8112016fix1Sub-Mariner Comics #7* was published by Timely Comics on September 1942.  Cover artwork is by Allen Simon (pencils) and Frank Giacoia (inks). Alex Schomburg‘s version of Namor on the cover of #11 remains on my most wanted list.

Pfeufer's distinctive version of the Sub-Marin...

Pfeufer’s distinctive version of the Sub-Mariner, from Marvel Mystery Comics #42 (April 1943). Reprinted in The Golden Age of Marvel Comics (1997). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Namor the Sub-Mariner’s first appearance was on April 1939 in an undistributed comic produced for movie theaters giveaways. Only eight issues are known to exist. Undaunted with the lack of success of the giveaway, creator Bill Everett used the mutant son of a human sea captain and a princess of Atlantis in Marvel Comics #1. It was a huge hit.

The first known comic book antihero, Sub-Mariner was part of Timely’s “Big Three” along with Human Torch and Captain America.  Sub-Mariner remained a popular fixture in Marvel Comics as member (or enemy) of the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the Invaders, the Defenders, the X-Men, and the Illuminati.

Namor’s superpowers include super-strength and aquatic abilities of the Homo mermanus race, as well as the mutant ability of flight.

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