13 Aquaman Splash Pages by Ramona Fradon

13thDimension.com asked me to compile a gallery of Ramona Fradon's Aquaman art, on the occasion of her 90th birthday yesterday. It was so much fun going over all the superb work the legendary Ms. Fradon did on the Aquaman strip in Adventure Comics, so go check it out!

Aqualad by Ramona Fradon

This majestic shot of Aqualad by the legendary Ramona Fradon is currently up for auction over on Comic Link. If you've never had the good fortune to meet Ms. Fradon in person, then here's your chance to get an original from her!

(h/t: F.O.A.M.er Ilke Hincer)

Aquaman by Ramona Fradon

Any day is a good day for a Ramona Fradon original! This is currently available via online auction, thanks to F.O.A.M.er Ilke Hincer for pointing* it out!

*Yes, I am making a swordfish joke. I'm sorry.

Aquaman and Mera by Ramona Fradon

Check out this beautiful pas de deux of our favorite superhero couple, drawn by Ramona Fradon and inked (via blue line) by Drew Geraci. Arthur and Mera look very happy here, as it should be!

History of the DC Universe Pin-Up by Ramona Fradon

The History of the DC Universe deluxe edition, published in 1987, featured a number of full-page pin-ups by legendary artists drawing some of their most iconic characters: Neal Adams on Superman, Dick Sprang on Batman, and...Ramona Fradon on Aquaman! Amazingly, the Shrine has never gotten around to posting this beauty, so I figured since we just covered the book on our Who's Who Podcast, now's the time!

As usual, it's a beauty, Ms. Fradon having lost none of her artistic powers even though several decades separated her original run on the character and this piece. Aquaman having sea birds drop bombs on Nazi war ships, hells yeah!

Convergence: A Modest Proposal

With DC plumbing its roots with the upcoming "Convergence" event, which includes bringing back some creators who worked on the pre-New 52 versions of certain characters, The Aquaman Shrine has a modest proposal: Bring Back Ramona Fradon!

Ms. Fradon is still drawing and very active on the convention circuit, and has lost none of her artistic powers (I can verify that, since I am lucky enough to own at least three sketches by her!). So while DC is using this event to celebrate the long history of their characters (like getting Hilary Barta back on Plastic Man, something I'm really looking forward to!), why not get someone who define Aquaman's look for years, across multiple generations of comics fans?

C'mon DC, bring back Ramona Fradon!

Happy Birthday, Ramona Fradon!

As you might have guessed, today is the legendary Ramona Fradon's birthday! She is one of my all-time favorite Aquaman artists (if not one of my all-time favorite artists, period) and when looking at the artwork above, you can see why.

Below is a profile DC ran on Ms. Fradon in a 1980 edition of The Daily Planet, their version of Bullpen Bulletins:

Ms. Fradon is a regular staple at comic cons, still doing amazing work and talking to fans. If you ever see her at a show, make sure you say hello to this living legend. Happy Birthday Ramona Fradon!



Update: I have just been informed Ms. Fradon's birthday is Oct. 2, not today. All the things I said still apply!

World's Finest Comics #139 - Feb. 1964

Comics Weekend "The Doom Hunters" by Jack Miller and Ramona Fradon.

It's the last Adventure Sunday!

It's our final Adventure Sunday story, let's hope it's a good one...

Using a handy metal pipe, Aquaman lures the magnetic mines away from the trapped scuba diver. He then throws it, and the mines chase it like a pack of dogs and a stick, where they explode harmlessly. Back on the surface, this second "daredevil" realizes the error of his ways. But the work for Aquaman and Aqualad isn't done!

...and so ends another adventure for Aquaman and Aqualad!

Overall, "The Doom Hunters" is pretty good, not the best of the World's Finest bunch, but also not the worst. And while I have no proof of this, I think someone helped Ramona Fradon out on the inks--there's certain places (the splash page, and panel 3, page 6 specifically) that feature shading atypical of Fradon's crisp, clean style. That aside, this is last solo Aquaman story the legendary artist would draw, and she wouldn't tackle the character at all again until the mid-1970s, when she took over the art duties on Super Friends.

The Sea King, never a huge seller (at least compared to Superman and Batman), nevertheless benefited from a series of amazing artists delineating his adventures--from John Daly to Fradon to Nick Cardy and then Jim Aparo, Aquaman benefited from an artistic streak of unbelievable quality and consistency.

