The Top 20 Aquaman Covers

Aquaman may have gone nearly a quarter-century without appearing on a single comic book cover, but he surely did make up for lost time with an extraordinary run of frontpieces in the 1960s. I adore Jim Aparo, so it pains me to have turned away so many of his illustrations. Aquaman continues to inspire gorgeous art, to the point where this has been my toughest list to make so far. I could/should have taken this thing as high as a top 50, but I figured five-plus hours of work was enough!

20) World's Finest Comics #203 (June, 1971)

A really nice cover, but it's hard to appreciate Aquaman while he's sleeping on the job.

19) Aquaman #22 (July, 1996)

One of the few covers from this period where the Sea King isn't scowling and waving his harpoon in somebody's face.

18) Aquaman #1 (June, 1989)

This is a badass art school project, but it seems a bit out of place applied to a guy commanding fishies. Careful that oar doesn't bean our hero!

17) Aquaman #1 (December, 1991)

Maguire drew a wonderful Aquaman, but he's choking Random Diver Dude, so no credit beyond that.

16) Aquaman #45 (June, 1998)

A bit stiff for an underwater shot, but that's one intense army of sea life bringing up the rear.

15) Brightest Day #3 (Early August, 2010)

A confident Aquaman with an adoring Mera standing at the forefront of a group shot of quality contemporaries? Arthur just had a wetter than average dream.

14) Aquaman #5 (April, 1992)

The Sea King is clearly upset about the loss of his entire lower body!

13) Aquaman #15 (April, 2004)

Alan Davis was supposed to draw an Aquaman mini-series a quarter-century ago. We're all still due, Davis included, as he needs that one "it" project to serve as the cornerstone of his career.

12) The Brave and The Bold #82 (March, 1968)

The Somnambulist Surfer! How can you resist?

11)Aquaman #18 (November,1964)

Everybody loves a wedding.

10) Aquaman #34 (February, 1968)

There's such concern on Arthur's face, and this is the first of many covers of Aquaman cradling Mera.

9) Aquaman #2 (September, 1994)

A really stupid story, but the cover is more than a tease of what lies beneath.

8) Aquaman #62 (June, 1978)

This is a powerful cover, but coming a year after Arthur's death, a bit too late to rate higher.

7) Aquaman #30 (November,1966)

Aquaman covers are kind of morbid, aren't they?

6) Aquaman #53 (September, 1970)

Aquaman is trying to save an entire state from drowning with his bare hands.

5) Aquaman #33 (October, 2005)

There aren't enough comic book covers these days simply showing two people in love.

4) Aquaman #45 (May, 1969)

So many of the great Aquaman covers involve our hero defeated or otherwise in the underdog position. Given his shaky reputation, I'm not so sure that's a good thing.

3) Adventure Comics #452  (July, 1977)

The Sea King in chains! Black Manta decrees he must die! Aqualad poised to strike a deathblow with his mentor's trident! An infant imperiled! A classic image that has haunted the series for decades.

2) Aquaman #42 (November, 1968)

If there was ever any doubt Black Manta was Aquaman's arch-foe, this should have removed it. Eisner-style lettering incorporated into a dramatic, moody whole.

1) Aquaman #1 (February, 1986)

It may be one of his shortest-lived looks/costumes, but this Aquaman cover composition is one of the best loved and memorable of all.

Honorable Mentions:
Adventure Comics #442
Adventure Comics #444
Adventure Comics #466
Adventure Comics #475
Adventure Comics #478
Aquaman #3 (1962)
Aquaman #11 (1963) (1st Mera)
Aquaman #13 (1964)
Aquaman #29 (1966) The first appearance of the Ocean Master.
Aquaman #4 (1986)
Aquaman #5 (1989)
Aquaman #2 (1989)
Aquaman #3 (1992)
Aquaman #6 (1992)
Aquaman #7 (1992)
Aquaman #0 (1994)
Aquaman #12 (1996)
Aquaman #16 (1996)
Aquaman #25 (1996)
Aquaman #36 (1997)
Aquaman #7 (2003)
Aquaman #63 (2000)
Aquaman #20 (2004)
Great sense of motion on this, but a lack of tension... and appropriate clothing, Dolphin-Lass
Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #40
Aquaman: Time & Tide #3
Showcase #30 (The first Aquaman solo cover, but mediocre all the same.)
The Brave and The Bold #51 (1st team-up cover)
DC Special Series #1 (1977)
The Flash #66 (1992)
Justice League of America #94
Justice League of America #242
The Legend of Aquaman #1 (1989
Superman #63 (1992)
Superman: The Man of Steel #48
Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #29

Showcase #79 (December, 1968)

This is Dolphin's debut, but I love the simplicity of this cover so much, I had to include it.

