Sub-Mariner #62
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeSub-Mariner #62 (June 1973) marks the debut of the 'Tales of Atlantis' backup feature — a mythology-forward strip that narrated the ancient origin of Atlantis itself, introducing King Kamuu, Queen Zartra, and the Lemurian enemies whose attack sent the continent beneath the waves. The issue also appeared just weeks after the death of Namor's creator Bill Everett, whose final posthumous plot credit appears here, making it a quiet turning point in the series' creative stewardship. As one of the first regular Marvel backup features devoted entirely to in-universe pre-history, 'Tales of Atlantis' gave the Bronze Age Sub-Mariner series a mythological depth that distinguished it from its superhero peers. The issue also continues the Dr. Hydro / Hydrobase story arc, with Tamara Rahn — the last survivor of the alien Banari race — playing a key supporting role in the main feature.
In the distant past, as the mighty Atlantean Empire crumbles under the weight of its own hubris, the story of *Kamuu's Pyrrhic Victory* unfolds—a tale of ambition, downfall, and the fragile cost of power. Set in a world where ancient empires rise and fall, it follows a lone figure whose triumph comes at a price too heavy to bear.
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Following Bill Everett's declining health, which forced him off the art duties mid-story starting with issue #61, editor Roy Thomas assembled a patchwork creative team for #62: Steve Gerber scripted the dialogue over what was credited posthumously as an Everett plot, with Sam Kweskin and Frank Giacoia handling the main-feature pencils and inks. The 'Tales of Atlantis' backup was plotted and penciled by a then-22-year-old Howard Chaykin — one of his earliest Marvel assignments — and inked by Joe Sinnott, whose heavy house-style inking largely subsumed Chaykin's emerging personal style. Roy Thomas has confirmed in his 2017 introduction to Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner Vol. 8 that the backup feature had been conceived partly as a vehicle to keep Everett connected to the book during his illness, even though his death on February 27, 1973 — just two weeks after the issue went on sale — meant it would carry on without him.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: June 1973 (Marvel Comics, Sub-Mariner Vol. 1 #62); on-sale date confirmed by The Comic Reader #94 as February 1973.
- First appearance of King Kamuu, Queen Zartra, Ocar, Zapal, and the ancient Lemurians in the 'Tales of Atlantis' backup — the origin of Marvel's Atlantis is told for the first time in this issue.
- The 'Tales of Atlantis' backup is written by Steve Gerber and Howard Chaykin, with Chaykin also serving as penciler — one of his first Marvel Comics credits, at age 22.
- Bill Everett (Namor's creator) receives a posthumous 'story' credit; Steve Gerber is credited for 'dialogue' only, reflecting that the plot originated with Everett before his death on February 27, 1973.
- Main feature story title: 'A Realm Besieged!' — continuing the Dr. Hydro / Hydrobase arc that began in issue #61, with Namor defending Atlantis against Dr. Hydro's amphibian army.
- Tamara Rahn (the last survivor of the water-breathing alien Banari race) appears as a supporting character; she had debuted in Sub-Mariner #58 (February 1973), created by Everett, Gerber, and Sam Kweskin.
- Cover art by John Romita Sr.; interior main-feature art by Sam Kweskin (pencils) and Frank Giacoia (inks).
- The issue and surrounding story arc (issues #61–72) are collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner Vol. 8, which also reprints the complete 'Tales of Atlantis' backup run.
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Reprints
Reprinted in I Fantastici Quattro #124 (1976), Namor #[1] (1979), Namor #5 (1979), O Incrível Hulk #32 (1986), Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner #8 (2018), Namor, the Sub-Mariner Epic Collection #5 (2025)
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