Aquaman

With the season of spookiness upon us, I thought for sure that the one thing I was guaranteed to get from 75 years of seafaring adventures was a story where Aquaman had to fight a ghost ship. It's one of those things that feels like it has to have happened at some point, but... here we are. As near as I can tell --- and please tell me if I'm wrong about this --- there has never actually been a story where Aquaman took on an undead crew of pirates out for blood and vengeance. The closest we ever got was a story where he actually teamed up with one instead --- and even that didn't happen until 2011.

The Funko Pop craze shows no signs of slowing down, and yesterday the manufacturer announced perhaps its most inevitable line of Pop Vinyls yet, featuring the core cast of Batman: The Animated Series. It also announced a new line of Dorbz based around Green Lantern and the various Lantern Corps and, in a delightful surprise, a line of Mystery Minis based around DC Super Heroes & Pets.

It's no secret that women have long been underrepresented in superhero comics, both as characters and as creators. In the case of the latter, in the Silver Age of comics, your options were more or less limited to two: Marie Severin, who did her groundbreaking work largely at Marvel, and the brilliant Ramona Fradon over at DC. Ramona Fradon was born on October 1, 1926, and studied art at the Parsons School of Design in New York, as well as the New York Students' Art League. She never read comic books as a child, but had a love for newspaper strips, including The Phantom, Li'l Abner, Prince Valiant, Terry and the Pirates, and The Spirit.

Born September 23rd, 1956, Peter David has enjoyed a long and illustrious tenure as one of the most respected writers in comics. His resume includes several long runs that have defined or redefined major characters, many of them considered classics. David has been one of the most divisive and controversial writers in superhero comics, as well-known for his willingness to speak up for his convictions as he is for his writing.

The dynamic between Mera and Aquaman makes them a force to be reckoned with. Each is an ultra-powerful hero in their own right, but together they have potential on par with Superman himself. The nobility of the two, not to mention their tenacity to get rough and tumble to defend the world they love, serves as a sure inspiration for the fans who choose them as subjects for their cosplay. To celebrate the King and Queen of Atlantis, we’ve assembled a regal gallery of the cosplayers who have taken up their mantles. Together, separate, retro, and contemporary, these cosplayers bring the strength and poise of DC’s most powerful couple to life. These are the best Mera and Aquaman cosplays.

Thanks to the biweekly release schedule it shares with many of DC's other Rebirth titles, the current Aquaman is humming along briskly, telling a high-stakes story and offering a new level of development to its characters. Aquaman #6, out September 7, features an epic fight with Superman and a milestone in the life of Black Manta. ComicsAlliance talked to writer Dan Abnett and artist Brad Walker about how recent changes for Superman affect Aquaman, why Rebirth and the biweekly schedule benefits creators and readers, and what their plans are for Aquaman's greatest enemy.

Everybody loves Aquaman. Okay, that's not true. A lot of people make fun of him. But those of us who do love Aquaman actually love him a lot. And with the always impressive Jason Momoa playing him in the upcoming Justice League movie and an Aquaman movie to follow, the Sea King is getting the most positive attention that he's gotten in years. Possibly ever! Aquaman debuted in 1941's More Fun Comics #73, but he really came to prominence in the Silver Age, with a founding membership in the Justice League of America and his own solo comic. He was a mainstay of the Justice League for decades, and led his own version of the team, commonly known as the Detroit League, in the 1980s. Whether he's known by his surface-world name, Arthur Curry, or his Atlantean name of Orin, Aquaman has always been a moody and passionate hero. His 1990s incarnation is famous for a piratical look complete with a hook/harpoon in place of a hand, but he's since returned to his more classic appearance. He's had a couple of sidekicks named Aqualad, a baby named Aquababy, and of course a wife named Mera. He was one of the first superheroes to get married on-panel, although they've split up and gotten back together across multiple continuities since then. This collection of fan art includes quite a bit of classic Aquaman, as well as some great new work based on Jason Momoa's take on the role, and several variations in between. Plenty of sea creatures too, and maybe a mermaid here or there.

Just yesterday, Warner Bros. revealed a new heavy metal logo for Justice League, which — as I pointed out — looked like exactly the sort of thing that Jason Momoa’s Aquaman could get behind. Is Ben Affleck’s Batman recruiting a team of superheroes, or assembling a heavy metal supergroup? Thanks to this new set photo, we have an answer.

The DC Extended Universe has some slam dunks (Justice League!) and some real risks. I would put Aquaman in the latter category. Previously best known as the guy on Super Friends who talks to fish, and so goofy a hero he was the butt of an extended joke about dumb Hollywood movies on Entourage, the King of the Seven Seas will headline his own movie in 2018 after he gets a proper introduction in next year’s Justice League. (Showing up on Wonder Woman’s computer screen in Batman v Superman doesn’t count.)

Last fall, it was reported that Warner Bros. had hired The Conjuring 2 scribe David Leslie Johnson to write the screenplay for Aquaman, which would reunite him with director James Wan. It looks like that didn’t exactly work out, as WB has now tapped Gangster Squad writer Will Beal to pen the screenplay based on a story treatment by Wan and DC’s Geoff Johns.