Check out more spotlight countdowns of great art from the past 75 years of DC Comics Covers at DC75: Top Character Covers of the Dodranscentennial

The Top 10 Zatanna Covers

Super-heroes failed out before the "Golden Age" truly ended, replaced by crime and horror comics. The Silver Age wasn't so much about reviving some fine heroic tradition as mining a formerly rich vein in the fallow period after Dr. Wertham ruined all that was good and salacious about '50s comics. The new wave of DC heroes worked off the premise that the original set had faded away for a reason, so any updates of Flashes and Green Lanterns needed to be separate, contemporary entities. Because of this, Zatanna was pretty much the first true "legacy" character, as she was the daughter of the outdated Mandrake knock-off Zatara, and followed his m.o. more closely than most of her fellows. Just as young collectors had slowly begun to seek out back issues and draw lines between "their" DC heroes and their predecessors, Zatanna searched for her father, who had been missing from the funny pages for ages. Also, rather than being given her own title, Zatanna linked a number of the updated heroes together as part of a shared universe through her guest appearances in various titles. Unfortunately, finding Zatara meant Zatanna would begin her own disappearing act until the late '70s, when nostalgia and the need for super-heroines in the post-feminist era kicked in. Even returned as a member of the Justice League, Zatanna remained undervalued, as she played a fairly negligible role for nearly a decade. I can't tell you how many covers hit the dust bin because I was tired of seeing the heroine played as a frail thing in need of male assistance, or depicted as though she'd stepped out of a lad mag. Only in recent years has Zatanna truly begun to be recognized as one of DC's most powerful heroes, and the bearer of a Golden Age lineage besides. Because of this, you'll be seeing a lot more modern covers than you might have expected for a forty-six year old creation.

10) Zatanna: Everyday Magic (2003)

Just an attractive cover that introduced the "little star" iconography to her spellcasting.

9) DC Super Stars #11 (January, 1977)

Zee's first solo story, and although she's in a too typical "damsel in distress" mode, at least she's the only one there to save herself.

8) Catwoman #72 (December, 2007)

This cover teaches us that Zatanna is powerful enough to have changed the course of the life of one of DC's most famous characters with one spell.

7) Identity Crisis #2 (September, 2004)

I think Mike Turner was a terrible DC artist, and a lot about this cover is simply awful, but the image foreshadows the story that has redefined Zatanna. Surrounded by the satellite-era League, she's the one to worry about.

6) Green Arrow #52 (September, 2005)

I know this must seem random, but how many covers can you think of where Zaranna is aggressive and heroic? Plus, Ollie cocking back an arrow does not look like he's going to be the one carrying the weight in a fight against this crowd.

5) Justice League of America: Zatanna's Search (2004)

What's nice about this cover is the way it incorporates aspects of all of Zee's appearances to date, as well as making room for daddy. What hurts is that it's still the other heroes in action while Zee stands around, and it's just so damned red.

4)Justice League of America #51 (February, 1967)

I like classic, iconic covers for these lists, but Zatanna's early appearances did not often cast her in the best light. Here, she's lit up by a mystical candle while other heroes struggle to help. I appreciate that she's the character to draw your eye, but the others really fill out the cover, and she's still in  need of assistance.

3) Seven Soldiers: Zatanna #1 (June, 2005)

I struggled with this one in the top spot, between those glorious bunnies and the contrast with Zee's costume. However, Zee's passivity and the unnecessary hints of goth/fetish held it back.

2) Seven Soldiers: Zatanna #4 (December, 2005)

I'm sure this has the potential to be controversial, but it's a strong image of a pro-active Zee with plenty of elements to let you know she's a powerful magician. That's a rarer combination than you'd think. She still has a lightness about her, but works comfortably in the dark.

