Welcome to the Wellington Comic Lover’s Guide, where we take you through the Wellington City Libraries’ collection of a comic book character or series. This post is all about DC Comics’ King of the Seven Seas… Aquaman!
Who is Aquaman?
The son of a lighthouse keeper and a princess from the undersea kingdom of Atlantis, Arthur Curry, discovers he has the power to breathe underwater, survive in deep ocean environments, and command marine life. Claiming his birthright as king of Atlantis, Arthur now protects the seven seas as its monarch and hero, Aquaman. Alongside him are his wife and queen Mera, and the Aqualads, Garth and Jackson Hyde.
Note: DC Comics are divided by publishing eras, determined by a point where they set the issue number (and sometimes, continuity) of a series back to #1. ‘Post-Crisis’ is everything from 1986-2011, the New 52 from 2011-2016, DC Rebirth from 2016-2021, and Infinite Frontier from 2021 to present.
The Legend of Aquaman
Aquaman’s Post-Crisis origin is told in The Legend of Aquaman, which has him as the son of an Atlantean wizard and the Queen of Atlantis. Exiled to land at birth and raised to adulthood by the lighthouse keeper Tom Curry, Arthur eventually returned to Atlantis and took the throne.
Aquaman : the legend of Aquaman / Fleming, Robert Loren
Sub Diego
The ‘Sub Diego’ storyline begins when a massive earthquake sinks the city of San Diego under the waves, leaving thousands dead and the survivors inexplicably gaining the ability to breath underwater. Aquaman and his new sidekick Lorena Marquez, aka Aquagirl, must help the new waterbreathers adapt to life under the sea, while preventing the rise of a new oceanic criminal syndicate.
Aquaman : to serve and protect / Arcudi, John
Aquaman : kingdom lost / Arcudi, John
Sword of Atlantis and Blackest Night
Arthur uses Atlantean magic to restore Sub Diego back to land, but as a consequence, he mutates into the monstrous Dweller of the Depths. He is then replaced with a younger Aquaman, Joseph Curry, who Arthur aids alongside a seemingly reformed King Shark.
Joseph Curry appearances
Aquaman : sword of Atlantis : once and future / Busiek, Kurt
Sometime after, Arthur perishes and is resurrected during the Blackest Night crossover, which sees deceased heroes and villains in the DCU return to life as superpowered zombies called Black Lanterns. In the sequel series Brightest Day, Arthur and Mera search for a cure for Arthur’s lingering Black Lantern powers, discovering the secret son of Black Manta along the way.
Blackest Night saga / Johns, Geoff (also on Libby)
Brightest day : omnibus / Johns, Geoff
The New 52
The New 52 reboots DC Comic’s long-running continuity, tweaking Arthur’s history in the process. Rather than being the king of Atlantis for some years, here Arthur is reluctant to take the throne until his hand is forced by Orm, his half-brother and self-proclaimed ‘Ocean Master’, attacking the surface with an Atlantean army.
Aquaman. Volume 1, The trench / Johns, Geoff (also on Libby)
Aquaman. Volume 2, The Others / Johns, Geoff
Aquaman. Volume 3, Throne of Atlantis / Johns, Geoff
Aquaman. Volume 4, Death of a King / Johns, Geoff
Aquaman. Volume 5, Sea of storms / Parker, Jeff
Aquaman. Volume 6, Maelstrom / Parker, Jeff
Aquaman. Volume 7, Exiled / Bunn, Cullen
Aquaman. Volume 8, Out of darkness / Abnett, Dan
DC Rebirth
The DC Rebirth period of Aquaman focuses on the geopolitical tensions between Atlantis and the United States, as Arthur must mediate between both sides to prevent an all-out war. Later, the Atlantean throne is usurped by the vicious King Rath, and Arthur finds new allies in the denizens of Atlantis’ slums.
Aquaman. Vol. 1, The drowning / Abnett, Dan
Aquaman. Vol. 3, Crown of Atlantis / Abnett, Dan
Aquaman. Vol. 4, Underworld / Abnett, Dan
‘Underworld’ is also collected as Aquaman : Underworld, the deluxe edition / Abnett, Dan
Aquaman. Vol. 5, The crown comes down / Abnett, Dan
Aquaman. Vol. 6, Kingslayer / Abnett, Dan
Aquaman/Suicide Squad : sink Atlantis / Williams, Rob
Drowned Earth
After leading the Justice League against an oceanic alien armada in Drowned Earth, Arthur loses his memories and is nursed back to health by a community of ancient sea gods (including Aotearoa’s own Tangaroa). This series sees Aquaman reconnecting with his allies both on land and Atlantis, and facing an improved mecha-powered Black Manta.
