Ripples Through Time - 018

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order, one per day. After I read each story I'm going to post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

More Fun #89 (March 1943) - The Streamlined Buccaneers!

Black Jack has gone truly modern, with tommy guns instead of cutlasses and a new-fangled ship with all the latest piratical innovations.

At the beginning of the story, Black Jack and his pirates abandon the old Jolly Roger to go to their new ship, the Jolly Roger II. JRII has a gasoline engine, smoke bombs, and can fly... A new named sea friend is introduced, Slippery the Eel... Ark the Sea Lion, Slippery the Eel - you could make your own set of beanie babies or pokemon out of Aquaman's finny friends... Black Jack tries to drown Aquaman by using a chemical that removes oxygen from water, but Aquaman tricks him into turning on a current, which according to Aquaman produces oxygen from the water by electrolysis... At the end of the story, the Navy finds the original Jolly Roger and uses it to transport Black Jack and his crew to prison.

Finny Friends Report: Aquaman plays tag with a bunch of fish early in the story. Ark the Sea Lion reports the sinking of the first victim. Ark gets a group of manatees to help get the survivors to an island. Ark gets a group of "fierce giant turtles" to assist Aquaman in keeping Black Jack's ship from flying. Aquaman and Slippery the Eel get a group of whales and more eels to attack Black Jack's hideout. The whales use their water spouts to get the eels and Aquaman up into the place, and the eels tie up Black Jack's crew of thugs.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman is captured by a "mechanically thrown lasso" which snags him while he's diving into the water from the flying ship.

Best Quotes: Black Jack: "Aqua-GLUB!"... unnamed pirate on drowning Aquaman: "This is gonna be fun!"

Have you read this story? What do you think?