1) Zatanna #1 (July, 2010)

I've had problems with Zatanna's costumes for years, since she looks conventional and out of place amongst super-heroes in magician clothes, but boring and generic in her super-suits. I think this is the first costume that gets the balance right, so that she looks like a magician super-hero, instead of one or the other.

Honorable Mentions:
Adventures of Superman #644
Blue Devil #4
Catwoman #50
Catwoman #58
DC Comics Presents #18
DC Special Blue Ribbon Digest #5
Impulse #17
JLA #118
Justice League of America #161
Justice League of America #164
Justice League of America #191
Secret Origins #27
Seven Soldiers of Victory Volume One
Seven Soldiers: Zatanna #2
Seven Soldiers: Zatanna #3
Shadowpact #16

The Top Ten Vixen Covers

Escaping from Africa after the murder of her parents, Mari Jiwe McCabe became a supermodel in the United States. As the inheritor of the Tantu Totem, Mari could access the powers of the animal kingdom to seek justice as the Vixen. I was introduced to her through Suicide Squad, and randomly bumped into Vixen on various books until finally becoming a fan upon reading her first run on Justice League of America. Mari's a vivacious and formidable woman who has finally begun to see the respect she deserves in recent years, even if her subplot in the last League series seemed endless and was ultimately mangled. Vixen's my favorite Detroit member after Manhunter and Aquaman, so compiling this list was a pleasure...



10) Action Comics #521 (July, 1981)
I had to include Vixen's first published appearance, hideous costume and awkward layout inclusive.

9) Suicide Squad #43 (July, 1990)
I realize this may look to the uninitiated like an old man trying to grope Mari, but that's actually the Soviets' answer to the Golden Age Superman.

8) Vixen: Return of the Lion #3 (February, 2009)
This is just such a weird-cool cover, I had to include it. Besides, this whole mini-series was a feast for the eyes.

7) The Flash #46 (January, 1991)
The Lady Fox versus the Scarlet Speedster at the command of Gorilla Grodd? I'm so there!

6) Vixen: Return of the Lion #4 (March, 2009)
A bit on the serene side, but Vixen has been more delicate since the end of the Detroit era.

5) Justice League of America #239 (June, 1985)
Once again, Vixen is a lady fox not to be trifled with, here girding for lethal combat against her murderous uncle.

4) Justice League of America #38 (December, 2009)
As with the Detroit League, Vixen is again among the last heroes standing against a devastating threat at the end of her team's short life. Factor in this issue setting up an all-girl Detroit reunion against their resurrected male counterparts. Account for the absence of much needed A-listers and a visit from Despero. There you have a meaningful image for the Bronze Age faithful.

3) Vixen: Return of the Lion #1 (December, 2008)
A gorgeous cover just a tad too similar in elements to the #1 pick.

2) Justice League of America #234 (January, 1985)
Vixen at her most furiously feral, on her first spotlight cover in the costume that set the standard for all that followed.

1) Justice League of America #4- J.G. Jones Cover (January, 2007)
A work of art!

Honorable Mentions:
Animal Man #10
Animal Man #44
Birds of Prey #72
Birds of Prey #73
DC Comics Presents #68
JSA Classified #16
Justice League of America #12
Justice League of America #24
Justice League of America #26
Justice League Unlimited #21
Suicide Squad #11
Suicide Squad #25
Vixen: Return of the Lion #2
Justice League of America #40
Titans #36
Justice League International #6

Cancelled Comic Cavalcade Volume One, Cancelled Comic Cavalcade Volume Two
Vixen showed up on both these pseudo-covers to xeroxed copies of unpublished comics that fell victim to the DC Implosion. Technically, these would constitute Vixen's first appearances, since the first issue of her aborted series has never seen print anywhere else.

Speaking of which, here's my badly colored look at the cover to The Vixen #1:


If you find yourself still fancying kitty after this, hop over to my Wonder Woman blog and check out Top 10 Cheetah Covers

The Top Ten Steel Covers (Heywood Family Edition)

Even before the U.S. entered World War II, scientist Henry "Hank" Heywood saw it as his duty to enlist in the military in order to punch evil Nazis. Heywood got blown up real good doing just that, but his mentor helped put him back together again as the first metal endoskeleton-enhanced cyborg super-hero. Dubiously advanced science even by comic book standards couldn't save Steel from an early cancellation, but his adventures continued in other period series.