And so, this is indeed the very last Adventure Sunday. After this, Aquaman kept going in his solo title, as well as regularly appearing in Justice League of America. He wouldn't be relegated to a back-up slot again until 1974, when he returned to Adventure Comics, this time drawn by newcomer Mike Grell. He would soon take over the book as its lead star, but back-up work in Action Comics and World's Finest (again) still lay ahead.

When I started the Adventure Sunday segment back in 2009, part of it was to inform myself about these old stories as much as anyone who might be reading. I had only ever seen a small handful of the Golden Age/Silver Age Stories (due to the fact so few of them had ever been reprinted), so these weekly visits to Aquaman's past were just as revelatory for me as it was for anyone else. I don't know if I had ever planned to finish the whole run, but after a while it only made sense to keep going, and complete the job. I was heartened by the consistent support of you Aqua-Fans who kept checking in every Sunday, and letting me know what you thought of these stories.

So what's next? Well, next Sunday we're going to run a sort of "summing up" post, featuring a few words from some of the more Adventure Sunday-devoted Aqua-Fans and highlighting some of my favorite moments from the Golden Age/Silver Age Aquaman. And then, after that...well, that would be telling! You'll just have to see.

Semper Aqua!

World's Finest Comics #137 - Dec. 1963

Comics Weekend "The Day Aquaman Lost His Powers" by Jack Miller and Ramona Fradon.

It's Adventure Sunday!

Another BIG Aquaman adventure on tap...

Aqualad tells Aquaman to relax, he'll go and retrieve the urn. But when he returns to the scene, he finds the urn gone. Gulp, what now?

Aqualad then heads to the surface, finding the crooks' boat. After accidentally making his presence known, the crooks prepare to open fire, forcing Aqualad to bid a hasty retreat. Luckily, he covers his escape via an attack by some finny friends, who swim out of the water, distracting the bad guys. But Aqualad still has to find some way of getting the urn:

...and so ends another adventure for Aquaman and Aqualad!

Despite being nine pages, this story is stuffed to the gills with action--as if the original script was for an even longer story, and Ramona Fradon had to cram as much in as possible. Check out the first few pages, the word balloons are bursting out of the panel borders, and Aquaman's figure looks ready to do the same.

Also, I know it's a little but goofy, but--I cannot get enough of Aquaman flying through the air on the backs of a bunch of sea eagles. It just looks so cool and exciting. Hawkman, eat your heart out!

Next week: The final Adventure Sunday!

World's Finest Comics #135 - Aug. 1963

Comics Weekend "The Creatures That Conquered Aquaman" by Jack Miller and Ramona Fradon.

It's Adventure Sunday!

As the (quite nifty) cover promises, this is a BIG Aquaman adventure!

Aqualad realizes Aquaman will die if he's stuck in that alien cage for more than an hour. At that moment, he hears the alien baddies say that if they keep the power bands on continuously, it will prevent them from resuming their real identities. He realizes this is the break he was looking for, and has some finny friends storm the beach.

As they distract the aliens, Aqualad sneaks in via some sea eagles and snaps up the fourth power band:

...and so ends another adventure for Aquaman and Aqualad!

After missing last issue of World's Finest thanks to an extra-long Green Arrow segment, Ollie returns the favor here by stepping aside so the Aquaman feature can be a few pages longer. Funnily enough, this story feels padded to me, at least near the end--maybe it's just because previous Aquaman stories move so fast and cram in so much in just a few panels that having any extra space seems luxurious!

DC would continue with this one on/one off format with Green Arrow for the next several months, culminating with Aquaman's final appearance in World's Finest and our final Adventure Sunday in just two weeks!

World's Finest Comics #133 - May 1963

Comics Weekend "Aquaman's New Partner--Aqua-Girl" by Jack Miller and Ramona Fradon.

It's Adventure Sunday!

Aquaman takes on a new partner!

Aquaman, not picking up on his sidekick's insecurity, tells him not to rush his recovery and stay in Atlantis. Selena is eager to get back to adventuring, leaving Merlon behind to express his worry to Aqualad. The young boy volunteers to follow them...to look out for Selena, of course!

Up on the surface, some hijackers are trying to pull off a heist, and Aquaman tells his new partner to stay out of it, he'll handle this:

...and so ends another adventure for Aquaman and Aqualad!

Selena never went adventuring again--which is only right, because she's just a girl and should only be concerned with being a proper wife to Merlon.

Fun Fact: This plot, complete with hijackers, was repurposed for an episode of Three's Company, with Atlantis being replaced by the Regal Beagle.