Aquaman Recommended Reading

This article is part of the DC Comics Database **Recommended Reading** project, a series of articles written by our editors. They are meant as a guide to help both new and old readers, either getting into comics for the first time or looking to read more on their favorites. These should not be taken as a definitive guide; obviously you can start wherever and with whatever you want, but they're some general suggestions that we think you might find enjoyable.

**Aquaman** is a well-known character in the DC Universe. Despite being a founding member of the Justice League of America, his reputation is somewhat complicated. Being honest here, casual readers tend to assume that he's sort of boring and lame. Aquaman is a very powerful and compelling character when written well. Aside from being one of the strongest men on the planet, in and out of water, his telepathy allows him to control entire *armies* of sea creatures, calling on the most deadly and fearsome beasts from the depths of the ocean. The weight of his position as ruler of the oceans is mighty, although he spends a lot of time on the surface, which is a difficult dynamic. Forever a man of two worlds who doesn't completely belong in either, he struggles to act as a champion in the fight against evil.

## New readers

* **Aquaman: American Tidal** is Will Pfeifer's introduction to the longest-running storyline in *Aquaman*  (Volume 6), the massive Sub Diego arc. One of California's biggest cities is half-submerged underwater by Anton Geist, and Aquaman has to help its newly water-breathing residents cope with the disaster.
* **Aquaman: Death of a Prince** was a massive saga running through *Adventure Comics* and *Aquaman*  (Volume 1) written by Steve Skeates, Paul Levitz and David Michelinie with artwork by the legendary Jim Aparo. The story featured Aquaman's exile from Atlantis and the death of his son at the hands of Black Manta, alongside Aqualad's past finally revealed and many other villains appearing.
* **Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis** is Kurt Busiek's run on the character, a story introducing the new Arthur Joseph Curry as Aquaman. This series brings the mythos back to the essentials of what makes the character so great, as the hero struggles to find his place in the world.
* **Aquaman: The Trench** is Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis' introductory arc to *Aquaman*  (Volume 7), published as part of *The New 52*. Having recently decided to abandon Atlantis and live on land, he fights a race of carnivorous bottom-dwellers known as the Trench.
* **Peter David's Aquaman** is an epic saga that spanned nearly a decade of David's work on the character as main writer. Building a new mythos following the *Crisis on Infinite Earths*, he established a long-term character arc that would completely redefine Aquaman for a new generation.
	+ **The Atlantis Chronicles** is David's highly underrated epic mini-series detailing the history of the Atlantean Royal Family. Taking an in-depth look at Aquaman's ancestors, it begins with the reign of King Orin and ends with his birth.
	+ **Aquaman: Time and Tide** is a stand-alone miniseries that retells the Aquaman origin story, acting as a companion piece to Keith Giffen's *Legend of Aquaman*.
	+ ***Aquaman*  (Volume 5)** #1-46 is David's landmark run on his own series, beginning with the classic Charybdis storyline that would cost Aquaman his hand. The series would see him explore greater depths and fight more dangerous threats than ever before, from an alien invasion to fighting Greek Gods to declaring war on Japan.

## Further reading

* **Aquaman: The Other League** is Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis' sequel to *The Trench*, exploring the secret history of the team Aquaman was part of before he joined the Justice League.
* **Aquaman: Thicker Than Water** is Neal Pozner's classic mini-series that explores the relationship between Aquaman and his brother Ocean Master, also introducing the short-lived but memorable camouflage suit.
* **Aquaman: Tide of Battle** is Keith Giffen and Robert Loren Fleming's brutal mini-series telling the story of an Atlantean holocaust engineered by Giant Jellyfish. Aquaman returns to a city enslaved into prisoner camps and becomes the leader of the resistance against their oppressors.
* **Aquaman: The Waterbearer** is Rick Veitch's twelve-issue run beginning *Aquaman*  (Volume 6), a storyline that introduces more supernatural themes as he becomes the Waterbearer. Aquaman becomes a central figure in the centuries-old battle over the Secret Sea between the Lady of the Lake and the Thirst.
* **Brightest Day** takes place immediately after Aquaman's resurrection during Blackest Night, detailing his difficulties returning to the living and the beginning of the Aquawar involving himself, Black Manta, his wife Mera and her twin sister Siren.
* **Flashpoint: Emperor Aquaman** is a mini-series by Tony Bedard taking place in the *Flashpoint* alternate timeline. It details his revised history as a tyrannical monarch and ruthless mass-murderer.
* **JLA: The Obsidian Age** is a Justice League storyline that deals with the disappearance of Atlantis during *Our Worlds at War*. The ancient city is transported thousands of years into the past, and the League has to rescue Aquaman's people from their enslavement under Gamemnae and the League of Ancients.
* **Throne of Atlantis**

## Single issues

* **Demons in Thought and Deed**
* **Deserted**
* **Lost**
* **The Missing Peace**
* **My Hero**
* **Rogue Elements**
* **What Matters Most**