In 1984, grandson Hank Heywood III was transformed against his will into a new Steel, and helped establish the Detroit-based Justice League. The conservative Hank Sr. did not approve of the team, and set about dismantling the group. Estrangement and a dead grandson eventually followed, until Commander Steel's years in limbo were ended by an attempt to bump sales on Eclipso by including the old man in a massacre.

In the 1990s, a completely unrelated Steel legacy was begun by John Henry Irons, for whom I've also created a cover gallery.

A few years back, Nathan Heywood saw most of his clan wiped out by anachronistic evil super-Nazis, and gained powers of his own to continue the Steel legacy of middling importance and maximum angst.

10) Steel, the Indestructible Man #4 (September, 1978)

I just like how massively Kirbyesque Commander Steel is here.

9) All-Star Squadron #9 (May, 1982)

Color holds are winning here.

8) Justice Society of America #11 (February, 2008)

While all eyes are on the Golden Age Superman, Nathan Heywood seems pensive about his relative stature.

7) Infinity, Inc. #19 (October, 1985)

The ultimate Commander Steel as manipulative polarizing bastard cover.

6) Justice League of America #244 (November, 1985)

The original and second generation Steels locked in titanic familial conflict!

5) All-Star Squadron #13 (September, 1982)

Commander Steel, drawn by Joe Kubert, leading the A-SS. 'Nuff said.

4) Justice League of America #260 (March, 1987)

The brain death of Hank Heywood III/Steel II.

3) Justice League of America #245 (December, 1985)

The rending of Steel II's original costume in a battle royal with his granddad in the midst of the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

2) Steel, the Indestructible Man #1 (March, 1978)

Sure, it's by Don "Blech" Heck, but this cover is still a dynamite debut!

1) Justice Society of America #7 (July, 2007)

Alex Ross' much ballyhooed painting of Citizen Steel.

Honorable Mentions:
Cancelled Comic Cavalcade Volume One (Commander Steel)
Cancelled Comic Cavalcade Volume Two (Commander Steel)
Commander Steel figured prominently on both these pseudo-covers to xeroxed copies of unpublished comics that fell victim to the DC Implosion. Material featured here that was produced for Steel, the Indestructible Man was eventually reworked into some issues of All-Star Squadron.
Justice League of America #235 (Steel II)
Justice Society of America #14 Variant Cover (Citizen Steel)

Top 5 Gypsy Covers

I have a great deal of affection for Gypsy, the smart-mouthed teen runaway turned tragic figure turned Gen-X slacker. I never forgave the '90s Martian Manhunter series for not using her more, but it does seem like the lack of long-lived DC heroines not directly tied to pre-existing male heroic franchises has helped bring Gypsy to the fore. However, like Vibe, there's a lot to be embarrassed about with regards to this heroine. From her slanderous m.o. to her ill-defined powers to her vague-to-dreadful costumes to her bare feet to her sleeping with a best friend's much older ex... not to mention her general lack of traction with regard to a super-hero career over the last 26 years. Still, I dig her, and despite a slew of not too appealing covers I'll be linking to, there are some bright spots.

Honorable Mentions: Justice League Task Force #24 & 33.

Dishonorable Mentions: Justice League Task Force #20, Justice League of America #236, Justice League of America #249, Justice League Task Force #32

5) Justice League Unlimited #22 (August, 2006)


Only at Johnny Dc could this happen, but still, it's terrible-original-costume Gypsy hiding behind a wall. It managed to land on the right side of the honorable/dishonorable divide, but still...

4) Birds of Prey #93 (June, 2006)


On the one hand, here's a solo Gypsy on a BoP cover. On the other, everyone, even Gypsy fans, wondered what the hell she was doing on a BoP cover. Further, she's in a stripped down version of her JSA: Classified costume, which was vague to begin with. Taking away the more eccentric aspects, Gypsy is barely recognizable, and even then not as a proper super-heroine.

