Ripples Through Time - 037

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.

Adventure #103 (April 1946) - Footsteps in the Ocean!

Aquaman finds giant footprints on the ocean floor and a challenge for battle from a sea giant, but his suspicion leads him to discover the truth.

Finally done with the More Fun issues, I've moved into the Adventure Comics. Aquaman was a stalwart in Adventure Comics for 15 years, from this story until 1961. He never made the cover, but he appeared in the vast majority of issues, only missing a few appearances, including the time the Shining Knight replaced him on alternate issues for a year. This run consists of 171 stories and included the change of Aquaman's uniform from yellow gloves to green, the introduction of Topo and Aqualad, and Aquaman's new Silver Age origin.

This is a two-part story. First we get the mystery of the footprints, which we quickly learn were hoaxed (by the 3rd page), then the mystery of the coral sign, which is answered by Chang. This is the first story to talk about the end of WWII, as Chang's duty is to return the treasures of China from the safekeeping they were put in during the war. After the hook of the giant footprints, it's a pretty straightforward tale.

Finny Friends Report: Aquaman asks his finny friends if they've seen a giant, and when they say they haven't, he sticks around and learns he was hoaxed. After freeing Chang, he summons a group of swordfish and octopus who battle the badguys, dig out the treasure, and get Chang back to the mainland.

Captured/Knocked Out report: Aquaman is never captured or knocked out in this story.

Quotefile: Challenge of the Sea Giant: "Aquaman, I defy you! I dare you to follow my tracks 1,000 miles to the deepest sunken valleys of the Indian Ocean! There we'll battle for the supremacy of the seas."

Have you read this story? What do you think?