Sub-Mariner #66
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeSub-Mariner #66 (October 1973) closes out the 'Tales of Atlantis' backup feature with its fifth and final installment, 'The Sword in the Throne,' capping Steve Gerber's ambitious attempt to flesh out the pre-Cataclysmic history of Namor's world and establish Atlantis as a civilization with genuine mythological depth. The issue's letters column also made a notable editorial admission, officially acknowledging that the blue-skin coloring applied to the air-breathing Atlanteans and Lemurians in earlier 'Tales of Atlantis' chapters had been a colorist's error — a moment of transparency that became a minor piece of Marvel continuity housekeeping referenced by fans and editors for decades. As part of Steve Gerber's late-run tenure on the title, the issue represents the Bronze Age effort to give Namor's supporting world the same kind of layered backstory that had made the Asgardian and Kree mythologies so compelling in other Marvel books.
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The issue was written by Steve Gerber and drawn by Don Heck, with inks split between Don Perlin on the main story and Joe Sinnott on the 'Tales of Atlantis' backup — the latter being a welcome return of Sinnott for the feature's final chapter. The cover was pencilled by Gil Kane and inked by Mike Esposito, though researcher Nick Caputo has documented that John Romita Sr. redrew Namor's face on the finished cover art. The issue went on sale in August 1973 with an October 1973 cover date, per on-sale records cited in The Comic Reader #98.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published October 1973 (on-sale date confirmed via The Comic Reader #98); written by Steve Gerber, pencilled by Don Heck, with Don Perlin inking the main story and Joe Sinnott inking the backup.
- Cover art by Gil Kane and Mike Esposito; researcher Nick Caputo has documented that John Romita Sr. redrew Namor's face on the cover.
- Main story ('Rise, Thou Killer Whale') pits Namor against the villain Virago and her unexpected ally Orka, the Human Killer Whale.
- The 'Tales of Atlantis' backup — 'The Sword in the Throne,' pencilled by Jim Mooney — is the fifth and final installment of the feature, bringing Gerber's pre-Cataclysmic Atlantis saga to a close and featuring the introduction of the character Zartra II.
- The letters column in this issue officially acknowledged that the blue-skin coloring applied to the air-breathing Atlanteans and Lemurians in prior 'Tales of Atlantis' installments was a colorist's error that had not been caught in time to be corrected.
- The issue contains a house ad for Marvel Spotlight #12, which was the debut issue of the Son of Satan.
- Content from this issue was later reprinted internationally: in the Italian I Fantastici Quattro #128 (Editoriale Corno, March 1976) and in the French Namor #3 (Arédit-Artima, 1979).
- The full run of Sub-Mariner #61–72, including this issue, was eventually collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner Vol. 8.
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Reprinted in I Fantastici Quattro #128 (1976), Namor #3 (1979), Namor #7 (1980), Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner #8 (2018), Namor, the Sub-Mariner Epic Collection #5 (2025)
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