What do you think?
Rate this book
Showcase Presents: Aquaman #3
Showcase Presents: Aquaman, Vol. 3
Nearly 500 pages of undersea adventure are collected in this value-priced volume!
In this new, third volume of super-hero thrills, Aquaman defends his home beneath the waves from villains including The Ocean Master, Black Manta and The Scavenger, with the help of his sidekick, Aqualad. This volume also includes the introduction of the new teen hero Aqua-Girl, plus a team-up tale co-starring The Atom!
In this new, third volume of super-hero thrills, Aquaman defends his home beneath the waves from villains including The Ocean Master, Black Manta and The Scavenger, with the help of his sidekick, Aqualad. This volume also includes the introduction of the new teen hero Aqua-Girl, plus a team-up tale co-starring The Atom!
544 pages, Paperback
First published February 17, 2009
2 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
Bob Haney
448 books13 followersRobert G. Haney was an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics. He co-created the Teen Titans as well as characters such as Metamorpho, Eclipso, Cain, and the Super-Sons.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
auf-pause
September 5, 2018#24, Dezember 1965 (Art: Nick Cardy): SAVE OUR SEAS
Mit Karla haben Aquaman & Familie eine starke Gegnerin.
#25, Februar 66 (Bob Haney, Nick Cardy): THE REVOLT OF AQUABOY
Wenn die Kinder groß werden (verliert man einen Sohn oder gewinnt man eine Tochter, wenn der Filius heiratet); Aquababy wird von einem Moment auf den anderen Erwachsen, während sich die stolzen Eltern noch streiten, was aus ihm werden soll. Skurrile Story.
#26, April 1966 (Haney, Cardy): From O.G.R.E. WITH HATE
Dolle James Bond-artige Story, wieder mit starkem weiblichen Gegner.
#27, Juni 1966 (Haney, Cardy): THE BATTLE OF THE RIVAL AQUAMAN
Au Backe, Aquaman und Anhang sollen entführt und in einem interplanetarischen Aquarium ausgestellt werden! Die Außerirdischen erinnern von der Artwork an Green Lantern. Paraphernalia: Duplicating Ray und Stun Guns. Die bislang albernste Geschichte, aber in Gedanken ich kann die Kinder am Strand ordentlich planschen sehen, wenn sie diese Geschichte nachspielen 😂
Und: Es gibt ein echtes Hollywood Happy End:
#28 Juli/August 1966 (Haney, Cardy): HAIL AQUABABY, NEW KING OF ATLANTIS
"Great Waves! Starbuck … He´s ruling in Aquababy´s Name - - and has trumped up a war between Atlantis and the United States! He´s absolutely mad!"
Habe ich was gelernt? Oh ja! Trumped-up als Adjektiv heißt auf Deutsch "erdichtet". Das klingt nach einem bestimmten trumpigen Präsidenten und seinen Umgang mit "alternativen Fakten".
Auch wenn mich diese Story deutlich mehr als der Trumpster begeistert, sie kommt nicht hinaus über.
#29 Sept./Okt. 1966 (Haney, Cardy): AQUAMAN, COWARD-KING OF THE SEAS
Der Ocean Master erpresst die Welt und Aquaman bekämpft ihn nicht - ist Aquaman etwa nur eine schreckhafte Sardine?
First Appearence des Ocean Masters, ein Stück Familiengeschichte wird enthüllt.
#30 Nov./Dez. 1966 (Haney, Cardy) THE DEATH OF AQUAMAN
Coole SF-Idee: In den tiefen des Universums ist eine Welt zerstört worden, übrig blieb ein sonderbares Raumschiff, das nun durch den Weltraum kreist. Jedesmal (!), wenn es in die Anziehungskraft der Erde gelangt, sendet es einen Strahl auf die Erde und auf dem Meeresboden materialisiert "Necrus the Black City" samt Tyrann Mongo (schon mal den Namen gehört?). Aquaman, von Mongo gefangen genommen und in einer Kristallkugel gefangen gehalten, schickt ein Duplikat von sich in den Kampf:
"What a weird Sensation! Though I remained in the crystal tomb, I was also free of it … free to hurry back to Atlantis!"
Mit Karla haben Aquaman & Familie eine starke Gegnerin.
#25, Februar 66 (Bob Haney, Nick Cardy): THE REVOLT OF AQUABOY
Wenn die Kinder groß werden (verliert man einen Sohn oder gewinnt man eine Tochter, wenn der Filius heiratet); Aquababy wird von einem Moment auf den anderen Erwachsen, während sich die stolzen Eltern noch streiten, was aus ihm werden soll. Skurrile Story.
