Customer Reviews

Aquaman: Time and Tide

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Writer Peter David gives a fresh spin on what has always been a laughable, second-rate character, Aquaman. In the hands of Peter David Aquaman became an interesting, mythical, and powerful hero. Nowadays the regular Aquaman series is one of the better selling books at DC, and this is the mini-series that started it all. Kirk Jarvinen's art has a Silver Age feel, the stories are entertaining. The Flash (Barry Allen) makes an appearance in the first issue and the rest of the book features some new aspects of Aquaman's history. A must-read for Silver Age nostalgists and modern readers alike.

AQUAMAN: TIME AND TIDE is the only one of a handful of Aquaman trades that is truly worth your while. Collecting A:TAT #1 - 4, this story by writer Peter David and artist Kirk Jarvinen gives a very straightforward presentation of the origin and formative years of the so-called "King of the Seas" (not that this Aquaman would ever call himself that). Its simplicity is the very quality that makes it a great read. You'll learn of Arthur Curry's initial adventures among the dolphins, his early loves, his first encounter with the heroes and villains of the surface world, and his first confrontation with arch-enemy Ocean Master. David sticks to the basics, using only 88 pages to provide the reader with the essential information for understanding who Aquaman is and why he does what he does. Jarvinen's artwork is very good, looking favorably like a cross between the styles of Art Adams and Mike Wieringo. It has just the right playful touch without becoming too cartoony.

The important thing to note is that this is the classic version of Aquaman in the standard orange and green uniform - the version most people recognize. There's no beard, no ridiculous harpoon-hand, no gladiator armor... none of the other unfortunate oddities that would later be added by David in a misguided attempt to reinvigorate the character. It's the sad truth that Aquaman, in spite of having been around for 66 years, has never had his true potential fully realized and has only rarely been handled properly. Here we have a character that can breathe in both air and water, swim at great speed, can survive the pressure of the ocean depths, and telepathically communicate with aquatic life... these powers may seem worthless when compared to the other giants of the DC Universe, but are they really? Has any other writer truly explored the potential of this character in a way that complements his history? Aside from Mark Waid's work in JLA YEAR ONE, I say "no". There are other DC characters with less impressive powers that have been handled beautifully by the right authors. But good grief, look at how poorly Aquaman has fared when handled by David in his later stories, as well as by other normally stellar writers such as Rick Veitch and Kurt Busiek. It doesn't mean that the character is impossible to write, but that the writers are straying too far from the source. The simple solution is this: go back to the basics. That goes for the writers, artists, AND the readers. AQUAMAN: TIME AND TIDE provides all the foundation you'll need.

A fabulous collection of the very first of Peter David's Aquaman series. You get to see his exposure on the Mercy reef, left to die, and his rescue by the dolphin Porm. You can see his life with the dolphins, and his first encounters with "surface dwellers." Also dicover how he became the superhero we know today!

Aquaman has been one of DC's most difficult characters for years. From the 1940s to the 1960s, he was an adequate counterpart to Marvel's resident water-based hero, the Sub-Mariner: while Prince Namor was intent on destroying surface dwellers, Aquaman sought to bring peace between the two races. However, during the turbulent 1960s, Aquaman's cleancut appearance and rigid morality made him seem more and more of a second string hero, good for rounding out the Justice League of America's roster, but not much else. While some good stories appeared in the 1960s about Aquaman's personal crises, these never led to a sginficant story line, resulting in a vapid, rather bland character.

"Time and Tide" attempts to rewrite Aquaman as a rebel from the beginning, with a deep distrust of the surface world. Unfortunately, this has been tried before and revisionist histories are often hit and miss propositions. "Time and Tide" fails dismally as it re-introduces Aquaman as a Sub-Mariner wanna-be.

The writing is derivative, while the illustrations are barely adequate. The creative team is not wholly to blame, since Aquaman has been out of sync with the comics culture for years. A better effort would have been to flesh out and humanize Aquaman's existing background, not start from scratch. Pass this by.

This is almost bad enough that it should be read just to enjoy laughing AT it. The art is Saturday morning cartoon bad and at times worse. Peter David, who is a really good writer, delivers jokingly bad dialogue with plots that Stan Lee would scoff at. Please read something else.

Originally released in 1993 (and collected as a trade paperback in 1995), Aquaman: Time & Tide was writer Peter David's attempt to make Aquaman a viable character in the DC Universe. That's no mean feat when you consider how many series the character has been unable to sustain over the years. I'm not even sure this revamp was necessary in light of the underrated 1989 Aquaman limited series and Legend of Aquaman one-shot, but I gave Time & Tide a chance because I really do love the Aquaman character and keep hoping someone will get it right (I'm still waiting).

I've never been a fan of Peter David, and he doesn't convert me here. It's obvious he has some passion for the character, as well as some interesting ideas, but the writing is just too uneven. There are bits of an origin story strewn together with later events that form a narrative that is choppy, at best. And David's dialogue might have been the norm in the early 90's, but that wasn't exactly comics' finest hour.

The artwork is uneven as well. Never mind that impressive cover image. The interior artwork by Kirk Jarvinen is obviously influenced by Art Adams, but ends up looking like a (more) cartoony Ron Lim effort. There are some great pages, but they're offset by a lot of not-so-great pages that looked rushed. It pales in comparison to Martin Egeland's detailed and dynamic work on the Aquaman series that followed Time and Tide.

Despite its flaws, I have to give Time and Tide credit for kicking off an Aquaman ongoing series that lasted the better part of the 1990's. The tale of Aquaman's first encounter with the Flash is also worth the price of admission. If you're an Aquaman fan, by all means check out Time & Tide. It's not like there are a lot of other Aquaman trades to choose from.

One other note about this trade paperback: the paper stock is basic newsprint and the cover stock is not much better. The shoddy presentation just adds insult to injury.

A lot of people have given Aquaman a shot, and here Peter David has a crack at it himself. No-one seems to be able to do a lot with it, however.

Aquaman changes to be more standoffish, snootier, more regal. e.g. he becomes a bit more like Namor, the Sub-Mariner, even if not quite as much a wanker as that.

If you're looking to discover the origins of Aquaman as imagined by Peter David, this is a fine book. Here you'll meet baby Aquaman raised by dolphins, you'll discover how he got his name, and how he came to be a hero. If you're looking for political intrigue from Atlantis, a lot of villans, and action then this book is not for you. This is Aquaman when he had both arms, was clean-shaven, and was just starting out.

Peter David has written some of those most intriguing comic book story lines throughout the years and this is just one of the many. I enjoyed the silver-age feeling comic art created by a newcomer at the time, Kirk Jarvinen. This trade paperback has survived many years and will continue to do so because of the great team up created by DC.

If you read the Aqua-Man stories of the 1950's and 60's, he was a very dyanmantic character. A young king of the sea who defended his realm from any and all evil. Today Aqua-Man acts very much like Namor; The Sub-Mariner, he hates air breathers, attacks those who pollute the sea, and he can't seem to get his personal life in order. That pretty much desribes these new stories in this volume. Aqua-Man has not been treated well by comic book writers for much of this decade, with him loseing his right arm and becoming more and more of a character that walks the line between right and wrong.