Unpublished Gems: Aquaman

Whether the "King of the Seven Seas" was trapped  in a swarm of undersea vines about to be crushed by a giant foot or either lashed to the sole of a giant sandal about to be smashed, Nick Cardy did a wonderful job on this Aquaman #43 cover for January/February of 1969. Nick Cardy is probably best known for his thirty nine issues on DC's Aquaman where he helped create the King of the Seven Seas lovely wife, Mera, and the evil villain, Ocean Master. His equally successful forty three issue run on National's Teen Titans was also an instant fan favorite, coupled with the artist's uncanny ability to draw very attractive female characters. Cardy's great skill with pen and ink soon made him DC's primary cover artist for the mid-1970s where he illustrated many titles including Superman, Action Comics, The Brave and the Bold, Batman, Flash, Ghosts, The Witching Hour, Bat Lash, Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, World's Finest and numerous 100 Page Giant comics, just to name a few. Perhaps editor Dick Giordano thought the final printed version was more dramatic for the Steve Skeates story "Take a Giant step!", thought I think they are equally effective in the minor changes shown here between the unpublished and published versions of DC's first aquatic character.