#26, April 1966 (Haney, Cardy): From O.G.R.E. WITH HATE
Dolle James Bond-artige Story, wieder mit starkem weiblichen Gegner.
#27, Juni 1966 (Haney, Cardy): THE BATTLE OF THE RIVAL AQUAMAN
Au Backe, Aquaman und Anhang sollen entführt und in einem interplanetarischen Aquarium ausgestellt werden! Die Außerirdischen erinnern von der Artwork an Green Lantern. Paraphernalia: Duplicating Ray und Stun Guns. Die bislang albernste Geschichte, aber in Gedanken ich kann die Kinder am Strand ordentlich planschen sehen, wenn sie diese Geschichte nachspielen 😂
Und: Es gibt ein echtes Hollywood Happy End:
#28 Juli/August 1966 (Haney, Cardy): HAIL AQUABABY, NEW KING OF ATLANTIS
"Great Waves! Starbuck … He´s ruling in Aquababy´s Name - - and has trumped up a war between Atlantis and the United States! He´s absolutely mad!"
Habe ich was gelernt? Oh ja! Trumped-up als Adjektiv heißt auf Deutsch "erdichtet". Das klingt nach einem bestimmten trumpigen Präsidenten und seinen Umgang mit "alternativen Fakten".
Auch wenn mich diese Story deutlich mehr als der Trumpster begeistert, sie kommt nicht hinaus über
.#29 Sept./Okt. 1966 (Haney, Cardy): AQUAMAN, COWARD-KING OF THE SEAS
Der Ocean Master erpresst die Welt und Aquaman bekämpft ihn nicht - ist Aquaman etwa nur eine schreckhafte Sardine?
First Appearence des Ocean Masters, ein Stück Familiengeschichte wird enthüllt.
#30 Nov./Dez. 1966 (Haney, Cardy) THE DEATH OF AQUAMAN
Coole SF-Idee: In den tiefen des Universums ist eine Welt zerstört worden, übrig blieb ein sonderbares Raumschiff, das nun durch den Weltraum kreist. Jedesmal (!), wenn es in die Anziehungskraft der Erde gelangt, sendet es einen Strahl auf die Erde und auf dem Meeresboden materialisiert "Necrus the Black City" samt Tyrann Mongo (schon mal den Namen gehört?). Aquaman, von Mongo gefangen genommen und in einer Kristallkugel gefangen gehalten, schickt ein Duplikat von sich in den Kampf:
"What a weird Sensation! Though I remained in the crystal tomb, I was also free of it … free to hurry back to Atlantis!"
July 7, 2022
The later half of the mid-1960s adventures of Aquaman are covered in this massive collection. We visit Atlantis just after the birth of the Aquababy. But things are far from idyllic. That's because the First Family of the Seven Seas are about to enter the era of the aqua enemies!
The shrimp-costume clad Fisherman was the only recurring villain introduced from the last volume. While he does return in this book, the Fisherman is far from the most dastardly criminal to put up his dukes against Aquaman. That distinction is a toss up between the Ocean Master, who happens to be Aquaman's murderous amnesiac half-brother or the mysterious Black Manta, a maniac who has little qualms with using Aquaman's infant son as murderous bait!
On the personal side of things, cracks in the foundation of the royal family are starting to form. Aqualad is beginning to experience the growing pains of puberty as Aquaman's kid sidekick as well as a third wheel compared to Mera and Aquababy. The insecurities of Queen Mera are also coming to the forefront whether it be in jealousy of another female who catches the King's eye or from conducting a series of childish pranks that result in severe chidings from her husband.
It's not all serious stuff in this volume. That's because right around the time these comics were being published new, Aquaman and Aqualad were the stars of a 30 minute animated segment of The Superman/Aquaman Hour. As the new stars of Saturday morning TV, every other issue of Aquaman was more geared towards younger readers. A blurb advertising the series adorns those covers and characters from the show pop up; like Aqualad's walrus pet, Tusky. But when it comes to the artwork of Nick Cardy, things feel a little bi-polar.
Instead of using his more matured look of art, in the kids-geared issues, Cardy reverts back to the more cartoony style he copied of Ramona Fradon (Metamorpho). One thing that remains constant are the dynamic paneling of the stories. The use of triangular panels and out of order sequencing are highly reminiscent of Jack Kirby! Add to it a lot of erratic lines and scribbled chapter titles, Cardy is able to invoke an underwater setting perfectly!
