It’s a summer Saturday — let’s go swimming!
It’s Saturday. It’s the summer. Let’s go swimming with the Sea Devils!
I love the Sea Devils, especially this time of year, when their stories resonate all the more. Of the Silver Age adventurers who don’t wear capes or masks, the Sea Devils are my faves — the whole underwater schtick is endlessly appealing — and their covers are some of the grooviest of the era, especially when Jack Adler did his washtone color effects.
We put the underwater spotlight on them a couple years ago, but I was moved to do so again this year because I just recently happened to go scuba diving for the first time in my life, when visiting Australia in April. At the Great Barrier Reef, no less!
So dig these 13 COVERS — all of which are different from the ones we celebrated in 2024.
Keep the water out of your mask, now!
Russ Heath, with Adler washes
Heath and Adler
Purcell. Colorist unconfirmed.
Heath and Adler
Purcell. Colorist unconfirmed.
Purcell and Adler
Purcell. Colorist unconfirmed.
Purcell. Colorist unconfirmed.
Purcell and Adler
Purcell. Colorist unconfirmed.
Heath and Adler
Heath and Adler
Purcell and Adler
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MORE
— Dig These Utterly Gorgeous 13 SEA DEVILS COVERS. Click here.
— 13 BLACK MANTA COVERS: Because It’s HOT and It’s Summer. Click here.
July 25, 2026
Oh this is fun! I love this artwork! Yeah, these comics would be perfect poolside reading!
July 25, 2026
Those covers are absolutely stunning!
I can’t believe I’d never heard of Sea Devils before.
July 25, 2026
Had the opportunity to read a few issues of Sea Devils a few summers back (what timing!) and can’t remember ever being so … what’s the right word … charmed by a particular title. Just an incredibly fun read. The irony is 9-year-old me wouldn’t have touched a copy with a 10-foot harpoon gun (Sea Devils had no cache among my peers). If you get a chance to buy a copy, or even two, it will be money well spent. Hint: buy it during the summer.
July 25, 2026
Enjoyable book with good art. DC did a novel thing and had 5 different artists “compete” to draw Sea Devils after Russ Heath left. Joe Kubert, Gene Colan, Irv Novick, Jack Able and Ross Andru and Mike Esposito all drew stories and themselves into their stories. I’m not sure if they ever announced a winner but they all did good jobs.
July 25, 2026
I ended up saving I guess all of the cover images of SEA DEVILS from online in 2021 for some reason. It also got me to save more Adler graytone DC covers, too. I assume there was an article back then.
July 26, 2026
Now HERE’S a book that deserves some facsimile reprints!