With words by Kurt Busiek and art by Butch Guice. Set to debut in Aquaman #40, March 2006. Newsarama article. DC Solicit for #40, DC Solicit for #41, DC Solicit for #42.
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Art: Butch Guice
Cover: Butch Guice
Cover Date: May 2006
32 pages, $2.99
Order Code: JAN06 0302
Variant Cover: DEC05 8016 (art by Ian Churchill)
Release Date: 1 March 2006
Part 1 of the 6-part "Once and Future" - It's One Year Later... and Aquaman has totally changed! Join the new creative team of Kurt Busiek (ASTRO CITY, JLA) and Butch Guice (JLA CLASSIFIED) for the start of an amazing new undersea adventure!
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Art: Butch Guice
Cover: Butch Guice
Cover Date: Jun 2006
32 pages, $2.99
Order Code: FEB06 0256
Variant Cover: CODE UNKNOWN (art by Carlos Pacheco)
Release Date: 5 April 2006
In Part 2 of the 6-part "Once and Future," the new Aquaman begins the hunt for his missing father and fights a savage duel against an Atlantean warrior over his alliance with the much-feared King Shark! Also, the fate of Atlantis is revealed as Aquaman encounters a band of Atlanteans led by Mera!
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Art: Butch Guice
Cover: Butch Guice
Cover Date: Jul 2006
32 pages, $2.99
Order Code: MAR06 0306
Release Date: 3 May 2006
In Part 3 of the 6-part "Once and Future," Aquaman's search for news of his father takes him to the surface world and its civilization for the first time, where he meets a new ally and ends up in a pitched battle! See why everyone's talking about the amazing new direction for this classic character!
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Art: Butch Guice
Cover: Butch Guice
Cover Date: Aug 2006
32 pages, $2.99
Order Code: APR06
Release Date: 21 Jun 2006
In Part 4 of the 6-part "Once and Future," Aquaman gets the news that his father is dead — and decides to rejoin King Shark and the Dweller to fight an undersea war!
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Art: Butch Guice
Cover: Butch Guice
Cover Date: Sep 2006
32 pages, $2.99
Order Code: MAY06 0156
Release Date: 13 Sep 2006 (originally 19 Jul 2006)
In Part 5 of the 6-part "Once and Future," Aquaman leads Mera's people in an all-out assault on the barbarian raiders! It's a battle that brings them face-to-face with a more dangerous threat - an enemy from the past who leaves the new Aquaman gutted and near death! Plus, Mera makes a startling discovery about the mysterious Dweller in the Depths!
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Art: Butch Guice and Tony DeZuñiga
Cover: Butch Guice
Cover Date: Nov 2006
32 pages, $2.99
Order Code: JUL06 0157
Release Date: 4 Oct 2006 (originally 20 Sep 2006)
The finale of "Once and Future"! The destructive and deadly climax of Aquaman's first true test of heroism! He must take command in an all-out undersea war to defeat an enemy who nearly killed him, and embrace or reject his destiny. Plus, Aquaman discovers new powers, and secrets behind his alliance with King Shark are revealed!
Writer: Kurt Busiek and Karl Kesel
Art: Phil Winslade and Butch Guice
Cover: Butch Guice
Cover Date: Dec 2006
32 pages, $2.99
Order Code: AUG06 0190
Release Date: 18 Oct 2006
Kicking off an all-new 2-part story! King Shark may get along with young Arthur, but there's an Aquaman that King Shark never saw eye-to-eye with. Find out in this action-packed tale!
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Art: Phil Winslade and Butch Guice
Cover: Butch Guice
Cover Date: Jan 2007
32 pages, $2.99
Order Code: SEP06 0217
Release Date: 29 Nov 2006
While King Shark and young Arthur Curry are comrades-in-arms today, there was once an Aquaman whom that snaggle-toothed warrior found himself at odds with! The saga continues, with guest appearances from Mera and Vulko!
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Art: Phil Winslade and Butch Guice
Cover: Butch Guice
Cover Date: Feb 2007
32 pages, $2.99
Order Code: OCT06
Release Date: 20 Dec 2006
The young Aquaman must contend with a foe from his namesake's past in "The Way of the Fisherman." But this villain is surprisingly different from the adversary of old!
Main characters:
- Arthur Joseph Curry, mistaken for Aquaman.
- King Shark, aka Nanaue. An ex-Superboy villain whose motives for teaming up with a hero are unknown.
- The Dweller in the Depths, a mysterious sorceror who intends to guide Aquaman on his path.
The Sword of Atlantis is a "One Year Later" book. The events in this issue take place a year after the events in Aquaman #39.
We know that "Atlantis is hit pretty hard in those issues and in Infinite Crisis, and its status is anything but quo" and "Things are bad between the people of Orin's Atlantis [Poseidonis] and the people of Lori Lemaris's Atlantis [Tritonis], barbarian tribes are coming out of the woodwork, the smaller kingdoms of the seafloor are on the march, ancient forces have been disturbed, sorcery abounds, and lots more."
Into this chaos drops our new Aquaman and his pair of companions. But that's not all, "[t]hink of it as a world trapped between the invading forces of Tolkein and Robert E. Howard on one side, and Tom Clancy and Michael Crichton on the other, with a few superheroes and supervillains thrown in for good measure."
But what about Arthur Curry? Aquaman isn't going away, he's just dealing with something else while the new adventurer is getting started. So while the original Aquaman fights a battle the fans will have to wait to learn about, we'll follow the adventures of the Sword while he fights the chaos of the people of the oceans.
Tidbits
Does the new guy call himself Aquaman? From Kurt:
"it doesn't even occur to the new guy to call himself Aquaman -- but I'd rather you read how it plays out than tell you the story details ahead of time."
What about the sword, wouldn't it rust? From Kurt:
"Look closely at Aquaman's sword in that promo piece, and you'll see it's actually a sharpened narwhal's horn, since steel is hard to make underwater."
Why not do this pitch with the original Aquaman? From Kurt:
"Well, the original Aquaman doesn't exist any more -- he's been gone since they introduced the Tom Curry retcon in 1959. And the second version's been gone since Crisis.
"But that's not what you meant -- you're asking why it couldn't work with the current Aquaman.
"The answer is -- among other things, the current Aquaman is the son of Atlan, the rightful ruler of Atlantis, a person spawned by magic, not an outsider to the oceanscape by any stretch of the imagination, and a variety of other factors that will become clear over time.
"Plus, King Shark really doesn't like the current Aquaman much, after INFINITE CRISIS #3."
Will the new guy also be able to talk to fish? From Kurt:
"Whether he can or not will become a story point."