A team-up with Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen is where the volume ends. Volume 3 also marks the end of Showcase Presents' run of Aquaman stories. But it doesn't have to be the end for me.
Pardon the pun, but I really got hooked on the adventures of Aquaman and I really want to read the rest of the pre-CRISIS story of the King of Atlantis. While there remains about 3 dozen issues of Aquaman and Adventure Comics, I don't have to resort to collecting the floppies. There are 3 color volumes of Aquaman stories. If I can get them for a good deal, I should have some great, but powerful, reads awaiting me one day soon.
If you are a fan of Jason Mamoa's Aquaman, this is the volume to read. A bunch of the characters that appear in that movie either make their debut in this era of Aquaman comics- or they are finally mentioned despite Aquaman having made his first appearance nearly 3 decades earlier.
The shrimp-costume clad Fisherman was the only recurring villain introduced from the last volume. While he does return in this book, the Fisherman is far from the most dastardly criminal to put up his dukes against Aquaman. That distinction is a toss up between the Ocean Master, who happens to be Aquaman's murderous amnesiac half-brother or the mysterious Black Manta, a maniac who has little qualms with using Aquaman's infant son as murderous bait!
On the personal side of things, cracks in the foundation of the royal family are starting to form. Aqualad is beginning to experience the growing pains of puberty as Aquaman's kid sidekick as well as a third wheel compared to Mera and Aquababy. The insecurities of Queen Mera are also coming to the forefront whether it be in jealousy of another female who catches the King's eye or from conducting a series of childish pranks that result in severe chidings from her husband.
It's not all serious stuff in this volume. That's because right around the time these comics were being published new, Aquaman and Aqualad were the stars of a 30 minute animated segment of The Superman/Aquaman Hour. As the new stars of Saturday morning TV, every other issue of Aquaman was more geared towards younger readers. A blurb advertising the series adorns those covers and characters from the show pop up; like Aqualad's walrus pet, Tusky. But when it comes to the artwork of Nick Cardy, things feel a little bi-polar.
Instead of using his more matured look of art, in the kids-geared issues, Cardy reverts back to the more cartoony style he copied of Ramona Fradon (Metamorpho). One thing that remains constant are the dynamic paneling of the stories. The use of triangular panels and out of order sequencing are highly reminiscent of Jack Kirby! Add to it a lot of erratic lines and scribbled chapter titles, Cardy is able to invoke an underwater setting perfectly!
A team-up with Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen is where the volume ends. Volume 3 also marks the end of Showcase Presents' run of Aquaman stories. But it doesn't have to be the end for me.
Pardon the pun, but I really got hooked on the adventures of Aquaman and I really want to read the rest of the pre-CRISIS story of the King of Atlantis. While there remains about 3 dozen issues of Aquaman and Adventure Comics, I don't have to resort to collecting the floppies. There are 3 color volumes of Aquaman stories. If I can get them for a good deal, I should have some great, but powerful, reads awaiting me one day soon.
If you are a fan of Jason Mamoa's Aquaman, this is the volume to read. A bunch of the characters that appear in that movie either make their debut in this era of Aquaman comics- or they are finally mentioned despite Aquaman having made his first appearance nearly 3 decades earlier.
February 24, 2020
This is a Silver Age Showcase. If you are not into comics, this is not a starting point. If you are a major fan, this is a fun way to go back in time and read the history of Mera, Black Manta, Aquagirl, and Ocean Master. I was reading at a time Aquababy was already long dead, so to go back to a time when he was alive and saying things only babies in '60s comics said is fun if not overly silly. I could not have read this in one sitting, but its a great time if you read a story here and there.
July 2, 2014
Predictably Aquaman transitions in this book from his original stories of cute uses for fish and 7-pages to 23 page superhero stories that inevitably involve the King of The Seas (and TV apparently?) punching a bunch of bad guys.
Surprisingly, it's not that terrible, even for a 1960s book written by Bob Haney.
