Aquaman Vol. 15

This volume is the fifteenth installment of the "Aquaman" series, corresponding to issue #15 of Aquaman Volume 6 (serialized from 2003), the first part of the six-issue story arc "American Tidal." It was published by DC Comics on February 11, 2004, written by Will Pfeifer, with interior art by Patrick Gleason and inks by Christian Alamy. The story opens with a devastating earthquake and the ensuing tsunami sinking the coast of San Diego, California, beneath the sea and killing thousands—one of the worst disasters in American history, broadcast live by the media. Arthur Curry (Aquaman) immediately dives into the flooded city ruins to search for survivors and finally surfaces before the cameras to declare, "There are no survivors." Yet days later, a boy who cannot speak and can only utter low hums crawls ashore from the waters at the disaster's center; he is taken to a hospital and dies. During the autopsy, doctors find that his body shows no sign of decay and is still repairing itself, that his stomach holds intact fish bones and half-digested fish, and that his throat has grown gills. Aquaman concludes that the boy did not die from drowning but died because he left the water. The disaster reveals a sunken city and a population able to survive only underwater, and it leaves Aquaman with a new responsibility to govern and protect this underwater district. This volume is only the opening of "American Tidal"; the ensuing dialogue and conflict will unfold across volumes 16 to 20.