By Derek Drymon;, Jerry Ordway, Gregg Schigiel, Tim Truman.
In part 3 of the epic "Showdown at the Shady Shoals," SpongeBob says he KNOWS how the first meeting between Mermaid Man and the sea-king Viro Reganto MUST have gone down. How does he know? Because he's their biggest fan! Thus unfolds a spazzy, sponge-woven tale of underwater super villains and the power of friendship--all deliriously delineated by JERRY ORDWAY. Plus: This issue also features a round up of Wild West yarns--you know, the kind that take place underwater! First a mechanical bucking seahorse becomes the biggest fad--and the biggest rip-off--at the Krusty Krab in "Shucking Seahorse"! And in "Mixed Signals" we find out what happens when bubble signals go wrong on the ocean prairie; and TIM TRUMAN (Conan, JONAH HEX) provides a sea-weed-and-spaghetti-Western-style pin-up of the Good, the Pat, and the Squiddy!