Aquaman Could Have Been Good

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

At newsarama, in the remembering Mike Wieringo thread, Mark Waid, besides giving a nice remembrance, and some awesome sketches, mentions a pitch he and 'Ringo had given twice, upon request, to DC, for Aquaman.
It was rejected both times.
However, he has put it up there to be downloaded (and I've posted it below, though if that's a problem, feel free to delete and let people go see it for themselves).
Sounds like it would have been good fun - and it's a shame we'll never get to see it.

AQUAMAN: Title TBD
A One-Issue Prestige Format
Mark Waid/Mike Wieringo
Preliminary Pitch/August 3, 2003

I am so sick of people making fun of Aquaman that I’m beginning to take it personally. For the last ten years or so, the way we’ve been scrambling to combat Aquaman’s “Dork of the Sea” image--and I’ve been guilty of trying this, too--is by making Aquaman increasingly darker, grittier, and tougher, the brooding, angry king beset with trouble. Each incarnation of the character seems grimmer than the last, to the point where all that’s left for us to do is give him two hooks. And a peg-leg.

OR--here’s ANOTHER thought. Yes, the seas can be turbulent and stormy, but y’know what? Far more often, the ocean is a universal symbol for peace and contentment. It’s a calming influence. If it weren’t, Bermuda would be deserted and Hawaii would be an industrial trade port. It is most people’s “happy place.” Yes, the ocean is the set piece for “A Perfect Storm,” but it’s also the world of “Finding Nemo” and “The Little Mermaid.” I have never yet met anyone of any age who didn’t come away from Sea World envying the guides who swim with the whales and porpoises. I propose we turn this “grim Aquaman” paradigm around for a one-shot and see what happens. “Test the waters,” if you will. I know, I slay me. Anyway....

Our POV character in this story is a female marine biologist--and since Aquaman’s turf covers the world, there’s no need to make her American. (In fact, Russian is preferable--I’ve been doing a lot of reading about the culture of Russian courtship, and that could really play in nicely.) At any rate, our biologist--let’s call her Yelena for now--may have heard the name “Aquaman” here and there, but to her, he’s about as real and significant as, say, German football stars are to you and me.

Yelena’s work is done with grungy old equipment and spit-and-bailing-wire technology, the best she has to work with. Her whole world has a gritty feel to it--

--so when this bright, blond, shining knight of a man pops out of the water and into her life, she’s addled simply by the contrast.

Their paths cross, she’s drawn into an adventure, and to Yelena, this “Aquaman” is, yes, mysterious like the sea--but in a warm, enticing way. To Yelena, he is otherworldly, like a fairy tale character come to life. He rarely speaks (though when he does, he’s staggeringly charming), he lives in the water, and he smiles. Constantly. In fact, at first, Yelena has a nearly impossible time taking him seriously. He’s like a walking cartoon.

And yet...the more she gets to know him, the further she’s drawn out of her world and into his, she’ll come to realize that there’s something going on behind those wide eyes of his. Looking in them, she sees peace and confidence; looking through them, she’s gradually introduced to an underwater world of absolute wonder, a place that is far more colorful and in tune with nature than is her own gritty lifestyle. Once she surrenders to the implausibility of it all, she’s rewarded a thousandfold, and so are we. Aquaman’s joy becomes her joy becomes OUR joy.

There will be no mocking. NO jokes about how “dumb” talking to fish is. Anyone with a keyboard can make cynical jokes. That’s easy. What’s harder is reminding you why, when you were a kid, you thought the idea of living underwater or commanding the creatures of the sea WAS cool. We can do that. We can remind you, and Yelena’s awed voice will be there to back us up.

Looks like someone else shared Greg Hatchers dream for Aquaman.

[Sean Whitmore]

Damn. I would have bought the hell out of that.


SEAN

[Karl O'Neill]

Just read the pitch.

wow, A one shot prestige format, I would have bought that in a light.

And for the record, Aquaman, in Alex Ross's Justice maxi series was badass and cool.:)

[Jack Zodiac]

Ross and Krueger's Aquaman was a badass without being a grisly old sea captain with a fucking hook hand. As fun as PAD's run was, it wasn't classic Aquaman, it was "Nineties Aquaman," and was still spectacularly unsuccessful. Not that any of Aquaman's book have ever been wildly successful, but still...

This would've been a fun idea, and the concept art is great. He looks like Golden Age Aquaman, more human and less tired, clichéd royalty figure. Kurt Busiek was trying something similar with his recent run by introducing a brand new, baggage free Aquaman similar to the Golden Age Aquaman, and brushing "Nineties Aquaman" into the background as a mentor. And that could've been a fun idea, too, if the past four years of the book hadn't been a joke, sales-wise or conceptually.

Shot down twice, though. Man, that's fucking sad. No wonder Mark's so cynical about fans and fun comics anymore.

[Kevinroc]

Aquaman really could have been good. That sounds like a great pitch that I feel could have been the defining moment for Aquaman. Whoever turned that down definitely made a bad call.

At least we got Waid and Ringo's Fantastic Four

[SUPERECWFAN1]

The last time Aquaman really mattered was back when Peter David wrote him. And DC pissed that away after his run of 46 to 47 issues.

[BillR]

Of course I would have bought a Waid/Ringo Aquaman. Who the hell wouldn't?

[Sean Whitmore]

And DC pissed that away after his run of 46 to 47 issues.

How did DC do that, exactly? By letting the series continue for another 30-something issues under two fairly popular creators?


SEAN

[Jack Zodiac]

Nineties Aquaman was destine to disappear, anyway, as was Nineties Green Lantern, Nineties Batman, and Nineties Superman.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

How did DC do that, exactly? By letting the series continue for another 30-something issues under two fairly popular creators?


SEAN

Yeah pretty much. David was the guy who really defined Aquaman in the 1990's. He made him that brooding , one hook guy. I like Dan Jurgans....but he was no Peter David. Its a lot like when Ron Marz left Green Lantern.

Those characters had been defined by the creators and by the point they left you could hear the life force escaping them.

[Sean Whitmore]

Yeah pretty much. David was the guy who really defined Aquaman in the 1990's. He made him that brooding , one hook guy. I like Dan Jurgans....but he was no Peter David. Its a lot like when Ron Marz left Green Lantern.

Those characters had been defined by the creators and by the point they left you could hear the life force escaping them.

I don't get it, you're saying you're mad at DC for not just cancelling the series when David left?


SEAN

[Cayman]

Say, that does sound good.

[stealthwise]

I'd buy that. My own idea for Aquaman is almost the opposite (oceanic worldtraveller, swashbuckling, and a bit naughty, like a non-homo-erotic-pirate), but Waid's pitch got me genuinely interested.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

I don't get it, you're saying you're mad at DC for not just cancelling the series when David left?


SEAN

Would it have helped or hurt ? I wish DC would have saved me 2 to 3 more years of caring for Kyle Rayner and cancelled the series when Marz left to be honest.

[Citizen V]

Speaking of Aquaman,what ever happened to the relaunch i heard about a year ago?