3) Justice League Task Force #1 (June, 1993)


On a cover with a contorted, howling Martian Manhunter and the Flash racing away, your eyes go directly to Gypsy's exposed caramel-colored skin. God bless colorist Glenn Whitmore for sustaining the heat begun by Sal Velluto!

2) Justice League of America #259 (February, 1987)


Yes, it's Gypsy being gut shot from a sniper's bullet, but you've got to admit it's striking, and ultimately her own fault for wearing those rags.

1) Justice League Task Force #4 (September, 1993)


Not only do I love this cover, but Gypsy fights Lady Shiva inside. How's that for moving up in the world? Also, while still leaving something to be desired, this is my favorite of her many bad costumes.

Top 5 Vibe Covers

Last year, Brian Cronin at CBR's Comics Should Be Good came up with his list of The Most Iconic Covers for thirty different characters. Some I felt were stronger than others, and took enough exception to his list for the Martian Manhunter that I compiled an extension. Meanwhile, DC is revving up for a year's worth of 75th Anniversary variant covers, which I commented on at length at my new Wonder Woman blog. However, it wasn't until Anj at Supergirl Comic Box Commentary offered his choices for a potential Supergirl 75th Anniversary Variant Cover that it occurred to me I'd like to throw my hat into the ring in a fairly big way. Over the course of this week, I'll try to offer cover suggestions for the various characters I cover on my blogs.

Since Vibe has probably made the fewest appearances, and gotten the least love on this blog (not by accident, I assure you,) I figured to start with the world's greatest Puerto Rican breakdancing former gangbanging super-hero, as far as I know...


5) Justice League of America #243 (October, 1985)


This was the official "death" spot, as there isn't really five good Vibe covers, and those that come closest feature him as one of the undead. I decided that would be unfair to his fans, so I instead went with the debut of his least embarrassing costume, which looks almost decent here.


4) Justice League of America #258 (January, 1987)


There are a number of Detroit-era covers featuring Vibe in a decent action pose, but never as front-and-center as here. Further, this was the start of the final arc for Vibe's team, and the issue of his well-executed demise.

3) JLA: Classified #23 (July, 2006)


If you wanted to sum up Vibe's better attributes in a single cover, this would be the one. I dig Vibe's confidence and the attempt to redeem his period style here, but the lack of a full figure hurts it.

2) Justice League Unlimited #15 (January, 2006)


While uncharacteristically concerned for such a cocky guy, this is this one of the most dynamic Vibe images I've seen, and makes excellent use of the pop-locker's simple second costume.

1) Justice League of America #233 (December, 1984)


Vibe's second appearance, and about the closest he's come to a starring role in a comic (outside the one he died in.) Also, a showcase for the good and mostly bad in Vibe as a total character.

Motor City Links

THE WORLD’S GREATEST SUPER-HEROES TP
Written by PAUL DINI
Art and cover by ALEX ROSS
Between 1998 and 2003, Paul Dini, the Emmy Award-winning producer of Batman Beyond and The New Batman/Superman Adventures, joined forces with superstar illustrator Alex Ross (KINGDOM COME) to create six original graphic novels starring The World’s Greatest Super-Heroes:
• SUPERMAN: PEACE ON EARTH
• BATMAN: WAR ON CRIME
• SHAZAM!: POWER OF HOPE
• WONDER WOMAN: SPIRIT OF TRUTH
• JLA: SECRET ORIGINS
• JLA: LIBERTY AND JUSTICE
Now, all six of these classic works are back in a new trade paperback that includes developmental art and more.
On sale SEPTEMBER 15 • 8.125”x11” • 400 pg FC, $29.99 US

Pretty much everyone on the team that's white appears in this book, minus Steel and Gypsy, the latter always being vaguely ethnic. Not that I'm insinuating anything...