Justice League : Aquaman : drowned earth / Snyder, Scott
Aquaman. Vol. 1, Unspoken water / DeConnick, Kelly Sue
Aquaman. Vol. 2, Amnesty / DeConnick, Kelly Sue
Aquaman. Vol. 3, Manta vs. machine / DeConnick, Kelly Sue
Aquaman. Volume 4, Echoes of a life lived well / DeConnick, Kelly Sue
Infinite Frontier
The Infinite Frontier era of Aquaman (or rather, Aquamen) focuses on former Aqualad Jackson Hyde, who now shares the Aquaman title with Arthur. Here, Jackson, Arthur and Black Manta must team up to stop a secret cabal of Atlantean sleeper agents.
Aquaman : the becoming / Thomas, Brandon
Also published in this era is Aquaman: Andromeda, a cosmic horror adventure that sees Aquaman aiding an experimental submarine crew to a spaceship graveyard in the ocean.
Aquaman’s teams
Aquaman is a founding member of the Justice League, valued for his status as regent of the oceans and his unique powerset. Arthur and the League have faced threats together such as the time-travelling League of Ancients (JLA. Volume six), the Ocean Master and his Atlantean army (Throne of Atlantis), and a disgruntled Justice League fan using the League’s secrets against them (The people vs. the Justice League).
Aquaman on the Justice League
JLA : New world order / Morrison, Grant
JLA. Volume two / Morrison, Grant
JLA. Volume four / Morrison, Grant
Justice League. Volume 3, Throne of Atlantis / Johns, Geoff
Justice League of America : power and glory / Hitch, Bryan
Justice League. Vol. 6, The people vs. the Justice League / Priest, Christopher J.
Justice League. Vol. 7, Justice lost / Priest, Christopher J.
Dark nights : metal / Snyder, Scott
Justice League : Aquaman : drowned earth / Snyder, Scott
Aquaman and the Others
The New 52 establishes that Arthur was once a part of a team of mysterious heroes called The Others, each of whom possesses a unique Atlantean weapon (Arthur’s being his signature trident).
Aquaman. Volume 2, The Others / Johns, Geoff
Aquaman and the Others. Volume 1, Legacy of gold / Jurgens, Dan
Aquaman and the Others. Volume 2, Alignment Earth / Jurgens, Dan
Mera, Queen of Atlantis
Mera is from the kingdom of Xebel, another underwater city constantly at war with Atlantis. Initially sent to execute Arthur, Mera fell in love with him, and now uses her gifts of water manipulation and her royal connections to aid him as his queen.
Mera, Queen of Atlantis / Abnett, Dan
Mera : tidebreaker / Paige, Danielle
Garth, the first Aqualad
Garth was an Atlantean orphan whom Arthur adopted as his trusty sidekick, Aqualad. With powers identical to Aquaman, in addition to some proficiency in Atlantean magic, Garth became a founding member of the Teen Titans (later just ‘the Titans’).
Garth as Aqualad appearances
Teen Titans : year one / Wolfram, Amy
Titans. Vol. 1, The return of Wally West / Abnett, Dan
Titans. Vol. 2, Made in Manhattan / Abnett, Dan
Titans. Vol. 3, A Judas among us / Abnett, Dan
Titans : the Lazarus contract / Priest, Christopher J.
Aquaman : Underworld, the deluxe edition / Abnett, Dan
Jackson Hyde, the second Aqualad
The second Aqualad is Jackson Hyde, the son of Black Manta and a Xebel spy. Raised in New Mexico as far from the ocean as possible, Jackson eventually discovered the truth of his parentage and joined up with Aquaman and Mera. Jackson has the same powers as Mera, using special gauntlets to shape water into weapons and generate electrical shocks through them.
This version of Aqualad first appeared in the animated series Young Justice as an Atlantean named Kaldur’ahm, then was introduced in the comics shortly after.
Aqualad in Young Justice appearances
Young Justice [2] : training day / Weisman, Greg
Young Justice [3] : creature features / Weisman, Greg
Aqualad in mainstream DC Comics appearances
Brightest day : omnibus / Johns, Geoff
Teen Titans. Vol. 2, The rise of Aqualad / Percy, Benjamin
Teen Titans. Vol. 3, The return of Kid Flash
Aquaman. Vol. 2, Amnesty / DeConnick, Kelly Sue
Aquaman. Vol. 3, Manta vs. machine / DeConnick, Kelly Sue
Aquaman. Volume 4, Echoes of a life lived well / DeConnick, Kelly Sue
Aquaman : the becoming / Thomas, Brandon
Jackson is openly gay, appearing in DC’s Pride comics and even has his own graphic novel romance, You Brought Me the Ocean.
You brought me the ocean / Sanchez, Alex
Black Manta
Aquaman’s nemesis is Black Manta, a ruthless high-tech pirate commanding an undersea legion of criminal henchmen. While Manta is mostly out for loot and plunder, he has a personal vendetta against Aquaman, who in his early adventures was responsible for the death of Manta’s father. Recently, Manta has tried to persuade his teenage son Jackson Hyde into joining him in his criminal enterprise.
