Retro Review: Adventure Comics #120 (1947) - "Aquaman Goes to College" Review

Sea You at School

Written by: Joe Samachson
Art by: Louis Cazeneuve
Cover Price: 10¢
Release Date: September 1947

Now, these are the kinds of stories that we had in mind when we decided to do these retro reviews!  Aquaman going to Cgoinge and joining the swim team???  It 's like a superhero version of Back to School, just without that dweeb who played Rodney's son.  Nobody liked that guy, am I right?  I don't want to give it all away so let's get on with the review...


We open with Aquaman hanging with his sea pals and telling them the cold hard truth...he is going away!  Going away to College that is!  It seems he wants to learn more about ocean life and what better place than Weston College to do just that?  I guess the ocean is a pretty good place to learn, but screw that, the ocean doesn't have killer frat parties...at least I've never been invited to one.

Of course, there has to be something more than just studying and going to class to this issue and there is.  It seems that Mr. Reed, the big Weston College supporter will pull his money away if Weston 's sports teams don't start winning pronto.  I'm not sure how much Mr. Moneybags has, but he throws a lot of money promises around.

 Is it a shock that Aquaman joins the swim team to win the latest meet and Mr. Reed's money?  It certainly reeks of cheating, but the main problem is Mr. Reed's boat (this bit is just thrown in out of nowhere) is sinking and if he dies, no money for Weston!

The issue ends with Aquaman and his sea buddies saving Reed, his men and the day.  Again, Reed promises crazy amounts of money for something silly...it's like those stories where Elvis flies across the country for a peanut butter and bacon sandwich!  Maybe it's not like that, but I really want one of those sandwiches right now!

I can see where some people would look at an issue like this to point at how ridiculous Aquaman is, but not this guy.  This is why I love him.  Stories like this are so much fun and just put a smile on my face.  I would kill for some of this kind of silly fun once in a while nowadays, but sadly, writers want to make Aquaman "legit" and thus leave the spirit of the character in their wake.

Bits and Pieces:

This is the kind of issue that makes people fall in love with classic comics!  Goofy and campy and just awesome. it is pure Aquaman and loving it is not a guilty pleasure since I don't feel guilty at all.

9.0/10