AQUAMAN & MARTIAN MANHUNTER

BRIGHTEST DAY #7-8
Written by GEOFF JOHNS & PETER J. TOMASI
Art by IVAN REIS, PATRICK GLEASON, ARDIAN SYAF, SCOTT CLARK & JOE PRADO
Cover by DAVID FINCH
1:10 White Lantern Variant covers by RYAN SOOK, FERNANDO PASARIN & JOEL GOMEZ

Don’t miss the hottest event in comics as BRIGHTEST DAY continues!
There can be only one who wields the White Lantern...but is it truly Deadman? And what will happen when he attempts to charge the white ring? Meanwhile, Ronnie Raymond risks everything for Firestorm, Martian Manhunter uncovers more clues about the bizarre string of murders stretching across the country, Aquaman searches for the key to the ocean’s survival and the Hawks come face-to-face with the evil that lurks within the strange land known only as Hawkworld!

Retailers please note: These issues will ship with two covers each. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.
Issue #7 on sale AUGUST 4 • Issue #8 on sale AUGUST 18 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

CITIZEN STEEL

JSA ALL-STARS #9
Written by MATTHEW STURGES
Co-feature written by JEN VAN METER
Art and cover by FREDDIE WILLIAMS II
Co-feature art by TRAVIS MOORE & DAN GREEN
The gods seem to be inside the minds of the All-Stars, which is only their first step toward reemerging on Earth. The takeover splits the team up as they try preventing the return of these ancient mysteries on two fronts – in the jungles of Parador and on the mean streets of Los Angeles!
Also, in the co-feature: Hourman is forced to do something he swore he’d never do again – all in an effort to save the villains Tigress and the Icicle!
On sale AUGUST 4 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

ELONGATED MAN

THE FLASH CHRONICLES VOL. 2 TP
Written by JOHN BROOME • Art by CARMINE INFANTINO, JOE GIELLA, FRANK GIACOIA & MURPHY ANDERSON
Cover by CARMINE INFANTINO & MURPHY ANDERSON
In this second volume, Barry Allen’s rogues gallery expands with the addition of Gorilla Grodd, the Mirror Master and the Weather Wizard, plus the debuts of Kid Flash and the Elongated Man! Collecting THE FLASH #107-112.
On sale SEPTEMBER 29 • 160 pg, FC, $14.99 US

ZATANNA

ZATANNA #4
Written by PAUL DINI
Art by CHAD HARDIN & WAYNE FAUCHER
Cover by STEPHANE ROUX
1:10 Variant cover by BRIAN BOLLAND
Zatanna loves Vegas, and Vegas loves her – but should Zee be wary of the attentions of a handsome, well-connected casino owner? She can hold her own against the most ridiculous Royal Flush Gang ever assembled, and she can just about cope with her cousin Zachary’s immature antics, but she’d better watch out for the sultry fire demons that are hot on her heels!
Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers. See the Previews Order Form for more information.
On sale AUGUST 11 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

2003 Zatanna Sketch by Phil Moy

Click To Enlarge


We had a Jeffrey Moy Zatanna Gallery here a ways back, and his brother Phil, with whom Jeff worked on the Post-Zero Hour reboot of the Legion of Super-Heroes, also had a Zee piece to offer. Phil isn't quite as prolific a sketch artist as Jeff, and his "blue" work mostly draws the line at boobies, but he also seems to get a lot of play from kid-friendly licenses like The Powerpuff Girls. You might like to give Philip Moy Sketches a spin, or visit his blog The Not-So-Regular Musings of Philip Moy.

Hey, Aquaman Does Not Need A New Costume!

I moved from Texas to Nevada in my teens, and when I attended school with my thick accent, kids used to start singing Boys Don't Cry's "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" at me. They'd ask about where my horse was, and wondered why I didn't wear a ten gallon hat. I guess I should have looked like a redneck, just like they should have looked like mobsters or Vegas strip whores, right?

Bill Willingham had an Indian super-heroine in his Texas Comics series Pantheon called Dynasty who wore a costume emblazoned with a Chinese dragon. Some pseudo-pedantic readers tried to "correct his mistake" regarding the mixed cultures. I wonder if those same readers ever bothered Marvel about the rather Aryan Iron Fist fighting crime in sandals with an Oriental dragon tattooed to his chest.

Jill "Nerdy Bird" Pantozzi decided to debut her Newsarama column Hey, That's My Cape! with the old saw Aquaman Needs A New Costume. She considers the plight of the poor artists who have to draw all those scales on the Sea King's and Mera's outfits. She then goes on for paragraphs about the impracticality of the scales, and how what they really need are hydrodynamic bathing suits made by Speedo, just like Olympian Gold Medalist Michael Phelps.

