Aquaman: Death of a Prince

In the 1970's, Aquaman was caught in the middle of being remembered as the goofy hero that starred in a 60's Saturday morning cartoon, and the tragic figure of some excellent comic book storytelling. The graphic novel/trade paperback collection entitled Aquaman: Death of a Prince features stories from Adventure Comics #435-437 & 441-455, as well as Aquaman #57-63. The main focus here is the loss of Arthur's (Aquaman's) throne as King of Atlantis, his struggles against several villains, the death of his son and resultant alienation from his wife Mera. Those who are looking for the silly fun of the Super-Friends will be surprised by the dark tone of these stories.

First off, the villains. Aquaman faces off against his most well-known foes Black Manta and Ocean Master, with the former being a key figure in the overall arc of this story. Other villains from the hero's rogues gallery that show up are the Fisherman, the Shark, the Scavenger, Marine Marauder, Seaquake, and Kobra. This group of villains points to the obvious connection these stories have with the old, more juvenile Aquaman tales, while at the same time the comic is working to develop more sophistication. Some of these characters are fun, even though the overall tone throughout this book is somber.

The supporting cast is present in the form of Mera, Vulko, Aqualad, Tula, and Arthur Jr. Batman and Green Lantern lend a hand in one story. After the death of Arthur Jr, there are several back-up stories featuring Mera in a last-ditch effort to save her son, and Aqualad on a quest to find his heritage. The friction that develops between Aquaman and Mera is handled well, and is upsetting. The resolution to this conflict is perhaps resolved a bit too quickly, although readers would have to wait almost a decade to get much more information regarding this tragedy.

A few of the stories collected in this volume contain writing from Steve Skeates, with art by Mike Grell and Jim Aparo. Those are standouts, but it's also notable that David Michelinie did some great early writing work as well. After reading these stories, I think I've come to the conclusion that Jim Aparo is the definitive artist for Aquaman. His Batman was influential during my formative years, but his work on the Sea King is quite something. Aparo had a knack for capturing the fluidity of underwater settings, and how people would look living in an undersea kingdom.

Despite a few moments of old-school comic book goofiness, I found Death of a Prince to be a compelling read. It's interesting to see DC try to make Aquaman a serious hero, and succeed. The artwork is classic, and the developments that take place here had lasting repercussions. This is top-notch stuff from the same era that brought other DC classics such as the O'Neal/Adams run on Batman or Green Lantern/Green Arrow. Death of a Prince comes highly recommended.

Unfortunately, DC didn't keep Death of a Prince in print for very long, and now it commands high prices online. Thankfully, though, a re-release is on the way in hardcover, hitting shelves on February 4, 2020. You can preorder through Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/Aquaman-Prince-Deluxe-David-Michelinie/dp/1779500955/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2XQ31L7RBMORP&keywords=aquaman+death+of+a+prince&qid=1579582644&sprefix=Aquaman+death%2Caps%2C174&sr=8-1