On a whim, I had been dredging the memory banks to recall Aquaman, a DC comic-book hero of my childhood, for an editorial. What should land on my desk out of the blue the very next day but his modern counterpart, Marineman!
Marineman is the brainchild of Ian Churchill, a Sussex-based British diver and clearly a gifted professional comic-book illustrator.
The fact that he has worked regularly over 15 years for both DC and Marvel, inking Batman, Superman, Hulk and X-Men among others, makes it clear that he’s the real deal.
Marineman is a very personal creation, as Ian conceived the character when he was just eight, and some early drawings are included. MM, aka Steve Ocean, is an improbably muscled diver, marine biologist and TV presenter with a passing resemblance to Gavin Henson, though there are hints that he possesses diving powers beyond the normal, to be revealed in later editions.
Ian Churchill wants to raise awareness of the underwater world among comic-book readers, and whatever Mr Ocean proves to be, the script is fun and solidly based, dipping into tonic immobility among sharks and freediving theory in the first edition, and managing to entertain and inform in equal measure.
The main thing is that the high-quality artwork is irresistible, whether you’re a little kid or a big kid like me. Marineman is published in California but also on sale in the UK. Try it.
Steve Weinman
Image Comics
www.ianchurchillsmarineman.com
Softback, 36pp, £2.70
