Sub-Mariner #17
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeSub-Mariner #17 launches one of the most consequential multi-issue story arcs in Namor's Silver Age run: the first appearance of Dynorr the Stalker and the entire Alpha Centaurian race, extraterrestrial water-thieves whose scheme to drain Earth's oceans sets Roy Thomas's plotting machine into high gear. The arc that begins here culminates in a permanent, lasting change to the character — the aliens surgically seal Namor's gills, temporarily stripping him of his ability to breathe underwater, a power-loss subplot that threads through issues #18–22 and forces writers to explore Namor in a genuinely vulnerable, landbound state. That willingness to disrupt a character's core biology for sustained narrative tension was still relatively rare in late-1960s Marvel, making this issue a quiet but meaningful creative landmark in how the series handled long-form consequence. It also marks the debut of the traitorous Atlantean priest Kormok, whose betrayal deepens the internal politics of Atlantis beyond the typical external-threat formula.
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The issue was written by Roy Thomas, who had been the primary architect of Namor's solo series since its 1968 launch, and carries a cover date of September 1969 with an on-sale date of June 10, 1969. The credited penciller is Marie Severin, who had returned to Sub-Mariner as the series' regular artist in 1968 and would hold that role through early 1970; however, Grand Comics Database research by Nick Caputo (documented September 2014) established that Jack Katz — credited in the indicia under the pseudonym 'Jay Hawk' — actually pencilled most or all of the interiors, with Severin contributing extensive alterations, particularly to depictions of the Sub-Mariner and the action sequences. Inker Mike Esposito is similarly credited under a house pseudonym ('Joe Gaudioso'), a common late-1960s Marvel practice, while Severin handled both cover art and coloring duties, and Art Simek lettered the issue under editor Stan Lee.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Dynorr the Stalker (villain), a warlord of the Alpha Centaurian race, created by Roy Thomas and Marie Severin.
- First appearance of the Alpha Centaurians as a species — humanoid, aquatic beings native to Arima, the third planet orbiting Alpha Centauri A — who make their Marvel Universe debut here as antagonists seeking to steal Earth's water.
- First appearance of Yennon and Kormok; Kormok is a traitorous Atlantean high priest who betrays Namor to the alien invaders, adding a court-intrigue dimension to the Atlantis cast.
- The issue's plot kicks off the 'Stalker' arc spanning issues #17–18, in which Namor is abducted into space and the aliens surgically close his gills — a change that renders him unable to breathe underwater for several subsequent issues (#18–22).
- Written by Roy Thomas; cover art, colors, and credited pencils by Marie Severin; interior pencils principally by Jack Katz (credited as 'Jay Hawk'), with Severin's extensive reworking; inks by Mike Esposito (credited as 'Joe Gaudioso'); lettered by Art Simek; edited by Stan Lee.
- Cover date: September 1969. Release date: June 10, 1969. Published by Magazine Management Co. Inc. (Marvel's corporate parent at the time). 21 story pages.
- Story title: 'From the Stars — the Stalker!' Namor guest-stars alongside Triton of the Inhumans, continuing the Namor/Triton team-up thread that Roy Thomas had been building across the series.
- The issue has been reprinted in: El Príncipe de la Atlántida (La Prensa, Mexico, 1969); I Fantastici Quattro #73 (Editoriale Corno, Italy, 1974); Eclipso #56 (Arédit-Artima, France, 1975, in black-and-white); Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner Vol. 4 (2011); and Namor, the Sub-Mariner Epic Collection Vol. 3 — Who Strikes for Atlantis? (2022).
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Reprinted in I Fantastici Quattro #73 (1974), Eclipso #56 (1975), Spider-Man Comic #315 (1979), Spider-Man Comic #318 (1979), Spider-Man Comic #319 (1979), Spider-Man Comic #320 (1979), Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner #4 (2011), Namor, the Sub-Mariner Epic Collection #3 (2022), El Príncipe de la Atlántida #25
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