Artist – Howard Purcell
Inker – Sheldon Moldoff

The Manosaur is a figure of myth under the seas, and Dr. Render has made it his life’s mission to find the creature so that he might gain the creature’s power for his own. To that effect, he creates perhaps the perfect ruse to fool everyone, including the Sea Devils. With their help, Rend excavates a robotic Manosaur that he planted on the ocean’s floor sometime previously to create a little havoc so it would put off all other seekers and he would be able to take his time and find the real Manosaur. As Rend puts his plans in motion, it ends up with Judy being kidnapped, where she learns about the man’s intentions, yet she has little to worry about as Man-Fish, Dane, and Captain X look to rescue her from the giant monster. Man-Fish wants Judy for his own. He has lost everything that means anything to him, and Judy is the first thing to stir his heart in a very long time. He still seeks vengeance against Captain X, but removing Dane from the equation is what he needs to accomplish before anything else. Having Manosaur in the picture gives Man-Fish that very opportunity. While there is no credited writer for this issue, like the books that came before it, the artistic team of Howard Purcell and Sheldon Moldoff continue to do a fantastic job on their end, with the artwork being some of their best yet on the series. That is not to say the story is not any good, for it continues the plot threads laid out from quite a while back, those concerning the Man-Fish and Captain X, as well as the romantic triangle consisting of Dane, Judy and Man-Fish. The story is unnecessarily convoluted with the addition of the robotic Manosaur, something that was not needed, but it was fun nonetheless. Like every issue of the Sea Devils, the book is packed with action. It begins from nearly the first page, and it lasts until the final panel after Dane and the rest of the team defeat the monster. Man-Fish is quite jealous and perturbed by the turn of events. He had tried getting rid of Dane more than once but was foiled each and every time, something that weighs on him. Factor in Captain X, whom Man-Fish needs to keep alive if he is ever to be cured of his condition, and it makes for a fairly lousy time all-around. Seeing Captain X risk his life to save Judy was interesting to see, especially as the rest of the team still does not know that he is Dane’s father. Why it must be kept a secret is still somewhat of a problem, for once the team find out, it is hard to predict just how they will react, most especially Judy. Altogether, though, this was quite a fun story, even if some of these plot lines have gone on for a little too long.

3.5 out of 5