Davy Jones daily - 01/22/1964

Its been called the "Sweet Death", “Drunkness of the Depths”, "Raptures of the Deep", the "Martini Effect".....Nitrogen Narcosis, in simple words, is an alteration in the state of consciousness caused by breathing certain gases at depth and can be fatal. By acting on the central nervous system, it produces effects similar to those of alcohol intoxication or inhalation of nitrous oxide.

This pair of dailies by Alden McWilliams, although not chronological by date, the action is sequential, as Davy an crew are pursued by a team of Russian agents and frogmen. I have long had a fascination with deep diving and love McWilliams artistic approach to capturing the adventure of it all in this strip. His inking bears a strong resemblance to that of Alex Raymond. I am particularly intrigued by this story arc from January of 1964 featuring international intrigue and classified documents.

In this Davy Jones daily...frantically pursuing the "decoy" tanks and believing they are about to capture Davy and Marco, the enemy divers lose track of their depth and succumb to the deadly effects of nitrogen narcosis. Natasha and Dimitri, realizing something is amiss, ready themselves to board the boy's fishing boat. The third panel of the stunning Natasha definitely grabbed my attention...the patterned clothing she wears, highly reminiscent of Alex Raymond.