It's certainly not a benefit from either character development or strong dialogue. It's pretty infuriating how every time you see Aquaman's wife, Mera, she's described as beautiful, or Aqualad is described as a little kid, or Aquababy talks in "baby talk" about objects and people. Every line is telegraphing that Aquaman has good intentions and that bad guys are evil. And it's slow.
then what is positive here? Nick Cardy's art work for one. He draws beautiful seascapes, even in black and white. Also, some of the bad guys/stories are kind of clever, in a cheesy way. Like OGRE, this secret spy ring that is basically random people doing what a random person tells them to do, is a nice (albeit forced) extra dimension. I also like the challenges to Aquaman's sexuality, like Aliena, an alien chick sent to Earth to flirt with/betray our married protagonist. And the more subtle challenge presented by Aqualad (his adopted son) falling in love with the "hippie" (forced) Aquagirl. It's not Tennesse Williams, but I like that they are challenging Aquaman's nuclear family (albeit lightly).
I largely liked this volume because I assumed it would be god awful and it wasn't
Surprisingly, it's not that terrible, even for a 1960s book written by Bob Haney.
It's certainly not a benefit from either character development or strong dialogue. It's pretty infuriating how every time you see Aquaman's wife, Mera, she's described as beautiful, or Aqualad is described as a little kid, or Aquababy talks in "baby talk" about objects and people. Every line is telegraphing that Aquaman has good intentions and that bad guys are evil. And it's slow.
then what is positive here? Nick Cardy's art work for one. He draws beautiful seascapes, even in black and white. Also, some of the bad guys/stories are kind of clever, in a cheesy way. Like OGRE, this secret spy ring that is basically random people doing what a random person tells them to do, is a nice (albeit forced) extra dimension. I also like the challenges to Aquaman's sexuality, like Aliena, an alien chick sent to Earth to flirt with/betray our married protagonist. And the more subtle challenge presented by Aqualad (his adopted son) falling in love with the "hippie" (forced) Aquagirl. It's not Tennesse Williams, but I like that they are challenging Aquaman's nuclear family (albeit lightly).
I largely liked this volume because I assumed it would be god awful and it wasn't
April 26, 2014
Not for the casual Aquafan, this is a collection of some of his greatest stories from the 60s. Done in black and white, full of fish jokes and alliteration, reading these was a trip down nostalgia lane.
It took me about a month to get through this one, due to the sheer number of stories, and for some reason comics in black and white take me longer. It takes more time for me to soak up all the details in the images.
Due to the age of the stories, not every piece is accredited. For some strange reason DC has actually forgotten who wrote some of these comics. That fact kinda… blew my mind. But I guess that shows how little they actually care for Aquaman. There’s even a disclaimer suggesting that some of the ones that are attributed may be to the wrong name.
Still, I enjoyed it, but again, not for a casual reader or someone who thinks Aquaman is lame.
It took me about a month to get through this one, due to the sheer number of stories, and for some reason comics in black and white take me longer. It takes more time for me to soak up all the details in the images.
Due to the age of the stories, not every piece is accredited. For some strange reason DC has actually forgotten who wrote some of these comics. That fact kinda… blew my mind. But I guess that shows how little they actually care for Aquaman. There’s even a disclaimer suggesting that some of the ones that are attributed may be to the wrong name.
Still, I enjoyed it, but again, not for a casual reader or someone who thinks Aquaman is lame.
November 22, 2015
This period of Aquaman was marked by a)Mera, his recent bride, becoming a steady crime-fighting partner (she's easily the most kick-ass love interest of the Silver Age), b)the first super-hero baby, preceding Franklin Richards by several years; c)the growth of Aquaman's Rogue's Gallery which has been largely non-existent till now. This gives us two A-listers (Black Manta and Ocean Master), a couple of C-listers (Scavenger and the returning Fisherman) and a bunch of villain who just show up then fade into oblivion (O.G.R.E., the Awesome Threesome, the city of Necrus, the Huntress, Karla). Haney's stories aren't deep but they're solidly entertaining (insert usual warning about Silver Age stuff not being everyone's cup of tea) and Nick Cardy's art is consistently gorgeous.
March 15, 2009
Like previous volumes, and most Silver Age superheroes, this Aquaman volume offers the usual high doses of creativity spliced with the usual excessive silliness. So, yes, you get here Aquaman, Aqualad, Aquababy, Aquaboy, Aquagirl (called "Aquachick" by Aqualad) and even an Aquabeast, but what pushes this volume a bit high is Nick Cardy's impressive artwork. Now, if only the volume didn't end with a Jimmy Olsen story. No matter what they've tried, Jimmy Olsen is never cool.
April 5, 2016
Tedious. Aquaman I like. Ditto Aquaboy. But I didn't bargain for this Aquawife and Aquababy.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews