COMIC DETAILS
|
Comic Description:
|
Showcase 30 Universal
|
|
Grade:
|
9.4
|
|
Page Quality:
|
WHITE
|
|
Pedigree:
|
Bethlehem
|
|
Certification #:
|
1345315004
|
|
Owner:
|
Mississippi Mudcats
|
SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
Showcase #30 marks the first Aquaman try-out issue. Of course, it should be noted that Aquaman was previously introduced to the DC Universe as a member of JLA in Brave & Bold #28. And even before that, Aquaman back-up stories frequently appeared in Adventure Comics, although he made no cover appearances.
In the story, "The Creatures from Atlantis", Aquaman and Aqualad come to the rescue of a cargo ship that's been struck by lightning. When Aquaman finds that the cargo hold broke open and crates carrying a new type of poison are drifting out of the ship, Aquaman and his undersea pals collect all the boxes. Ordering Aqualad to bring all the cargo to shore, Aquaman then returns to his home where he finds fish with a telepathic message from Atlantis asking for help. Thinking of Atlantis, Aquaman recounts his origins: How his mother was an exile from Atlantis who bore a child with a lighthouse worker. As he remembers how his mother revealed his true nature on his death bed, Aquaman decides to go to Atlantis to find out what he's needed for. Upon his arrival, he is suddenly attacked by two giant humanoid sea-monsters.
Brought into the city, Aquaman sees that the people of Atlantis have been enslaved by this race of amphibious sea-creatures. When trying to demand answers by one of the leaders of these creatures, Aquaman is sentenced to work on the same device the other Atlantians are working on. There he finds out from one of the workers that these creatures came from a "hole" that appeared in the water. Sometime later, Aquaman attempts to start a revolt by summoning an army of sea creatures to come to his rescue, however, the creatures have blow guns which they use to turn back the attackers. Later, hiding in a tube close to the creatures, Aquaman learns the truth: They are criminals from another dimension who are building a device that would melt all forms of resistance from the surface world in their bid to conquer the entire planet Earth. Spotted by the creatures, Aquaman is locked up in a cell, but manages to contact his undersea friends, who summon Aqualad with a swordfish to spring Aquaman out of the jail.
Racing to the surface to stop the creatures who are out on a test of their new weapon, Aquaman, Aqualad and an army of sea life attack the monsters. However, they do not stop the creatures from testing their weapons. After a number of attacks, Aquaman orders an army of sea gulls to drop bombs on the creature's vessel rendering it inoperable. The fleeing creatures enter an undersea forest, where Aquaman manages to grab hold of their dimensional device and uses it to send them back home. Once the people of Atlantis are free, they reward Aquaman with a Hero of Atlantis medal before Aquaman and Aqualad return to their home in the sea.
Our WP 9.4 is one of four highest graded copies in the census and also comes from the Bethlehem Pedigree Collection. We acquired it off the CL Exchange on 11/2/2017.
2024 Update: One of the other 9.4 copies of this issue was recently sold on Heritage and made only
I should note the price anomalies between the Aquaman Showcase tryout issues and those for Flash, Green Lantern, Atom and Metal Men-as well as the Brave and Bolds for Hawkman and JLA. Of those seven titles, I would say that the first Showcase or Brave and Bold try-out issues are more valuable, in some cases a multiple, of the first solo issues of the character or team in question. That is not the case with Aquaman. A Showcase #30 9.4 is as rare as an Aquaman #1 9.6 and predates it in publication, but the Aquaman #1 has been the more valuable book in the marketplace and receives twice the registry points. While there are no Showcase #30 9.6s as of this writing, a 9.6 would still be less valuable in terms of registry points than a similarly graded Aquaman #1, even though it would be much rarer. I can only surmise that the reason the Aquaman Showcases are not more highly valued is that they are not first appearances. Rather, Aquaman’s first appearance is as a member of the JLA in Brave and the Bold #28. By contrast, the Flash and GL Showcase try-out issues predate B&B #28.
2024 Update: One of the other 9.4 copies of this book was auctioned on Heritage in June 2024 and made only $17,000 plus the BP, or $20,400. As someone who already owned a copy, I thought it was a disappointing result, although not low enough for me to dive in and buy it, as we had other targets. (Of course, it was still over three times the registry points awarded by CGC.) I am not sure whether the poor result was attributable to the lack of success of the second Aquaman movie or what? The five single highest graded Aquaman issues that sold in the same auction did relatively better, but when one compares the auction price of the Showcase #30 to what highest graded first try-out issues of other characters have made, it remains one of the least loved titles in the marketplace. It would be interesting to see what one of the Aquaman #11 9.4s would do now at auction, as the last sale there was about 50% higher than the Showcase #30 9.4 made. My guess is that book would be cheaper now, especially since it was the single highest graded copy when it was auctioned and no longer is.
|
|
|