Friday, May 25, 2012

The Sea Devils!


This is one of those collections I've been waiting for ever since it was evident that DC wanted to get their vintage material into cheap collections good for reading. The Challengers of the Unknown, the Doom Patrol, and now The Sea Devils have seen significant reprint collections and it's a cornucopia of reading for fans who were like myself too young the time, and now too cheap to afford the back issues or the color collections. Those outstanding covers have been calling to me for decades. It's good to at last answer than call.

From a distance the stories appear to a mash up of Sea Hunt, the old TV show starring Lloyd Bridges and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. Lots of giant monsters against mere men. The covers are justifiably famous for their craft and for their sheer dynamic power. These are stories which demand to be read.

And it doesn't hurt that Russ Heath, the primary artist on this series has work that looks outstanding in black and white. The wacky scripts are by Robert Kanigher and France Herron. The later issues feature great try-outs by other DC artists, a nifty way to showcase (living up to its name) these fantastic talents. Irv Novick, Gene Colan, Ross Andru, Joe Kubert, Jack Abel, and others all show up in this highly recommended collection.

Here are the issues included in this volume.




















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4 comments:

  1. Yeah, this one I plan to get.

    When I was a kid, they often ran Sea Devils reprints in the 100-pagers, and I always loved them. Plus, you know, Heath.

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  2. I read that Rip Hunter is upcoming. With Dial H for Hero, the Doom Patrol, and lots of the Challs in print, I'm pretty happy. I'd love a good Space Ranger collection too before too long, and another Adam Strange would be sweet.

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  3. These covers are stunning! I genuinely haven't been this impressed by vintage comics for a long time.

    I have fond memories of Space Ranger, whom I first discovered in my older cousin's Silver Age collection in the very early 70s.

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  4. The Sea Devil covers are among the best in the history of comics.

    Space Ranger never got the love that Adam Strange did, but his adventures can be danged fun.

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