Remember early in Joe Quesada's term as Editor-In-Chief at Marvel, around the time of the Bryan Singer X-Men movies, when everybody started revealing their secret identities, wearing practical clothing, and generally being more "realistic?" What happened to that? Oh yeah, everybody realized that they wanted to read comic books where people in colorful skintight outfits flew under their own power shooting lasers at each other. They saw the Spider-Man movies with a dynamic, distinct hero looked cool doing amazing feats, instead of a bunch a barely distinguishable douche bags in black leather getting out of Wolverine's way. There's nothing practical or realistic about comic books, and most people get their fill of both in the drudgery of their actual lives. That's why blockbuster movies are spending incredible amounts of money to be more like comic books, and the great advantage of comic books costing no more to destroy a universe than to show a guy crossing the street.

Aquaman is a comic book super-hero. He was created during the Golden Age, when every conceivable angle on the premise was being tried. Aquaman was a rip-off of Sub-Mariner, a guy in a speedo. To differentiate himself, he wore lots of clothes instead of barely any, and chose the colors of the mighty pumpkin, because green and orange was one of the few uncommon combinations still available in 1941. It worked well enough that he stuck with it for 45 years. Then they tried to dress him like a figure skater with water-colored waves all over his costume. After drawing a series set in and near water all day, I know I'd sure get excited about drawing a figure with waves all over his costume. Nothing contrasts with blue water like a blue costume. Let's all get excited about the hero who looks like a disembodied head in his natural environment. Hey, I live in a city, so my costume should be concrete gray with reflective glass highlights, right? I'm active in an invisible oxygen environment, so I should just run around naked, okay?

John Cassaday likes to draw every single scale on Captain America's costume, and his fans also like him to do so. Cap then performs complex gymnastics while wearing 50-100 lbs. of body armor, and no one complains. You see, he's a super hero, and people are constantly trying to kill him, so he needs the armor. Aquaman: also a super-hero, and one of his powers is to be far faster and stronger in water than Captain America is on land. Do I have to do the math?

There are plenty of artists who only imply that Cap wears scaled armor, and that's okay too. Todd McFarlane made a lot of money drawing every detail of Spider-Man's webbing, but other guys do okay obscuring it at every opportunity. Today, with computers, you could easily lay in textures like scales on Aquaman's costume without the artists drawing a single one. Maybe that's why Ivan Reis, who just got finished reworking Aquaman's old costume, didn't seem to have a problem keeping them in. Besides, how many artists draw a character for more than six months these days?

So anyway, Aquaman's got a great costume that's stood the test of time and is readily recognizable on lucrative merchandising the world over. In fact, that costume is more valuable as licensing than the actual Aquaman character is overall. Mera... well, Mera's got flippers, and that's kind of wrong, but everbody's staring at her chest and hips. She's the Christina Hendricks of super-heroines. No one would mind if she had a tail.

In closing, could everyone on the planet Earth never gripe about Aquaman's costume or make fun of his talking to fishies again? Even if you're just trying to get a rise out of people, try harder and use more imagination. Keep up with the rest of society, would you? It's tired, and only reflects badly on you.

2009 Rittenhouse Justice League of America Archives Sketch Cards by Tom Valente

Click To Expand and Enlarge


Tom Valente is a commercial artist who has done work for places like Cracked. Thanks to the Martian Manhunter Fotolog, I was directed to his blog, which offered up numerous illustrations of Justice League Detroit members. Specifically, his work providing original chase card art for the Rittenhouse Archives Silver Age JLofA trading card set features all the A-list members plus Zatanna. A few months back, Valente posted a number of scans of his favorites, which you can see here, or by clicking on the image above. Other featured characters include Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, the Atom, Black Canary, Green Arrow, and Green Lantern. You might also check out the member spotlight posts below...

Batman
RAINY DAY IN GOTHAM
Batman Beyond

Martian Manhunter
2007 Watercolor Painting
ICE COLD MILK and AN OREO COOKIE
LATE NIGHT SNACK...