Sub-Mariner #22 (February, 1970)

Back in September, I wrote about buying and reading my first issue of Sub-Mariner, #20, a mostly done-in-one tale (in keeping with Marvel’s new “no continued stories” policy) which nevertheless ended on an inconclusive note — though Namor, Prince of Atlantis, had escaped the clutches of Doctor Doom, he was still a fugitive in New York City, hunted by the U.S. military as well as by the municipal police, and unable to escape to the ocean depths due to having had his gills surgically closed by a forgettable villain from outer space called (checks notes) the Stalker.  I ended the post by asking the question: would my twelve-year-old self be invested enough in Namor’s plight to come back for issue #21?  On the face of it, it seemed a dubious prospect, as I was becoming somewhat less interested in comics in general around this time.  After all, if I was on the verge of dropping titles I’d been buying regularly for a year or more, including Avengers and Daredevil, what sense would it make for me to start getting involved with yet another series?  Read More