Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Ripples Through Time - 146

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order. After I read each story I will post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #223 Aquaman Splash Page
Adventure #223 (April 1956) The Sunken City of Gold

When an undersea eruption reveals a city of gold, Aquaman is asked to lead the expedition to explore the place.

Quotefile: Aquaman, aiming a gun at attacking fish men, "Must scare them off! I don't like doing this -- but my first duty is to protect the scientists I'm leading!"

Finny Friends Report: Aquaman saves a scientist by covering the gills of the prehistoric fish attacking the man. He also ties up an octopus-like creature that looks a bit like an amoeba.

Aqua-Exclamations: "Suffering Sea Cows!"

Glove Color: Yellow.

The story begins with a diver in a standard diving suit witnessing an eruption undersea. As the ocean floor moves, a jungle and golden city rise into sight, along with some scary-looking fish. The diver promptly evacuates.

Of note: the eruption was big enough to expose some amazing hidden part of the ocean. But the standard diving suit had a line going to the surface where a ship had to be feeding him air. What did the ship see? And was there enough of a seismic event to cause tsunami? None of that is addressed in this tale.

It takes "top scientists" a few weeks to get an expedition together, which is no doubt what allows for the other side of the plot to happen. The name of the scientists' boat is "City of Gold". Optimistic, aren't they?

Where did the strange fish and underwater jungle come from? Was it simply a section of the ocean floor that was deeper than people had investigated before, or was it a truly hidden area, protected by something? The story itself argues for the second option, as Aquaman says of the fish, "now that they have been exposed to the open sea, they won't live much longer!"

Have you read this story? What do you think?

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