Scooby-Doo Team-Up #28

"Wet 'N' Wild Part 2" by Sholly Fisch, Dario Brizuela, and Franco Riesco.

[Ted Knight voice] When last we left Aquaman, he and Mera were shocked to learn their son, Arthur Jr., was in the hands of the villainous Black Manta!

Aquaman is afraid to attack Black Manta, lest his son be harmed. Manta uses the eye-beams in his helmet to make our heroes scatter, but he is not prepared for the reaction of Arthur Jr.:

While Manta has been apprehended, he is defiant to the end: he even goes so far to brag that this was the plan all along. What plan? To distract Aquaman and keep him away from Atlantis! Why? Because that leaves it defenseless against the onslaught of:

Atlantis manages to defend itself with the help of younger heroes Aqualad and Aquagirl. This delays Ocean Master long enough for Aquaman, Mera, and the Scooby Gang to arrive, with the Sea King calling in a small army of his finny friends. 

Aquaman is about to lay out Orm, but is halted by Mera, who insists on the honor. She belts Ocean Master, and soon after Aquaman is hosting a royal dinner for his surface dwelling pals. Scooby runs away after being scared by a piranha. Shaggy decides all this delicious-looking food is for naught, because he can't eat with scuba gear on!

...The End!

Like I said last month, this team-up is basically what would have happened if the Filmation Aquaman cartoon had never gone off the air--or at least lasted long enough to team-up with the Scooby Gang over at rival Hanna-Barbera. It's a load of fun, it looks great, perfect for us old timers and little kids just starting to read comics.

Writer Sholly Fisch does a great job capturing that Saturday Morning cartoon feel, I hope this two-parter is not the last time Aquaman and Mera show up in the series. Maybe a three-way team-up between Aquaman, the Scooby Gang, and Mama Cass?

Aqua-Fans, buy this book!

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #27

"Wet 'N' Wild Part 1" by Sholly Fisch, Dario Brizuela, and Franco Riesco.

The Scooby Gang is on nice, relaxing vacation cruise. So far from land, what kind of trouble could find them here?

Of course, the answer is, a lot, because all of a sudden some sea creatures jump out of the water and climb the ship! Strangely enough, these "sea creatures" want the passengers' money and jewelry--which Daphne promptly refuses to hand over. Shortly after that, Poseidon himself emerges from the sea! Luckily for the gang, they're not alone:

Aquaman hurls his trident at "Poseidon", only for him to disappear. The sea creatures suddenly make a break for it, diving back into the water. Velma unmasks one of them, revealing these scaly beasts to be normal crooks. Aquaman chases them into the water, has Topo the octopus pals grab them. There's one still loose, but he is stopped by:

Fred finds a hologram projector laying on the sea floor, revealing where Poseidon came from. Shaggy assumes the case is solved, but Velma realizes that if all six crooks on the ship are now in custody, who was running the projector? Aquaman asks some "witnesses", aka some finny friends. They start on the trail, only to be attacked by those creepy Manta Men! That can only mean one thing...that dastardly denizen of the deep is near, Black Manta!

...To be continued!

Yes, Black Manta pulls what he calls the 1977 Play, which is kidnapping Aquaman and Mera's son. Though this time, under the sure hand of writer Sholly Fisch, I'm sure things will turn out much better for our heroes.

This isn't the Sea King's first appearance in Scooby Doo Team-Up, but it is as a solo star. About time! SDTU is the closest this Scooby fan will ever get to seeing some of the team-ups I wanted to see back in the 70s, when the Scooby Gang was meeting famous guest stars like Batman and Robin, Dick Van Dyke, Sonny and Cher, and every kid's favorite, Mama Cass Elliot. It's a really cute book and I'm glad DC publishes it. Can't wait for Part 2 next issue!

The Amazing Adventures of Superman!: Bubble Trouble!

There's a new series of chapter books starring The Man of Steel called The Amazing Adventures of Superman!, produced by Picture Window Books, a division of Capstone Publishing. As many of you know, Capstone has been responsible for a great many books featuring DC heroes, including Aquaman!

