Comic Title: Adventure Comics #229
Publisher: DC (National Comics Publications, Inc.)
Address: 480 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY
Cover Date: October 1956
Approx. On Sale Date: August 30, 1956 Copyright Date August 28, 1956
Source: Library of Congress, Periodicals 1956
Until 1958 DC did not report actual on sale dates to the copyright office
The publication dates listed in LoC records are NOT release dates.

Frequency: Monthly
Cover Price: $0.10
Page Count: 32
Editor: Mort Weisinger

Title: "Aquaman's Undersea Partner"
Pages: 6

Feature(s):
Aquaman (of Earth-1)

Artist: Ramona Fradon

Feature Character(s)

• Aquaman (Arthur Curry; first Earth-1 appearance; last appearance in Superboy #171; next appearance in Adventure Comics #230)

Supporting Character(s)

• Topo (not named in this story; next appearance in Adventure Comics #230)

Villain(s)

• Six escaped convicts (no further appearances)

Other Character(s)

• Two Canadian mounties, a ship captain, a swordfish, and a whale (no further appearances)

Comments:
This story features the first appearance of the Earth-1 Aquaman. The Earth-2 Aquaman first appeared in More Fun Comics #73. There is little distinction between the two versions of Aquaman, and there is no mention of alternate versions in the story itself. This story works well as a starting point for the Earth-1 stories, because it introduces Topo, a significant Earth-1 supporting character. No indication of an Earth-2 Topo exists.

Synopsis:
Aquaman holds a contest between three undersea creatures. The winner will be his permanent partner. Each of the three creatures helps Aquaman track down and recapture some escaped convicts. Both the swordfish and the whale perform well, but the octopus seems to make a critical escape on his mission. After the convicts are rounded up, Aquaman realizes the octopus prevented a ship from crashing into an iceberg. The actions of the octopus are rewarded as it becomes Aquaman's new partner.