The Atlantis Chronicles #1

History

The project originated from editorial discussions between DC vice president Dick Giordano and editor Robert Greenberger about how to rehabilitate and deepen Aquaman's mythology in the post-Crisis DC Universe. The shortlist of writers considered was remarkably deep — including Grant Morrison, John Ostrander, J.M. DeMatteis, Keith Giffen, Roger Stern, Roy Thomas, Dennis O'Neil, Sam Hamm, and others — before the assignment went to Peter David, who was simultaneously writing The Incredible Hulk for Marvel. Spanish artist Esteban Maroto, known for lush, painted fantasy work, was chosen for illustration duties, and the series was produced in a deluxe format on higher-quality paper stock than standard DC monthlies of the era. The first issue included a tongue-in-cheek in-universe framing device: a faux DC internal memo from Giordano to Greenberger asserting that the stories were adaptations of real Atlantean historical manuscripts discovered by a Professor R.K. Simpson of Golden Bough University — a playful meta-fiction that also doubled as an editorial statement of creative intent.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Written by Peter David with art, inks, and cover by Esteban Maroto; logo design by Todd Klein; coloring by Eric Kachelhofer.
• Published March 1990 by DC Comics as issue #1 of a seven-issue limited series (March–September 1990); released in deluxe format.
• The story, titled 'The Deluge,' covers events leading up to the sinking of Atlantis, including King Orin's construction of the protective dome over Poseidonis and the city's destruction by a skull-shaped meteor.
• Issue #1 introduces the core cast of the series: King Orin the First, his brother Shalako, the seer Rajar, and the royal chronicler Albart of Ancinor, who is charged with honestly recording Atlantean history.
• The issue contains a fictional in-universe editorial memo from Dick Giordano to Bob Greenberger, presenting the series as an adaptation of real Atlantean historical documents — a metafictional framing device maintained throughout the run.
• The series across its seven issues introduces the villain Kordax (debuting in issue #4), whose 'Mark of Kordax' curse — associated with blond hair — explains why Aquaman was abandoned at birth; this mythology became foundational to David's 1994 Aquaman ongoing series.
• The complete series was collected in the hardcover Aquaman: The Atlantis Chronicles — Deluxe Edition (DC, November 2017), a 328-page volume; it has also been reprinted in Spanish (ECC Ediciones, 2018) and appeared in the Hachette DC Heroes & Villains partwork collection (2022).
• Characters and plot threads from this series — including Kordax and the ancient rivalry between royal brothers echoing the Aquaman/Ocean Master dynamic — were adapted for the 2023 DCEU film Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

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