Writer – Robert Kanigher
Artist – Irv Novick

In this issue, the Sea Devils take on their most unusual mission yet as they agree to be guinea pigs testing the effects of nitrogen narcosis, at least in part. They are to spend as much time as possible in an airtight house under the sea, living their lives as normal aside from the fact that they cannot leave and they cannot surface unless it is a medical emergency or they can no longer physically or mentally do it. The team finds it interesting and they are all for pushing their boundaries and limits so they agree to do it and things go well for a while. Tensions rise though, as things would when stuck with the same people in the same house all of the time with nowhere to go and being underwater with the pressure of the ocean on top of them is only making things worse. Attitudes have turned sour and while they are not necessarily fighting with each other, it is only a matter of time. Thankfully, or not, that never happens as outside forces look to disturb their experiment. The first to come knocking looks to be a Pteranadon as strange as it might seem and it leads to tragedy as Biff loses his life. The next to fall is Nicky as a kaiju/dinosaur attacks. Not long after, Judy sacrifices her life to save Dane, giving him the life-saving oxygen he needs to live after a sea giant busts open their dome. Making this all as exciting as can be is Robert Kanigher and Irv Novick and the two make for an excellent duo that can make any scenario work in numerous ways as proven here. What makes this even more thrilling is that the Devils are impaired as they face off against these menaces, their mental faculties not being where they should be and putting them at a disadvantage. All of this eventually comes down to Dane and just when he is about to fall, he comes to his senses and realizes that he was hallucinating, that they were all hallucinating and that things, such as they are, are okay. The experiment, for what it was, was a success – at least depending on how one looks at it. The Sea Devils were down on the ocean floor for a long time and when it comes down to it, perhaps far too long but they accomplished what they set out to do and Kanigher and Novick did the same by crafting a tale unlike any other in this book thus far. Not every story can have the team battling all manner of outlandish creatures, though they did that here too and so this story was a little refreshing to see something a bit different than usual.

3.5 out of 5