Ripples Through Time - 045
I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.
Adventure #111 (December 1946) - The Man Who Robbed Davy Jones' Locker!
Aquaman and Ark visit Manila, and learn about a salvage operation that's being poached by unknown thieves.
Oooh, this is another one that doesn't date well. The Secret Seven Gang are a bunch of Japanese, complete with all the stereotypes and insults typical of the era. There are also at least eight of them, although Aquaman seems to think there are only seven. He takes out one outside their bunker, then sees seven more inside. This story also uses the vulgar English term "hara-kiri" for Seppuku, and the circumstances for it are... very odd. Again, it's the stereotypes as understood by Americans of the time. The story is notable for the return of Ark, but otherwise is worth a miss.
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman is hanging out with Ark again! After visiting a U.S.O. show and learning that the performing seal is sick, Ark takes his place in the show... learning some new tricks in the process. To figure out who is stealing the money being salvaged, Aquaman asks the local fish where the divers who come at night go. He has an electric eel sting one of the gang so he can enter their base. When Aquaman is attacked by the gang leader, Swordfish Sam rams the bad guy and saves Aquaman. And lastly, when the sole survivor faces off with Aquaman, Ark uses the tricks he's learned to take out the last of the bad guys (and gets a medal for it).
Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman is held at bay twice by enemies with weapons, but never actually captured or knocked out.
Quotefile: Intro text box - "Aquaman, ruler of the seas, is weary... he's fought gangsters of the sea-ways who were harpooning all the whales in the sea... he's won a battle of brawn with the ocean's most fearsome scourge - the giant octopus... and he's done many other feats of derring-do! Yes, Aquaman needs a vacation!"
Have you read this story? What do you think?
Aquaman and Ark visit Manila, and learn about a salvage operation that's being poached by unknown thieves.
Oooh, this is another one that doesn't date well. The Secret Seven Gang are a bunch of Japanese, complete with all the stereotypes and insults typical of the era. There are also at least eight of them, although Aquaman seems to think there are only seven. He takes out one outside their bunker, then sees seven more inside. This story also uses the vulgar English term "hara-kiri" for Seppuku, and the circumstances for it are... very odd. Again, it's the stereotypes as understood by Americans of the time. The story is notable for the return of Ark, but otherwise is worth a miss.
Finny Friends Report: Aquaman is hanging out with Ark again! After visiting a U.S.O. show and learning that the performing seal is sick, Ark takes his place in the show... learning some new tricks in the process. To figure out who is stealing the money being salvaged, Aquaman asks the local fish where the divers who come at night go. He has an electric eel sting one of the gang so he can enter their base. When Aquaman is attacked by the gang leader, Swordfish Sam rams the bad guy and saves Aquaman. And lastly, when the sole survivor faces off with Aquaman, Ark uses the tricks he's learned to take out the last of the bad guys (and gets a medal for it).
Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman is held at bay twice by enemies with weapons, but never actually captured or knocked out.
Quotefile: Intro text box - "Aquaman, ruler of the seas, is weary... he's fought gangsters of the sea-ways who were harpooning all the whales in the sea... he's won a battle of brawn with the ocean's most fearsome scourge - the giant octopus... and he's done many other feats of derring-do! Yes, Aquaman needs a vacation!"
Have you read this story? What do you think?
Labels: Ark, Ripples Through Time
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