Rating:  -
I come from the later generation where Aquaman is considered a rather lame superhero and the butt of many jokes. I bought this because I wanted to see if Aquaman was a better hero in the early days. Nope!
The guy can command fish, but all the people in Atlantis can do the same thing, so there is nothing unique about his powers. What he commands his fish to do is beyond ridiculous. Octopi boxing bad guys, eels forming everything from ladders to lassos, illuminated fish acting as spotlights, swordfish jumping out of the water pinning bad guys to walls, and whales acting as runways for planes. He can also command water buffalo simply because they have "water" in their name! I know these are fantasy stories, but come on!
I suppose this book might hold some nostalgic memories for some people, and I won't say the book is worthless since it does provide a great deal of comedic value, but out of all the older comic book compilations I have been reading as of late, this one is at the bottom of the list.
Rating:  -
I didn't start reading Aquaman until the mid-1960s, so these stories are more history than memory to me. Still, it's a good package, and you just can't go wrong with the work of Nick Cardy. Advisory: there are virtually no female characters of any kind in this volume, so it's not a prime item for collectors of Cardy Women.
Rating: -
Unable to afford even all the major DC comics, I missed many of the secondary character adventures. Here is a fabulous collection, budget priced, for old and new readers. This is another case of buy it before it goes out of print. So, don't delay. Unlike Namor, Aquaman never engaged in insane violence. A few of the Sub-Mariner adventures, were enough to make me wonder why Namor was considered hot stuff. Now, Aquaman may have been a bit dopey, but he was a good guy. I would have given this title 5 stars, had not it been printed into the binding. Interestingly enough, the same stories, and less are printed in "DC Archives The Aquaman Archives,vol l," albeit in color and hardbound at the retail of $49.95. Those who wish to see how the other "fish" lived may be interested in "Marvel Masterworks Presents The Sub-Mariner Vol. 1.," a collection which primarily postdates the Aquaman stories.
Rating:  -
AQUAMAN is by far the most underrated DC COMICS hero. This Showcase collection provides the very hard to get silver age stories from Adventure comics + a story from Lois Lane not collected in the Archive edition + the Showcase issues and the first couple issues of the regular Aquaman series. Money well spent. This is A+ stuff from a historical perspective and, if you like the character, it's a good fun read.
And, for all of you Sub-Mariner fans out there, you might want to know that Aquaman was actually connected to Atlantis way before Namor. Namor was originally from the Artic sea and didn't connect with Atlantis until Stan Lee wisely gave him what Aquaman already had. Sure, the Sub-Mariner came first, so it's a fair trade.
But AQUAMAN commands the fish! How cool is that?
Bradley Mason Hamlin, Mystery Island Publications 2007.
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