Issue(s): Sub-Mariner #15
Cover Date: Jul 69
Title: "The day of the dragon!"
Credits:
Roy Thomas - Writer
Marie Severin - Penciler
Vincent Colletta - Inker

Review/plot:
Diane Arliss tries her hand at being a super-villain...

..teaming up with Dr. Dorcas and Professor Gregson Gilbert, the creator of Dragon Man.

Dragon Man has captured Lady Dorma, who is to be used in a hostage exchange for Diane's brother, the Tiger Shark.

Not that Namor would negotiate with terrorists anyway, but it turns out that Tiger Shark has escaped. Another protagonist might actually bother going to look for Tiger Shark to make the exchange but Namor figures he'll just track down the bad guys and kick the crap out of everyone. This results in a big Sub-Mariner vs. Dragon Man battle, weirdly drawn in Marie Severin's unusual but still enjoyable style.

Since Gilbert has an appearance in some beloved issues of Power Pack, i was a little apprehensive about him appearing as a partner to Dr. Dorcas here, but he definitely comes across as bumbling and misguided but not totally evil.

He kind of shuffles off when the going gets rough and it's the last we'll hear from him until those Power Pack issues.

Namor probably correctly assumes that Dorcas has been poisoning Arliss' mind and he agrees to track down Tiger Shark if she'll denounce him, but whether she really does or not is inconclusive.

I am a fan of Severin's art.

She fits in one of her characteristic caricatures, but as usual i don't know who she's drawing, if we're even supposed to know.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• Tiger Shark's escape was during Sub-Mariner #9.
  
• Gilbert previously appeared in Dragon Man's first appearance in Fantastic Four #35. Dorcas appeared in Sub-Mariner #5-6.
  
• Diane Arliss (and Roy Thomas) has done some analysis on Dragon Man's past defeats, and based on his first appearance and Avengers #43, suggests to Namor that extreme temperature changes are key to beating him. It's a bit odd coming from Arliss but shows that Thomas was doing his research.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

Nice cape, pointy-ears.

Oh, Diane, running with a bad crowd, are we? Thank goodness Walt will show up to put a stop to that, shortly.

And whether or not Namor wants to do a hostage exchange, it might not hurt to recapture Tiger Shark, wouldn't you think?

Marie is fantastic! She and Amanda Conner are my favorite female artists.