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Early Days of Aquaman and Firestorm – FIRE AND WATER #20

Firestorm and Aquaman: The Fire and Water PodcastThe 20th episode of THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST is now available for your listening pleasure! THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST is the official podcast of FIRESTORM FAN and THE AQUAMAN SHRINE.

This episode Rob and Shag discuss the early days of our favorite characters! We start with Aquaman’s first appearance in More Fun Comics #73 (Nov. 1941) and continue through More Fun Comics #81 (July 1942). Then we move on to Firestorm’s first appearance in Firestorm #1 (March 1978) and finish up with the unpublished issue, Firestorm #6. The podcast wraps up with your listener feedback!

Aquaman's first appearance in More Fun Comics #73 Spash Page - Millennium Edition

Firestorm's first appearance in Firestorm vol 1, issue #1, page 1 by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom

You can find the 20th episode of THE FIRE AND WATER PODCAST on iTunes. While you’re there, please drop us a review on the iTunes page. Every comment helps! Alternatively, you may download the podcast by right-clicking here, choosing “Save Target/Link As”, and selecting a location on your computer to save the file (43 MB).

As always, thanks to my co-host Rob Kelly, Sea King of THE AQUAMAN SHRINE, for doing all the post-production on these episodes! Intro theme, “That Time is Now,” by Michael Kohler. Special thanks to Daniel Adams and his band The Bad Mamma Jammas for our fantastic original closing theme!

Have a question or comment? Send us an e-mail at: firewaterpodcast@comcast.net

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7 Comments

  1. Frank says:

    The content was so carefully bifurcated this podcast, I decided my comments should follow suit…

    F1. As I’ve mentioned at times on DC Bloodlines, as a kid I was really drawn to Al Milgrom’s storytelling, though not so much his style (especially as I got older and better processed more complex visuals.)
    F2. Nobody wants a nuked Twinkie, Shag. If it isn’t well preserved out of the bag, warming it won’t help.
    F3. Killer Frost is one of the few villains who elevates Firestorm. Conway took the Spider-Man villain riff way too far with the animal themed underpowered threats, a trend Frost bucked.
    F4. I thought there were only, like, 35 copies of Canceled Comics Cavalcade?
    F5. Could we fans of the Fire and Water Podcast be “Steamers,” or is that just me?
    F6. I like how you didn’t feel the need to differentiate “Fury of Firestorm” #14-18 from the current volume. Man/Men is a subtle difference, but lets be honest, September should help keep the distinction clear.

  2. Martin Stein RIP says:

    Hey Shag!

    Enjoyed the “early days” podcast thoroughly. Just one thing, though….

    I’m pretty sure that Martin Stein’s arch-nemesis is named DANton Black, not DALton Black. But I agree that Killer Frost is sexy and Doreen is a loathesome character. She and Cliff deserved each other in the end. “Oh no! Ronnie’s going to kill me!” What an idiot. Lorraine stood by Ronnie and Doreen ditched him like a ditch-digger. I was glad that Lorraine developed a relationship with Ronnie in the end (only to have the Elemental storyline disrupt that). But I do think one of the lamentable aspects of the current continuity is the end of Lorraine’s character as Firehawk. (Who the hell is Therese?)

  3. rob! says:

    but lets be honest, September should help keep the distinction clear.

    Ouch!

  4. Luke says:

    Definitely enjoyed this episode! I have the Firestorm trade, and its on my “to read” pile; I probably should move it up a few spots, heh! I have not read the early Aquaman stories because of their non-reprinted status, but they sound like standard sort of Golden Age stories. I have been reading the Golden Age Hawkman stories, so I think I know about what to expect!

    I loved the Batman, Robin, and Batgirl PSA, I have seen that one before but it was still funny to hear it again. I keep expecting either Batman to growl “Fighting crime is it’s own reimbursement!” or Robin to exclaim “You’re getting paid?!” LOL!

    You SOBs better not cover Gentleman Ghost, dammit! 😉 Everyone loves Gentleman Ghost!

    Also, I wanted to just add that “megadeath” is an actual (though outdated) unit of measure. It dates to 1953 and is defined as “The death of one million persons, as a measure of the effectiveness of nuclear weapons.” Considering the proliferation of Firestorms, it’s only a matter of time before something really bad goes down. (And yes the band Megadeth took it’s name from this word.)

  5. Shag says:

    Thanks so much for the feedback! Be sure to check out the next episode, coming REAL soon, as we share tons of feedback from the EARLY DAYS episode!

  6. I finally read the TPB of the early FIRESTORM issues and it left me feeling….vindicated? I really liked the Spider-Man-ness of the character in his first solo series….he was a high school kid with father problems, girl-friend problems, secret identity problems….it was good. Really good. (Not a fan of Jack Abel, though)

    And then he joined the JLA, and it all went to hell.

    Here’s a full-time student sharing a mind with an alcoholic scientist, and the JLA asks him to join their ranks? After, what, two adventures with Superman? That seems a tad premature. And he does!!
    Firestorm should have STAYED more similar to Spider-Man, and NOT joined the JLA. I can understand Conway’s reasons for using him, but character-wise, it was wrong. Never liked him after that.

    Now, specific questions. 1. Whatever happaned to the private detective? 2. Whatever happened to the Shines? 3. Was Summer Day the Hyena? Seemed to be the way it was pointing…however, if Hyena was not wearing a suit (he was organic material) I guess it wasn’t Summer. But if Hyena was a man, was everyone seeing his little hyena, even though it was blackened out so we couldnt’ see it? I always thought it was a suit, but now I ‘m confused. Odd character, either way. 4. What was the whole Principal/Ronnie’s dad thing? Did that ever get resolved?

    Can you tell me, or point me in the direction of where I might be able to find these things out?

  7. Shag says:

    Russell – Thanks for the great feedback and questions! Sorry it’s taken me so long to get back with you.

    1. Whatever happened to the private detective?
    I’m not 100% sure, but I believe the Private Detective thing faded away after the first volume of Firestorm (the first half of the trade paperback). Once Ronnie revealed the truth about Firestorm to the Professor, the detective was no longer necessary.

    2. Whatever happened to the Shines?
    The Shine family returned in FIRESTORM vol II and were handled much more dramatically. I recommend you check out issues #14-18, plus Annual #1. Well worth your time!

    3. Was Summer Day the Hyena?
    Do you REALLY want me to spoil this? REALLY? Well… a quick Google search will answer the question anyway. So… yes, Summer was the Hyena. Now you’ll have to get the rest of the FLASH back-up stories and FIRESTORM vol II #10-13 for the rest of the details! :)

    4. What was the whole Principal/Ronnie’s dad thing? Did that ever get resolved?
    See the aforementioned FIRESTORM vol II #14-18, plus Annual #1. Seriously, this is a great story!

    Thanks again!

    Shag

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