As you can see above, this installment of the series features the Sea King in team-up action with Superman. The story starts in Metropolis, when mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent spots giant bubbles floating over the city! Changing into Superman to investigate, he learns this yet another nefarious plot by the villainous Black Manta.

Manta's bubbles are even picking up various creatures of the sea, so when Superman gets involved, he sees that his old pal Aquaman is already on the case! Together, they team-up to defeat Manta, with everything returned to normal.

"Bubble Trouble!" is written by Benjamin Bird, with art by Tim Levins, whose clean style is perfect for this book, reminiscent of the classic JLU "Timm-verse."

There are a number of books in this series, many of them featuring guest appearances by other members of the DCU. Capstone more than most licensors seem to be devoted to giving Aquaman a spotlight, making them very popular here on the Shrine! If you have kids (or heck, even if you don't), make sure you pick this book up!



Post Script: Yes, the Shrine is still officially on vacation. But since Capstone was nice enough to send me a copy of this (and a few other books), I thought the least I could do was read and review it in a timely manner. Thanks Capstone!

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #12 - Nov. 2014

Comics Weekend "A (Super) Friend In Need Part 2" by Sholly Fisch, Dario Brizuela, and Franco Riesco.

At the end of last issue, a band of ghosts were revealed to be The Legion of Doom. Worse yet, all the Super Friends were zapped into some nether-dimension, leaving just the Scooby Gang to deal with them!

The Gang takes off in all directions, with Velma, Shaggy and Scooby actually outsmarting Bizarro by appealing to his opposite nature: since his fellow villains are his friends, that means he should attack them! Of course!

During the commotion, they head to the kitchen, where the Super Friends have been miniaturized:

Even at their reduced size, the Super Friends manage to bring the pain to the Legion of Doom. Superman and Wonder Woman play some chin music for Solomon Grundy, Batman and Robin trip Scarecrow, and Aquaman leads Gorilla Grodd into the pool room, seemingly playing chicken. But of course:

Sinestro, looking for an easy win, prepares to blast Shaggy and Scooby. But his power ring, attracted to fear, makes a beeline for the biggest source of it in the room: the quivering forms of Shaggy and Scooby! They are turned into Yellow Lanterns, and Shag uses the ring to restore the Super Friends back to regular size. 

That makes the battle even easier, leaving only Luthor who is wielding yet another ultimate weapon. Just at that moment, Supergirl escapes the trap she was in and grabs it, smashing it to bits. The Super Friends then pay compliments to their young friends, and they make a trade:

Re rend!


Oh, why couldn't have Hanna Barbera done this as real episode?!? Writer Sholly Fisch perfectly captures the tones of both shows, keeping the story perfect for wee kids but dropping in bits of DC minutiae that made me smile. Now all we need for this series is a solo team-up between the Scooby Gang and Aquaman!

(Note: The Shrine reviewed the digital edition)

Scooby-Doo! Team-Up #11 - Oct. 2014

Comics Weekend "A (Super) Friend In Need" by Sholly Fisch, Dario Brizuela, and Franco Riesco.

Ruh-roh! Rit's rhe Ruper Riends!

At the Hall of Justice, the Super Friends come to a startling conclusion:

Fred can't understand why the World's Greatest Superheroes need the help of the Scooby Gang, but Batman shows them why: on the HOJ's closed-circuit TV, everyone sees that one of the Rainbow Ghosts took on Superman...and made him disappear!

The others don't want the word to get out that Superman is nowhere to be seen:

The Scooby Gang dress up as Wendy, Marvin, Wonder Dog, and The Wonder Twins, and a replacement for Superman is brought in...The Maid of Might, Supergirl! Right then, the Troubalert goes off, having noticed the arrival of two more of the Rainbow Ghosts...right there in the Hall of Justice!

Aquaman and Wonder Woman go after the Purple Ghost, to no effect. What's going on here?

Another ghost then zaps Batman and Robin, and then another paralyzes Supergirl. They surround the Scooby Gang, revealing their true identities. Fred unmasks one of the ghosts, revealing it to be...The Scarecrow? Then that probably means the other ghosts are:

Ruh-roh! Ro re ronrinued!


