Writer – Ed Herron
Artist – Irv Novick

The Davy is an award given to divers who perform feats of incredible bravery and in this particular tale, the Sea Devils are presented with them for doing what they do best. All but Nicky that is. It leaves a sour taste in the mouth to see one’s peers get an award for doing the same thing that you do on a daily basis and Nicky is not so much angry about it as he is disappointed. Nicky wants a Davy and Biff, Judy and Dane can all see that. The team decides that they are going to help Nicky get one of his own and throughout the book, create scenarios where Nicky can be the hero. As events play out, Nicky discovers that each rescue has been rigged in his favour, that they have all been set-ups and it makes Nicky angry because he so desperately wants to prove himself. The team’s teen swears that if he cannot earn himself a Davy, he will resign from the Sea Devils because he obviously does not deserve to be there. As the book progresses, the team faces a threat that they cannot overcome, at least until Nicky gets involved and as one might guess, when all is said and done, Nicky does indeed earn his Davy award. It might have made for a better story if the book had gone in the other direction though this could very well have been the last issue of the story given the team was sure to perish at the hands of the magnetic monster. As such, there is a happy ending from writer Ed Herron and truly, who would want it otherwise? If there was a negative to this book, it was the fact that Herron would make Nicky look somewhat juvenile with his whining and so forth. In every other issue of the series, despite being the youngest of the Sea Devils, one would never guess or even care so much how old Nicky was. Here, he was directly in the spotlight and he seemed out of character. On the flip side, one could also say that he was perfectly in character and that every other appearance by Nicky were those that failed to show just who and what he is which is a kid. All of that aside, the issue was packed with action and Herron, with the help of artist Irv Novick, would keep things rolling along at a fairly good pace. With the introduction of each new threat, things would get a little more interesting until the final monster’s reveal and while it would look a little silly, especially given all that had come before in the series, it was also par for the course. In the end, the makers of this tale made it a fun ride and that is all that really matters.

3 out of 5