‘Aquaman: Undertow’ Prequel Novel Announced

A new, young-adult novel from HarperCollins will explore the teen years of Arthur Curry as he appears in the forthcoming James Wan movie Aquaman.

In the novel, Arthur deals with being a weird kid who is cast out of his peer group for his fascination with sea life, before he starts to get answers to some of the questions that have dogged him since he was a toddler.

The trailer for the film, released last month, hinted at some of this backstory, and particularly of young Arthur’s “outsider” status. While HarperCollins stops short of identifying the novel as taking place specifically within the continuity of the movie, the cover bills Undertow as “inspired by the feature film.”

Undertow is written by Steve Behling, known for his adaptations and expansions of stories like Ant-Man and the Wasp and TV’s Paw Patrol. Some illustrations are provided by Daniel Burgess.

You an see the official synopsis for the novel, which is already availlable for preorder, below. Aquaman: Undertow will be available in stores and online on November 6. Pre-ordering the book from the HarperCollins website costs $12.99 in hardcover of $8.99 for ebook.

Thirteen-year-old Arthur Curry has enough troubles to sink a ship. His mom left him and his dad when Arthur was only three years old. He doesn’t fit in with the other students at school. To them, he’s just “fish boy,” a weird, freaky kid. But Arthur has a secret. Something so secret, even he doesn’t know what it is.

With the help of his only friend, Claudia, Arthur will begin to learn the truth about his mother, himself, and a legendary world that may actually exist.

Oh, and he learns about octopuses. Octopi. It’s probably octopi, right?

The book will be out shortly before the release of Aquaman in theaters on December 14.

The Worlds of DC films ahead also include Wonder Woman 1984 on Nov. 1, 2019, Shazam on April 5, 2019, Cyborg in 2020, and Green Lantern Corps in 2020, along with numerous undated films in various stages of development. A Joker origin movie starring Joaquin Phoenix is currently in production for an expected 2020 release.