Aquaman #46

Aquaman #46 (On Sale: May 6, 1969) has another wonderful, very dramatic cover by Nick Cardy. I would definitely buy a calendar featuring only Nick Cardy Aquaman covers. The problem would be narrowing it down to only twelve.

Our feature-length Aquaman story, "The Explanation," is by Steve Skeates and Jim Aparo. Continuing from last issue, Aquaman awakens following his rescue from the artificial whirlpool and finds Mera. She takes him to a hospital and tells him what happened to her. She was captured by Atlantean thieves who had been exiled from Atlantis. The thieves who worked for Narkran turned her over to surface criminals who intended to use her hard water powers to hijack cargo ships. Mera refused to help, but was forced to give in when the crooks claim they have Aquaman as their captive too.

Mera was being held in a tank in the crooks' underwater headquarters. When Aquaman broke into the hideout, he jarred the controls that kept Mera's cell closed. Once she got free, she was able to escape and help rescue Aquaman from the whirlpool. Aquaman completes his recovery in the hospital, then returns to Atlantis to confront Narkran.

Meanwhile, Aqualad continues his fight with the Bugala, and Aquagirl unites with a group of Atlantean rebels who wish to overthrow Narkran. This was reprinted in Adventure Comics #497.

Edited by Dick Giordano.