Fire & Water #167 – Aquaman #52/Aquaman: Rebirth/Legends of Tomorrow #3 and #4

It’s a big review week! Shag and Rob discuss “Out of Darkness” from AQUAMAN #52 by Dan Abnett, Vicente Cifuentes, Juan Castro, and more, and then move on to AQUAMAN: REBIRTH by Abnett, Scot Eaton, Oscar Jimenez, Mark Morales and more. The show concludes with “United We Fall” Parts 3 and 4 from LEGENDS OF TOMORROW #s 3 and 4 by Gerry Conway, Eduardo Pansica, Rob Hunter, and more! Plus YOUR Listener Feedback!

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This week’s selections:

Opening theme, “That Time is Now,” by Michael Kohler. Closing music by Daniel Adams and Ashton Burge of The Bad Mamma Jammas! http://www.facebook.com/BadMammaJammas


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18 responses to “Fire & Water #167 – Aquaman #52/Aquaman: Rebirth/Legends of Tomorrow #3 and #4

  1. So far, I’ve read all of the Rebirth specials. AQUAMAN is one of the best (along with GREEN ARROW, and not just because the artist channels Art Adams in his depiction of Black Canary). I haven’t read Dan Abnett’s previous Aquaman issues, but the Rebirth special was so strong it inspired me to purchase all of the Jeff Parker run on ComiXology’s ninety-nine cent sale.

    I see what Shag means about Spindrift Station resembling the skeletal remains of some beached sea creature. It does look like a combination of bones, shells, and coral reef. Not bad for Aqua-Cave 2.0.

    As for the debate about whether Aquaman should eat seafood… Wow, that’s incredibly geeky even for an Aquaman & Firestorm podcast. Here’s how I would look at the scene between Arthur and Mera…

    1. They never specify that it’s seafood chowder they’re eating. It could be vegetable based, but…

    2. Yeah, it’s probably seafood, in which case, being in New England, it’s almost definitely Clam Chowder.

    3. Clams don’t have brains like we do. They have nervous systems and other organs that function similarly, but physiologically, they’re so completely different from sea mammals like whales and dolphins, or even sharks and fish, that it’s hard for me to imagine Arthur having any kind of psychic-emotional tether to clams even if he does have the power to “command” them.

    4. He’s not eating Topo, or baked haddock, or even a lobster roll. It’s clam chowder. I liken it to people eating some kind of insect or worm as a “delicacy”.

  2. Hey Rob, thanks for the great idea of me teaming up with Doug Zawisza to talk Doom Patrol.

    I had a great idea for you. You could do a podcast about movies. You could have different guests on each episode!

  3. I will admit that I haven’t read Aquaman or the Aquaman Rebirth books. The discussions of the last few issues and the attached sample pages do have me pretty intrigued. Looks like this week is a light week on my pull list, so I’ll grab Rebirth and see how it goes.

    If Aquaman is set in Massachusetts, it means I’d be is neighbor!

    1. Anj, I guess you can now expect to see Aquaman and Mera at Boston Comic Con. Ruth and I may have to plan to attend 😉

  4. Great use of the Chow-dah stinger there, even though Shag will groan about the Simpsons reference.

    Speaking of a Simpsons reference, I’d like to subscribe to Ryan’s newsletter concerning Aquaman’s eating clams. Makes sense to me. As long as he’s not eating tuna that’s non-dolphin-safe, I’m good.

    I think I will have to sample some more Rebirth titles, since the actual Rebirth #1 gave me that old DC feeling again. And so far, it seems they are leaving the rug underneath us this time, and not pulling an Infinite Crisis on us. Time will tell. But Aquaman: Rebirth looks like what I want out of an Aquaman comic. So I need to quit complainin’ and get my wallet out.

    Luke’s comments on Mera’s “bongos” were hilarious. But then, I’m a pig. I’m sure I will get smacked for a similar offense on the next exciting episode of Super Mates (PLUG)!

    Chris

  5. I think the timing was perfect for you to cover both Aquaman #52 and Aquaman Rebirth in the same episode. It helps solidify the fact that Aquaman isn’t getting a reboot with the new Rebirth numbering and I’m very happy about that. It is great to see the story continue instead of restart.

    As for the DC Rebirth Special, it was a treat that for the only scene we get of our heroes, they chose to have Arthur propose to Mera. Delightful!

    Personally, I liked the Mandarin collar on Aquaman’s shirt, so I miss that change, even though I know the new shirt is closer to the classic look.

    Like Rob, I always liked Scavenger as a villain and thought Dan Abnett handled the character well and like both of you i really liked The Deluge and hope to see more of them. I felt that was a perfect example of what Dan Abnett talked about in Rob’s interview with him. Even though we’ve seen characters like this in the past, he took the opportunity to “name” them thus adding them to Aquaman’s rogue gallery.

    The Legends of Tomorrow anthology book as been a treat and I wish it would pave the way for more anthologies. Sadly, based on what you’ve shared that doesn’t seem to be the case.

    And, like Shagg, I’ve been very happy to see the classic Firestorm issues added to Comixology. It will be a treat to “read along” when you go back to covering those issues.

    Great show guys!

    Darrin

  6. Oh, I forgot to mention just how much I appreciated Shagg pointing out the inconsistencies in the location of Spindrift Station and the timing of Ocean Master’s attack. Like both of you, I wondered about those while reading and wondered if they were mistakes or intentional changes. I really like the idea that Spindrift Station might be mobile. Great suggestion guys! Rob, you will have to ask your new friend Dan Abnett 😉

  7. While listening to the feedback on the latest episode, Ruth reminded me that I was supposed to write back about a comment from last episode … sorry for the delay …

    While we would like to confess to secretly being a popular indie rock duo, or to having won the lottery, or to being independently wealthy, all we can actually admit to is being budget travelers who search for bargains and ways to combine multiple events into a single trip.

    In fact, we recently met with Mr Quarter-Bin himself, Professor Alan, and received his “Stamp of Approval” for our budget travel techniques. In other words, we’re just “cheap travelers”!

    Sorry to have such a mundane response to that question … 😉

    Darrin

  8. Since he doesn’t say it could be corn chowder. When I was living in Maine most stores carried clam and corn chowder in cans. And, Snows the biggest New England canned chowder company makes a corn chowder. So Maine or Massachusetts would be covered. I also agree with Rob I always thought of Aquaman as being vegetarian. As far as fish not talking that may be true but they do communicate.

    Check out the NPR Fresh air interview with Jonathan Balcombe the director of animal sentience for the Humane Society Institute for Science and Policy
    Fish Have Feelings, Too: The Inner Lives Of Our ‘Underwater Cousins’
    http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/06/20/482468094/fish-have-feelings-too-the-inner-lives-of-our-underwater-cousins

  9. Good grief, I missed this episode on my feed. Just listening to Shagg now, chatting about LoT #3. I dunno if you read my review, but I really didn’t like the jumping around in time; Shagg did a lovely job of trying to explain why Conway may have done it, but all I got was confused. What’s wrong with a one-issue, slam-bang fight? Those things are actually pretty rare, and a master like Conway could make something really special of it without the gimmick, which keep throwing me out of the story. Definitely my least favourite Firestorm entry in this series.

    And I dunno bout hot, Sugar is a bleeding headcase.

    All this ‘Angry McAngry’ bit – is that a reference to that US doctor soap?

    I can never hear ‘Ronnie and the Professor’ without thinking ‘Nanny and the Professor’. Ask your parents!

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