Black Manta appearances
Aquaman : kingdom lost / Arcudi, John
Brightest day : omnibus / Johns, Geoff
Aquaman. Volume 2, The Others / Johns, Geoff
New Suicide Squad. Volume 1, Pure insanity / Ryan, Sean
New Suicide Squad. Volume 2, Monsters / Ryan, Sean
New Suicide Squad. Volume 3, Freedom / Ryan, Sean
Aquaman. Vol. 1, The drowning / Abnett, Dan
Aquaman. Vol. 3, Manta vs. machine / DeConnick, Kelly Sue
Justice League : Aquaman : drowned earth / Snyder, Scott
Other Aquaman allies
Lagoon Boy
La’gaan is a fish-like Atlantean who took on the name ‘Lagoon Boy’ due to his resemblance to the classic movie monster, the Creature from the Black Lagoon. He’s been a member of the teen super-team Young Justice in the comics and became Aqualad’s replacement on ‘The Team’ in the show Young Justice.
Lagoon Boy appearances
Young Justice [4] : invasion / Weisman, Greg (based on the TV show)
King Shark
Nanaue is a humanoid shark, the son of the Shark God Chondraka and a human woman from Hawaii. As King Shark, Nanaue’s nature wavers between articulate villain and bloodthirsty beast-man, and as such, his allegiance has shifted many times over the years. He’s been an ally to Aquaman in Sword of Atlantis, a mercenary in the Secret Six, and an operative in Task Force X.
King Shark appearances – Post-Crisis
Aquaman : sword of Atlantis : once and future / Busiek, Kurt
Secret Six : unhinged / Simone, Gail
Secret Six : the reptile brain / Simone, Gail
Secret Six : the darkest house / Simone, Gail
King Shark appearances – New 52 to present
Suicide Squad. Volume 1 (also on Libby) through Volume 5
Teen Titans. Vol. 2, The rise of Aqualad / Percy, Benjamin
Aquaman. Vol. 5, The crown comes down / Abnett, Dan
Suicide Squad : Blaze / Spurrier, Simon
Suicide Squad : King Shark / Seeley, Tim
If you’d like to learn about the actual Hawaiian legend that inspired King Shark, check out The Shark King : a Toon book/ Johnson, R. Kikuo
Aquaman across the Multiverse
Absolute Justice / Krueger, Jim – In a global conflict between the Justice League and the Legion of Doom, Aquaman must rescue his infant son from Brainiac and Black Manta.
Kingdom come / Waid, Mark (also on Libby) – Like many elder heroes in this alternate future, Arthur has retired, choosing to rule Atlantis while the first Aqualad protects the seas as the second Aquaman.
Flashpoint / Johns, Geoff – In this dark alternate timeline accidentally created by The Flash, Arthur leads Atlantis in a brutal war against the Amazons.
Injustice : Gods among us : Volume 1 – As sovereign of Atlantis, Aquaman is one of the first challenges to a grieving Superman’s world-conquering Regime.
The Multiversity / Morrison, Grant – Aquawoman from the matriarchal Earth-11 joins a team of multiversal heroes to fight the evil interdimensional Gentry. Other multiversal Aquapeople featured here include the fascist Unterwasserman, the Mer-Man of Justice 9, and the hybrid hero Aquaflash.
Justice League incarnate / Williamson, Joshua – Aquawoman returns to the Multiversity to fight a reinvigorated Darkseid.
Multiversity : teen justice / Cohen, Ivan – Aquagirl Jaqui Hyde leads Earth-11’s teenage super-team Teen Justice.
Earth 2. Volume 4, The Dark Age / Taylor, Tom – On Earth-2, the Atlantean on the resident hero team ‘The Wonders of the World’ is Queen Marella.
Justice League beyond : power struggle / Gage, Christos – Set in the future of the DC Animated Universe, Aquaman’s daughter Mareena joins the Justice League Unlimited.
The Jurassic League / Gedeon, Juan – Aquaman’s equivalent on the dinosaur-dominated Earth-27 is the trident-wielding spinosaur Aquanyx.
Wildstorm : Michael Cray. Volume 1 / Hill, Bryan Edward – In the spy-oriented Wildstorm Universe, operative Michael Cray is tasked with hunting down ‘The Aquaman’, a New Zealand scientist who genetically engineers himself into an animalistic aquatic being.
SpongeBob comics. #2, Aquatic adventurers, unite / Hillenburg, Stephen – While not part of the DC Multiverse proper, it should be noted that the aquatic adventurers Mermaidman and Barnacle Boy from Spongebob Squarepants were inspired by Aquaman and Aqualad.
Leave a Reply