they appeared.

6. The ongoing Justice League visits joke - the recurring appearances of Arthur's teammates at the lighthouse always made for a good chuckle.

7. The conversion of Rodunn - I loved how Veitch took this little-known Atlantean guard and put him through essentially a spiritual transformation. He went from being a guy who aggressively tried to kill Arthur to a guy who talked about Arthur as if he were his messiah.

8. Hagen (more additions to Aquaman's rogues gallery) - The nefarious Atlantean usurper and sorcerer victimized poor Mera and it really looked like Veitch was building him up to be a big baddie for Arthur to fight in a post-Thirst arc, but unfortunately Veitch did not anticipate how unpopular that Thirst arc would be and he wasn't asked to continue after the Thirst arc. I suspect an Aquaman vs. Hagen story would have been a lot more thrilling than the Thirst arc turned out to be.

Making this list, I am starting to see more of your point, FadeToBlackBolt, but certainly not enough that I could agree with your statement. I'd say the Will Pfeifer/John Arcudi issues were clearly superior, and I think you aren't giving Johns enough credit for the good parts of his run thus far. I certainly don't think Johns is perfect (I've spent more time bashing him over the last 5 years than praising him), but he is writing a very respectable Aquaman series, and even if he uses what looks like more obvious hooks to thrill his audience, he crafts those hooks very well, adding a lot of rich potential to the Aquaman mythos.

I really don't see it has hype. The book is good and people were frankly shocked. I mean it isn't going to be for everyone, but I think it is the best damn book out right now.

@Catman9 said:

Why are so many people saying Aquaman is awesome now? I've read his new 52 comics. His character isn't interesting and the stories are average. I don't see why so many people are jumping on the Aquafan bandwagon.

Really? I guess that depends on your taste then. I personally think that the Aquaman series by Johns is very good, and his character is very interesting: King of Atlantis, not accepted by humans, not accepted by Atlanteans, he has no respect though everyone knows he deserves it. Perhaps the reason why you and some other people don't like Aquaman that much is the same reason why some people didn't like the James Bond film 'Thunderball' - but that's just a theory.

I, for one, am loving the Aquaman title.

The comic is one of the best of the new 52 it haves good action great art and the story get's me really into Aquaman character that i never new what he really could do.

@FadeToBlackBolt said:

Rick Vietch's Aquaman was the best treatment the character ever received. Johns just (no pun intended) watered that down and made him mainstream "badass".

Rick Vietch's was ok I guess.....but it certainly wasn't the best. To me it was PAD yea the look wasn't all that but he made Aquaman into a bada** and he showed alot of good concepts. Johns current run is very good right now i'd say I love this and David's run equally.

It has great art but otherwise its not that great.

@CODYSF said:

The comic is one of the best of the new 52 it haves good action great art and the story get's me really into Aquaman character that i never new what he really could do.

Aquaman is kickass.

I've always thought of Aquaman as an "A" list character. Honestly I don't see what is so silly about a guy who literally rules 70% of the Earth. I'm thrilled he has a decent ongoing after all this time. I think the hype is from doubters being turned into believers, that's it.

@FadeToBlackBolt said:

Rick Vietch's Aquaman was the best treatment the character ever received. Johns just (no pun intended) watered that down and made him mainstream "badass".

Sorta, kinda maybe. Vietch had a nice run, better than John's (not saying John's is bad though, I like what I've read so far). Personally though, I thought Pozner was awesome on Aquaman, even the batsh*t costume grew on me after an issue or two. Also, Alex Ross's portrayal of Arthur in Justice was amazing. He really nailed alot of characters in the that series but he cranked it up a notch for Aquaman.

Overall like @longbowhunter: said, in my mind Aquaman has always been an A lister and has plenty of good arcs/runs/stories out there if people would only bother to go look for them.

@FadeToBlackBolt said:

Rick Vietch's Aquaman was the best treatment the character ever received. Johns just (no pun intended) watered that down and made him mainstream "badass".

I think the most important things here are "Aquaman," "Mainstream," and "Badass."

Aquaman has a huge stigma, a joke. People think all he does is swim and talk to fishies, and people I know question my judgment when I say that he's cool. My girlfriend, whom is a casual comic fan, even laughed.

And who's to blame them when everyone remembers this:

I personally don't think the book is that good. I feel like people either have low expectation for it, so the book just simply surpasses their expectation or they're a fan of the character and wants the book to be good. There are also people who simply enjoy the book, but , for me, I don't get all the hypes surrounding the book itself.

@Redberry said:

I personally don't think the book is that good. I feel like people either have low expectation for it, so the book just simply surpasses their expectation or they're a fan of the character and wants the book to be good. There are also people who simply enjoy the book, but , for me, I don't get all the hypes surrounding the book itself.

If you have read any Aquaman before, this is the best incarnation of Aquaman ever told.

@Redberry: Did you read Aquaman 10? read and I'm sure you will understand

Its not hype, he has come a long way and he deserves his moment in the spotlight more than any other character

It just comes down to personal taste. If you're not a fan of Aquaman by now, I doubt you ever would be.

@Rumble Man said:

Its not hype, he has come a long way and he deserves his moment in the spotlight more than any other character

THis

His current ongoing has brought back solid story telling to Aquaman. It's good stuff. and Aquaman deserves it.

@Catman9: lol right! im so sick of the random wannabe awesomeness people talk aobut with this character