Aquaman is all over this week's DC comics, so I decided to pick something fun, and boy was this comic that! Sholly Fisch, who wrote DC Super Friends, completely nails the classic H-B storytelling style, and this team-up makes me long for an episode of Scooby-Doo that featured the Super Friends and the Legion of Doom. That would have been better than a giant sandwich!

There's a really cute moment where all the Scooby Gang geek out over the fact that they're hanging with the Super Friends, with Daphne clearly taking a shine to Aquaman. The Sea King does really, really well with red-heads.

(Note: We Are reviewing the digital edition, the print edition was released this week)

Batman & Aquaman #29 - May 2014

Comics Weekend "The Hunt For Robin" by Peter J. Tomasi, Pat Gleason, Mick Gray, and more.

I have not been reading Batman and Robin, so I am coming to this storyline cold. I was eager to see how well this outrageous team-up worked to a newcomer like myself!

The issue starts with Batman and his dog(?) Titus in the Bat-Sub, searching for an island that the Dark Knight Detective believes the body of his son is on, stolen by Ra's Al Ghul. During a communication with Alfred, Batman decides to sign off, so he can properly greet a visitor:

The "incoming" are a band of Ra's loyal goons, whom Aquaman tears into with his trident. Ra's, concerned that two members of the Justice League might bring the rest, decides to leave, but not without leaving a "parting gift" for the two heroes.

Aquaman and Batman make it onto the beach, and after dispensing with the last of Ra's henchmen, the Sea King follows the telepathic screams which led him here in the first place. What he sees is simply horrendous:

Arthur and Bruce break into Ra's base, and Batman quickly realizes the whole place is set to self-destruct. Aquaman fends off more goons, while Batman chases after his mortal enemy.

But instead of Ra's, Batman finds himself face-to-face (-to-face-to-face) with a bunch of misshapen creatures, all bearing the face of Damian Wayne! Aquaman arrives and helps out, ready to rip these monsters apart, but Batman warns him off. They then realize that they are half-aquatic, which means Aquaman can telepathically order them into the sea, where they are met by one of the Sea King's more impressive finny friends:

Batman catches up to Ra's just as he's about to take off for Paradise Island, carrying the body of Damian and his mother. Even as the plane rockets through the sky, Batman continues to try and smash his way in, until he is dumped off by a quick maneuver. As he plummets, it seems that Batman is about to go splat, until:

The issue ends with Batman paying a visit to Diana Prince, asking to bum a ride to...Paradise Island! To be continued!
 

As I mentioned above, I'm a newcomer to this series, but I have to say I was quite satisfied that this is, for the most part, a self-contained story. Sure, it's part of a larger mosaic, but that's the kind of thing Bob Haney did back in the original Brave and the Bold (even using Aquaman!), so there's nothing wrong with using it again. I didn't have any problem following the action, and guest-star Aquaman got a lot of great stuff to do: props to Peter Tomasi for perfectly pacing this story and giving both heroes the chance to shine.

Speaking of shine, everyone knows that the Shrine is a big fan of the work of Pat Gleason, ever since he handled the art on the Aquaman series from a decade ago. His work was great then, and I think he's only gotten better over time: his Aquaman doesn't look quite the same as everyone else, continuing to give him an ever-so-slightly alien look, which at times recalls some of the more fearsome creatures of the sea. This guy just gets how to do Aquaman.

But that's not to say Batman was shut out! In fact, my favorite page from the issue was this wordless, SFX-less page of Bats entering into a room in Ra's chambers and opening a can of whoopass on some armed henchmen:

I guess the best compliment I can pay this issue is that I might keep buying the book, even though Aquaman is only in this issue. Tomasi's got a good story going here, Gleason (and his inkers) are killing it on the art, and Neptune knows I love a good team-up!

 

Dear DC: Find a way to get Pat Gleason to do more Aquaman! 

 

 

Adventure Comics #267 - Dec. 1959

Comics Weekend "The Manhunt on Land" by Robert Bernstein and Ramona Fradon.

It's Adventure Sunday!

