Writer – Bob Haney
Artist – Chic Stone
Inker – Sheldon Moldoff

In this final issue of the Sea Devils, Bob Haney takes the reins and leads the team into danger, or more specifically, Dane. What turns out to be a routine investigation turns into the fantastical as it looks as if Dane has transformed into a gigantic, alien creature, and it is up to Biff, Nick and Judy to try and save their teammate – if he can be saved. It is all quite hectic and a bit traumatic, but Biff believes he has things in hand, and his teammates are only too willing to let him take the lead, as they have no idea what to do. Meanwhile, Dane, or the alien who is purported to be Dane, is wreaking havoc everywhere it goes. It comes to a point where the Navy and the Army are going to have to put the creature down to protect the civilian population, despite knowing that it could be Dane underneath it all. Everything ultimately leads the team down one path: to save Dane, no matter what happens. Whether due to Haney or not, this last issue has everything that one loves to see in this book – a mystery, a crazy creature, the team working together as one and a daring rescue. There is also the obligatory happy ending, something the book has never done without and really, why start now? Haney does a great job with this tale, with the man understanding exactly what the Sea Devils are about, and he packs it full of drama and tension, not to mention a fair amount of action, which is brought to life by Chic Stone and Sheldon Moldoff. Not only does the team save their leader, Dane, but they also manage to save the Earth in the process, something they have done many a time before. Despite the uncomplicated, straight-up fun story that Haney told here, it would have been nice to see a couple of long-running plot threads tied up before saying goodbye. The first and second of these go hand in hand and concern Dane’s father and the creature called Manfish. They are both probably somewhere in the ocean doing whatever it is they’re doing, most likely at each other’s throats, but it would have been good to see a definitive ending for the two of them, if not a happy one. As far as this issue goes when compared with the rest of the series, it was a good one, better than some, not as good as others and slightly repetitive where it came to the baddie, but all in all, it did what was needed and delivered it in the best of fashions. A solid end to a pretty good series overall, and it is somewhat sad that there would be no more issues to follow.

3.5 out of 5