Aquaman #39

Aquaman #39 (On Sale: March 7, 1968) has yet another beautiful cover by Nick Cardy, but to me the more important thing about this issue is that it is the first DC comic edited by Dick Giordano. I'm gonna talk more about Dick in the coming weeks, but just so you know, Giordano was, in my opinion, the best editor DC comics ever had. More on that later.

"How to Kill a Sea King" is by Bob Haney and Nick Cardy. This will be the last Aquaman issue for both though Cardy will remain through the rest of this run on the book as the cover artist and doing some of the best work he ever did. We have some absolutely stunning covers coming from Cardy in the next two years.

A group of Venusian space raiders plan to invade Earth. However, the Venusian authorities foresee the attack and plant a block of Uritrium in the ocean. The Uritrium is deadly to Venusian and will thwart the invasion, so Ka'arl, the invasion leader, dispatches Aliena his assistant to Earth.

Aliena earns the trust of Aquaman by saving his life from a situation she created. She then convinces him to bury the Uritrium deep under the sea floor. With the deadly element gone, the raiders begin their attack. Aquaman tries to stop the invaders, but he is nearly killed.

Under Giordano's guidance, this book is about to undergo a most wondrous transformation. I can't wait for the next issue!

Edited by Dick Giordano.