A very special adventure is on tap this month for Aquaman. Let's get right to it:

"Shark" Norton gets wind that Aquaman is looking for him, and he and his goons make a plan to attack the "sea patrol" trailer that the Sea King is lugging through town. They shoot out the truck's headlights, but Aquaman blinds the crooks using a school of luminous fish who emit a flash of blinding light!

Aquaman then orders some swordfish to leap from the tank and dive bomb Shark and his henchmen:

...and so ends another adventure for Aquaman!

This particular Aquaman installment has so much going for it I don't even know where to start! First off, check out the repeated mentions of Aquaman's Adventure co-star, Green Arrow, the first time any sort of other DCU hero has been referenced in an Aquaman story (save for a throwaway Batman joke). Second, this story clocks in at eight pages, the longest Aquaman tale to appear in Adventure at this point.

Third, I love Ramona Fradon's visuals for Shark's gang: the hoods with the weird, Scarecrow-from-Batman Begins-esque faces painted on them. They're wonderfully creepy and distinctive, and give what could be a bunch of generic goons something extra. Fourth, dig Aquaman's rolling Sea Patrol truck! Man, I would have killed to have that as vehicle/playset from Mego, it's such a fun and crazy idea.

For a minute, I was sure that "Shark" Norton was the same villain from "The Shark With The Human Brain" in Adventure Comics #203. But, despite their similar, shark-like visages, they are two separate baddies. Too bad, it would have been yet another historical marker to have one of Aquaman's previous one-and-done foes to make a return appearance.

So, you may be wondering, what happened with the other escaped bad guy, The Wizard, who is an arch enemy of Green Arrow? Well, much like DC Comics, I'm not going to make you wait a month (or, in our case, a week) to find out! Just keep reading to see Part 2 of this historic crossover!

"The Underwater Archers!" by Robert Bernstein and Lee Elias.

It's Adventure Sunday, Part 2!

A very special adventure is on tap this month for Green Arrow and Speedy. Let's get right to it:

As the whales chase Green Arrow's shaft, they drag our heroes boat and The Wizard's sea creature towards shore. Not waiting around to get caught, The Wizard and two of his henchmen flee in an escape pod, leaving Green Arrow and Speedy to try and find them again.

A week later, a prison ship hits an iceberg, causing a mass evacuation of the crew and its prisoners:

...and so ends another adventure for Green Arrow and Speedy!

As you might imagine, I found this two-part adventure completely delightful. I loved how Robert Bernstein (who had been writing both features for a little while) crafted the tale, kicking it off in Aquaman and then finishing it in Green Arrow. I also love the idea that many of the bad guys our heroes catch end up in the same prison facility. 

My only complaint--and this is a minor one--is that Aquaman and Green Arrow appear together so briefly: only one panel, and then it's over. It would have been wonderful to see GA and Speedy rendered by Ramona Fradon, but that is a minor quibble. It's a shame this kind of crossover hadn't been done before--how cool would it have been done to so something like this back when Adventure featured four or five different strips?

On the art front, Lee Elias is one of those guys whose work I'm only partly familiar with (though I do remember how much I liked his stuff on the Ultra, The Multi-Alien strip over in Mystery in Space). His art has a real Milton Caniff look to it, which is a-ok with me. I think the final panel of the Green Arrow story is the one time in his long career he ever drew Aquaman.

I of course didn't plan it this way, but sockamagee was this a perfect way to wrap up this year's run of Adventure Sundays! Happy New Year to everyone who follows these installments, and we'll see you all next Sunday for more!

The Dark Knight: The Penguin's Crime Wave

The fine folks at Capstone Publishing have put another installment of their DC Super Heroes line of books for young readers, and this time Aquaman is along for the adventure!

The Penguin's Crime Wave is written by Laurie Sutton and drawn by Luciano Vecchio,and opens with the waddling scoundrel trying to pull a heist at the Gotham City Museum of Natural History. Of course, the Dark Knight Detective is there to stop him:

The Penguin is defeated, and in the next chapter the story moves forward in time, to a fancy soiree at Gotham Bay, attended by millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne. The Penguin resurfaces again, literally: popping out of the water inside a giant penguin-ized submarine!

