ForComicJunkies: I Get Aquaman

I finally get Aquaman. Well, not finally but pre-new 52 I did not see the appeal to the character. Don’t get me wrong I never had a problem with him. In fact I was the rare fan that didn’t make the Aquaman jokes or just dismissed the character. The truth is I didn’t know a lot about him and no one had ever gotten me really interested before. But like Hal Jordan and Barry Allen before, Geoff Johns helped me see the awesomeness of Arthur Curry. The best parts of Brightest Day to me were the Aquaman scenes. I was always begging for more. Between Johns’ writing and Ivan’s pencils and Joe’s finishes I was blown away. But to be honest, it didn’t prepare me for what would become one of my favorite series from the new 52.

I remember the day the first issue came out. I was so excited because I was hoping Johns, Reis, and Prado would continue on the character and that was the plan in the new 52. When that day rolled around my store was SOLD OUT. I got there at 1130AM. They had been open since 10AM! Gone! The worst part was that it was my fault! I had forgotten to update my pull list! I couldn’t believe I had done that. But thank goodness for DC’s new same day digital policy. All I had to do was wait a couple of more hours and I would be able to read it.

Now let me go off on a personal tangent here. This was also the same day where I was set up on a blind date by a friend of mine. I was very, very excited. I was not nervous. I was just ready to finally date again. It had been two years since I broke up with my last girlfriend. I had a few dates but nothing serious. This was, in my mind, the first time in a long time I would have a nice dinner, a nice conversation, and maybe it would be the first step to a new relationship. I had felt so lonely that I was determined to make a great impression. BUT during the day I received a text from her saying that her ex-boyfriend was gonna come over and they were gonna try to work things out. Well fuck me . . . Ironically enough, the friend that hooked us up said at that moment, “Hey you excited for your date tonight?” I showed her the text and she flipped out. I just brushed it off and texted the girl back saying that I thought she was making a mistake but I understood. My friend (and everyone else) excused me of being too nice. The truth was I completely understood her point of view. Her ex was “the love of her life” and she wanted so badly for it to work out. I had been in that position before. Even have the scars on my heart to prove it.

At that point I felt like such crap I needed to walk away from my desk (oh yeah I was at work during this whole thing including the not getting Aquaman [during my lunch break]) haha – fuck I’m bad at stories . . .). Anyway, I was finally able to download the first issue of Aquaman! I figured if nothing else a good Geoff Johns comic would help to cheer me up. But I was wrong. The comic didn’t cheer me up – it inspired and excited me! At that moment I finally got Aquaman. Here is a character that goes to great lengths to save the world, fight the bad guys, etc and is a laughing stock. I can honestly say that no other character affected me the way that he did. He’s powerful, he’s a king, he’s part of the Justice League, but nobody respects him. He’s just trying to do the right thing and live his life and he’s laughed at. That was me a year ago reading that issue.

I felt like I was useless. I felt my time on this Earth was for nothing. I wasn’t laughed at necessarily but I felt like nobody respected me. Here was a chance for me to have a date and maybe it would go somewhere special. It was thrown in my face with a weak apology. What purpose did I have if I couldn’t be good enough for someone to notice me? This is what went through my head that day and pretty much all last year (hell, actually for the past five years). Little did I know that I wasn’t alone. Granted the person I felt understood how I felt was fictional but that didn’t matter. I realized that every feeling I had was wrong. It didn’t matter if the world didn’t respect me. All I needed to realize was that I can do good in the world. One day someone would notice and appreciate me.

Now it’s one year later and Aquaman remains one of my favorite monthly comic books. I have a wonderful girlfriend that I can safely say is my Mera – she loves me for me and sticks by me even when those feelings of uselessness and apathy come back. She reminds me that I’m important and better than I give myself credit for. (PS – she’s not the same girl that ditched the blind date – in case you were wondering). I have a better outlook on life and look forward to what the future holds for the two of us. All of this started with this issue: