I heard about Atlantis for the first time when I watched Family Classics with Frazier Thomas, a show on channel 9 which showcased family friendly adventure films like Mysterious Island and Swiss Family Robinson. The stories always seemed to have some decent and some bad people who have to fight off monsters when they are stranded in some hidden remote hellholes. Some of the special effects were good for their time, and they were more moralistic than most modern sci-fi adventures. Here’s the intro for Family Classics.
On that series they showed Atlantis the Lost Continent (1961). I rewatched the film a few years back and I thought it was fun in a ridiculous way with cheesy special effects. But I can’t quite call it a good film. The script’s pretty mediocre and I the narration and dialogue consists almost completely of clichés. I’m pretty sure the disintegrating rays and the half human half animal creatures did not come from any classical sources.
There was also an obscure and unsuccessful sci-fi/action series titles Man from Atlantis starring the world renowned classically trained actor Patrick Duffy (just kidding). They made four made for TV films and just 13 regular episodes in 1977.
Here’s the promo:
Go here for the pilot http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2sksoi.
Both DC and Marvel comics have major characters that are half Atlantean /half human hybrids. It is widely believed that Aquaman was copied from Marvel’s Submariner which was created by Bill Everett. The Submariner (also called Namor) debuted in 1939, a full two years before Aquaman.
Submariner was one of the big three Marvel heroes in the 40’s (along with the original Human Torch and Captain America) when Marvel was still called Timely, and there were even some Submariner cartoons in the 60’s which featured some of the worse animation I have ever seen. At the time their idea of animation was reproduce comic panels and just move them a little bit on TV.
The great thing about Namor is that he followed his own needs and the needs of his subjects so he often found himself at odds with humankind or the surface world. He could either be a great ally or foe to other superheroes.
Often he attacked surface dwellers for causing pollution and illness in his undersea kingdom. At times he even teamed up with Marvel’s best bad guy, Dr. Doom when it served his needs, and they even co-starred together in a comic in the 70s called Supervillain Teamup.
But in the long run DC’s Aquaman ended up being more successful. Submariner was recently rather unceremoniously killed by the Squadron Supreme (marvel’s analogue to the JLA) after he destroyed a planet to save the earth. This might have something to do with the fact that there is some question as to whether Marvel owns the movie rights to him. See http://kotaku.com/marvel-comics-version-of-the-justice-league-just-kille-1748345199.
In contrast Aquaman has been a long standing member of DC’s best super team, the JLA (I still don’t consider the Authority to be DC) and he even had a cameo scene in the recent (and quite atrocious) Batman vs Superman film, and he is going to be in the upcoming JLA film.
Despite this Aquaman has been the butt of jokes on sitcoms such as Big Bang Theory and Family Guy by people who don’t seem to understand the scope of his powers or his importance in the JLA universe or maybe they just wanted a cheap laugh.
In the comics he can telepathically communicate with most of the animals in water including whales and he is immensely strong (although he is not as strong as Namor.)
Or check out this one.
He also has durability, he can swim super-fast and he has an indestructible trident. I never read Aquaman much, but I enjoyed The Atlantis Chronicles which was well written by Peter David and gorgeously illustrated by the Spanish comics master, Esteban Marota. Later David did a great run on the Aquaman series which I recommend (I have not read the issues since they were published in the 90’s.)
There was even a weird, sneaky, unofficial Submariner/Aquaman crossover. Steve Skeates wrote a two part Aquaman story for DC in 1971, but the book was cancelled before the second part could come out.
Three years later Skeates was working for Marvel and he converted the unpublished Aquaman story into a Submariner tale and there is even a cameo in the Submariner part by Aquaman’s finger. See http://www.dialbforblog.com/archives/162/ on Aquaman #56 and Sub-Mariner #72.
There was an official crossover event between the two characters in 1996 in which Aquaman had to fight the far more powerful Namor and Aquaman defeated him by crushing Namor with a whale.
Many comic fans may not know that some ancient Greeks actually believed in Atlantis (perhaps under a different name) and they spoke of an island or continent that sank in a calamity without a trace. A great island with an empire is mentioned in Plato’s Dialogues, and it was supposedly sunk from earthquakes and/or it was destroyed by floods. The story can be seen as a parable about the dangers of decadence. The Greek gods were as wrathful as the Old Testament God and they may have punished the people for their decadent ways.
Some scholars believe the source for the Atlantis legend was the Minoan eruption that damaged Santorini, a real Greek island that was obliterated.
One text also says that Poseidon begat children with mortal women. Since he is depicted with a tail, this may have led to the tales of mermaids or mer people. Believe it or not some people still believe these creatures exist, and a clip debunked a recent documentary.
One of my favorite shows about a mermaid was a Night Gallery episode in which a lonely man falls for a dying mermaid called Lindemann’s Catch which is available for viewing on Hulu.
And who can forget the obscure horror fantasy film Night Tide which starred a very young Dennis Hopper (he also was in the vampire space film Queen of Blood which may have influenced Alien.} Then there is also Little Mermaid and Splash.
I used to have a friend named Doug who moved away many years ago. He was an adherent of the occult religious leader named Edgar Cayce who allegedly saw details of Atlantis in his psychic visions.
Cayce believed that in the days of Atlantis, life was dominated by what he called Psychic science and that there were people both far bigger and smaller than the ones of today.
Note: Sun Ra also produced a great album called Atlantis in 1969 which introduced the clavinet to jazz. It was later used to great effect by Stevie Wonder. I’m not sure if he believed in the historical existence of the island.
***Speaking of comics there is going to be a big underground comic festival this weekend that will take place. Here’s some info straight from the CAKE website
The Chicago Alternative Comics Expo (CAKE) is a weekend-long celebration of independent comics, inspired by Chicago’s rich legacy as home to many of underground and alternative comics’ most talented artists–past, present, and future. Featuring comics for sale, workshops, exhibitions, panel discussions, and more, CAKE is dedicated to fostering community and dialogue among independent artists, small presses, publishers, and readers.
The fifth annual CAKE will take place Saturday, June 11, and Sunday, June 12, 2016, at the Center on Halsted, 3656 North Halsted Avenue in Chicago. For any questions about CAKE, please email cakexpo@gmail.com.
Special guests will include Chester Brown, Tyrell Cannon, Ezra Clayton Daniels, Sammy Harkham, Cathy G Johnson, Patrick Kyle, Laura Park, Trina Robbins, and Leslie Stein.
One of the names that immediately leaped out at me was Trina Robbins. She has worked on Wonder Woman, Women’s Comix (I have a few issues and it was a very daring feminist alternative book), Tits & Clits Comix, Honey West, and the short lived Dark Horse book Go Girl which was beautifully illustrated by Anne Timmons.
She even designed the costume for Vampirella (I just love the old black and white Warren magazines and everyone should read some old issues of Creepy, Eerie and Blazing Combat.) Somehow the Dark Horse revivals of the Warren books have disappointed me but I love Creeps. See http://thecreepsmagazine.com/.
A few years back I went to CAKE and local psychedelic legend Plastic Crime wave drew a flattering sketch of me that I still have.