Pengy kidnaps some of the swells, and takes off with Batman in pursuit in his Bat-Plane. It is attacked by some rocket pack-bedecked robot penguins, forcing it into the icy waters. Batman attempts to escape, but the Bat-Plane is damaged. Before the water seeps in, Batman hears a knocking on the hull of the ship, and sees it's an old friend:

Some of Aquaman's finny friends tell him they have found the Penguin's arctic hideout. They make their way there, and give chase, which leads the Penguin to throw a mysterious egg at Batman, which produces a black cloud. The Penguin uses the confusion to try and escape, leading Batman into a strange chamber--one he recognizes as belonging to another old foe, Mr. Freeze!

The Penguin believes he has got Batman where he wants him, but it's just a ruse: using his thermal Bat-Suit, the Dark Knight waits for the Penguin to get close enough to the tube to break out of it using tools from his Utility Belt and grab him!

But the oily bird manages to slip away again, using one of his umbrellas as a mini-helicopter. Just then, the Sea King pops out of water riding a giant orca, ready to take the Flighless Felon into custody. Knowing when he's beaten, the Penguin is reduced to begging the Batman to save him!

Batman thanks Aquaman for his assistance, and carts the Penguin back to Gotham City, while the Sea King looks after the innocent civilians that were kidnapped. The End!


As a company, Capstone has been extraordinarily good to Aquaman, giving him his own books as well as having him appear in other titles, like this one. As I've said many times before, if I had been a kid when books like these were being published, I would have read them until they fell apart. It's Classic Aquaman, doing all kinds of Classic Aquaman stuff! Can't be beat. It also comes with a glossary of terms, character bios, and discussion questions for all the young readers out there.

The Penguin's Crime Wave was written by longtime DC editor/writer and Aqua-Fan Laurie Sutton, who has been kind enough to talk to the Shrine on several occasions. This is her first chance to write Aquaman, and we'll be talking to her tomorrow about the book!


If you would like to order a copy of The Penguin's Crime Wave, use the handy link below. Not only will you get yourself this handsome little book, but you'll throw the Aquaman Shrine a few shekels in the process:

Other Capstone titles featuring Aquaman:

• Black Manta and the Octopus Army
• Deep-Sea Duel
• Heroes of the High-Seas

 

DC vs. Marvel #2 - 1996

Comics Weekend "Round Two" by Peter David, Dan Jurgens, Claudio Castellini, and more.

The second issue of DC vs. Marvel (or Marvel vs. DC, depending on your company preference, I guess) with some "regular" young man who seems to have some connection to the vast forces that are putting the various heroes and villains in play.

We then get more crazy combos, with Captain America squaring off against Bane, Wolverine vs. Killer Croc, etc. We also meet two beings, brothers, born eons ago and locked in some eternal struggle to see who will survive. To achieve this, each being chooses its warriors:

Now aware of the stakes, different sets of heroes square off: Captain Marvel vs. Thor, Flash vs. Quicksilver, and...

In addition to all this, Darkseid takes on Thanos, and Wonder Woman manages to claim the power of Thor by picking up Mjolnir! To be continued!


This issue is a lot lighter in tone (though it still contains lots of mystical mumbo-jumbo), and you've even got bystanders placing bets on the fights. Here's the scorecard as it stands:

At the time, I remember hearing that Aquaman beat Namor, which, I have to admit, I thought was ridiculous, since Namor is one of Marvel's most powerful characters, and Aquaman is not. I assumed it was writer Peter David (who, of course, was writing Aquaman at the time) playing favorites. Of course, being the Aquaman fan I am, I was kind of okay with that!

But having since seen the fight (which is oh so brief!), I kind of buy it now: Namor is so full of himself that his overconfidence is his undoing, kind of like his relationship with Sue Storm. I also just like the comical visual of Aquaman dropping a giant whale on Namor's head and calling it a day.

Sadly, this issue is Aquaman's finest moment in the series; nevertheless we'll wrap up our look back at DC vs. Marvel next weekend!