Artist – Howard Purcell
Inker – Sheldon Moldoff

At the annual Skin-Divers Ball, the team has dressed up in costume to attend and during a moment, they decide to get their fortunes told. They are given a dire warning, one that they do not believe, as they think the teller is a charlatan. The book then cuts to a man named Krono who sails his ship in conjunction with the oceans and will brook no insubordination. Back to the Devils, they are headed to the latest meeting of the International Sea Devils, where they are told tales of krakens and maelstroms. Again, they pay little heed, thinking they are just stories blown out of proportion. Be that as it may, they head out to investigate and are soon attacked by a kraken, which makes off with Nicky in its tentacles. Just before they can head out to save their compatriot, they are sucked down by a maelstrom and come face-to-face with the man behind it all, Krono. Once again, with an unknown writer, the book starts off strong and sets a good pace. The villain is an interesting one as he is not necessarily a bad guy, simply one who is trying to keep his family’s legacy intact, even if it does all stem from an ancient curse. So while he is not trying to actively be a villain, he is in fact the big bad of this tale, and kidnapping Nicky does not prove otherwise. He is also trying to prevent his family’s ancient shipwreck from being disturbed, thereby activating the curse if it is, and yet there is a capsule that needs to stay in place to detect undersea earthquakes. This is where the friction between the two parties comes to a head, and the rest of the book finds them at odds, especially when the Devils are unknowingly exposed to a hypnotic spell courtesy of Krono that makes their insecurities come to the top. It sets them against themselves, and they find that they are having the hardest of times overcoming those doubts that plague them. Such as it is though, the team have been doing this for a long time and they know that no matter the obstacle, they must overcome to make things safe for those that traverse the seas. The end of the book comes fast enough, and artists Howard Purcell and Sheldon Moldoff make it as exciting as they can. The team wins of course and they do so with a bit of trickery, but a win is a win, and Krono is defeated, at least for today.

3 out of 5