Before the Fantastic Four, there were the Challengers of the Unknown. What you may not have known was that the Fantastic Four wasn’t the only quartet to emulate the Challengers. Prepare to meet The Sea Devils! Your Major Spoilers Retro Review of Showcase #27 awaits!

SHOWCASE #27

Writer:  Robert Kanigher
Penciler: Russ Heath
Inker: Russ Heath
Colorist: Uncredited
Letterer: Gaspar Saladino
Editor: Robert Kanigher
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: 10 Cents
Current Near-Mint Pricing: $1,300.00
Release Date: May 26, 1960

Previously in Showcase: After kickstarting the Silver Age of Comics with the debut of Barry Allen, following that with a revival of Challengers of the Unknown, a new Green Lantern, and the glory that was Space Ranger, DC’s premier anthology title could have gone anywhere. But, like a pirate, they chose the sea.

Our story begins with a sunken treasure and a young skindiver named Dane Dorrance.

As he heads down into the ocean, Dane has a flashback to his frogman father, who was active in the Second World War, befitting a character written by Kanigher, whose other creations included The Unknown Soldier, Enemy Ace, and The Losers. As he descends to the wreck, Dane gets distracted for just a moment and almost misses the presence of a great white shark, only to be saved by a mysterious female diver.

Judy Walton’s appearance, like the rest of the issue, is absolutely beautifully rendered by Russ Heath, an artist whose realism makes this book stand out from other examples of this sort of Four-Temperament Ensemble. Indeed, for the longest time, I only really knew the Sea Devils from the beautifully rendered covers. Dane and Judy team up to frighten off the shark, then descend further towards the wreck, only to run afoul of a giant octopus! Fortunately, another diver is seeking the riches as well. Biff Bailey may not be the brightest bulb, and he may be the proverbial clumsy ox on land, but in the water, he is as graceful as any fish.

The erstwhile Sea Devils frighten off the eight-legged interloper, finally making their way to the treasure. Having fought off the greatest fish and the most powerful mollusc, there clearly can’t be any bigger threats in sto–

Oh, wait, no. There’s a kaiju.

The attack of “Gold-zilla” damages Judy’s air hose, forcing her and Dane to carefully ascend while sharing his breathing apparatus. They nearly fall prey to the slashing claws, but fortunately, Judy’s daredevil little brother Johnny Storm Nicky arrives with a speargun, shooting the attacking giant and distracting it. The entire team unites to get Judy to safety, then Dane and Biff join forces to lure the creature into the path of an abandoned mine. The resulting explosion knocks Dane unconscious, but the four divers unite to get to Judy’s boat, where they officially meet.

I don’t know why, but the “Flipper High-Five” makes me laugh. It’s one of those earnest bits that you get out of the Silver Age, and especially Kanigher-era Silver Age stories, and it’s kind of a perfect ending for this efficient little tale. The Sea Devils starred in two more issues of Showcase before graduating to their own book, which lasted for 35 issues. Still, Showcase #27 is probably my favorite of their appearances, featuring the combination of incredibly well-drafted, beautiful Heath art and one of Kanigher’s effective, minimalist scripts, pulling together for 4 out of 5 stars overall. Sadly, the Sea Devils were seldom seen after the end of their solo title in 1967, disappearing for over a decade before eventually ending up as recurring supporting characters for Aquaman.

That’s really a shame, as well. Like so many of the non-costumed adventurers of the Silver Age, they have never had the same success out of their era, but their schtick is unique and engaging.

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SHOWCASE #27

83%

83%

Absolutely Beautiful

An interesting take on the "assembling the team" story, with excellent Russ Heath art and underrated characters that no other writer could quite capture.

• Writing

  7
• Art

  9
• Coloring

  9
• User Ratings (0 Votes)
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