OVERVIEW:

Chapter 1: Too Many Quisps

Aquaman and Aqualad, returning from a routine patrol, spot Quisp stealing a ship. They chase him around all morning, and when they catch him he knocks them unconscious. When they awaken, they are in the path of an ocean liner, about to be run down. Luckily, Quisp rescues them.

Not surprisingly, they aren't terribly grateful, since Quisp got them into the situation in the first place. But Quisp claims innocence. He mentions that his twin had wanted to visit their world, but Quink is even less mischievous than Quisp. They notice that an oil drum was leaking from one of the stolen ships. Aquaman sets the oil on fire and they follow the trail to an island.

On the island they find a notorious pirate: Captain Slade. Quisp is telling Aqualad that his brother is obviously not involved, when Quink pops out of a bush and blasts the trio.

Chapter 2: The Beasts From The Water World

The trio wakes from the stun to see Slade and Quink escaping. Aquaman and Aqualad take off after Slade, figuring that Quink won't fire on them if they have Slade captive. But Slade slips free and both Quisp and Quink start attacking them.

When Aquaman and Aqualad wake up, Quisp is there. They ask why he attacked them, but he claims to have been repelling Quink's ray so only a small amount actually hit them. They decide to go after the pair of troublemakers, but just then two sea beasts from Quisp's world surface nearby and start heading for the mainland.

Aquaman and Quisp go after the monsters while Aqualad continues the search for Slade and Quink. They keep the monsters occupied until they can douse them in milk, which causes them to become docile enough to return to the sea.

Aqualad follows Slade and Quink to a lighthouse, but is spotted by Slade, who sends Quink out to deal with him. Aqualad is saved by Quisp, who confronts his brother. Quink explains that he's chased the criminal Quirk from their world, and teamed up with Slade to prevent Quirk from raiding commerce. Slade told him that Aquaman was a pirate.

Quisp quickly sets his brother straight, then sends him to return the monsters to their world. Aquaman, Aqualad, and Quisp then head for the lighthouse to take care of Slade. They are attacked, and think that Quink is attacking them. But it's actually Quirk.

Chapter 3: The Water-Sprite Raider

The trio attack Slade and Quirk. Unfortunately, Quirk is a match for Quisp, and when Aquaman and Aqualad attack, Slade uses a hastily delivered weapon to remove Quisp's powers and allow Quirk to defeat them.

They ask Slade about the weapon, and he claims it fell from the sky. He and Quirk took each other out when they first met: Quirk lost his powers and Slade's gun was damaged. But the loss of powers was only temporary, and Slade's gun was repaired and delivered to him.

Slade and Quirk are about to lock up Aquaman, when a giant manta saves them. Quisp wants to help Aquaman and Aqualad defeat Quirk, but he has no powers. Aquaman says he has an idea...

Slade and Quirk are looting a ship when Quisp rides up on a wave. Quirk is surprised at how quickly he regained his powers, but Slade simply blasts him with the gun again. But the gun has no effect. Quirk abandons Slade, thinking the gun no longer works.

Aquaman wrestles the gun from Slade, and blasts Quirk. The gun wasn't broken, it was just aimed at the wrong water sprite. Quink had been maintaining the wave for Quisp. And so the bad guys got taken to the proper authorities. Aqualad reminds Quisp to visit again soon, and bring Quink along.

COMMENTS:

Aquaman has matches in a waterproof belt pocket. I can only wonder why. I should have a contest for people to figure out the best reasons for Aquaman to carry matches.

Aquaman and Aqualad spend a lot of time in this issue unconscious.

The Monsters from Quisp's world are perfectly docile under the water, and go nuts on land. For some reason, milk had the same effect on them as water. I still haven't figured that one out.

Quisp and Quink are twins who have green hair. Quirk has red hair.

A gunsmith who delivers fixed guns via helicopter. Now that is service.

Quirk is also referred to as "Quirp" several times in the third chapter.

Shorts in this issue: One-page "Homer" comic, two page comics on "The First Frogmen", one-page text piece on "Mystery Denizens of the Deep".

CONCLUSION:

Rating: 7

This would've been a better story without the strange plot devices used.