Featuring: Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos Release: May 11, 1965 Cover: July 1965 12 cents Smashing script: Stan Lee Awesome art: Dick Ayers Inspired inking: Frank Ray Luscious lettering: Artie Simek 20 pages
Mister, when it comes to being tough, us Commandos invented the word!! And we don’t need a ravin’ Fuehrer to remind us how good we are!! All we gotta do is pick up a history book!! Mebbe we don’t push our weight around like you Nazis do! But, mebbe it’s because we know we don’t haveta! We got all the muscle we need– when we need it! And the dictator don’t live who can push us around!! Waddaya think of us “inferior races” now? Answer me, ya creep!! And then answer all the innocent people, all over the world, that ya been tramplin’ on–!!
We just saw an eye-patched Colonel Fury take over the international spy agency, SHIELD in the 1960s. Let’s head back to the 1940s to see the adventures of Sgt. Fury with two good eyes.
The credits on these Sgt. Fury books have usually emphasized the creators’ status as former military. “Ex-Sgt. Stan Lee”, “Ex-Corp. Dick Ayers”, “Ex-Corp. Frank Ray”. In fact, I think they’ve done that in every one of the first 19 issues of this series, but seem to be done with the practice now. I wonder why. They’re not phasing it out; they’ll just never mention the military service of the creators again.
We see the return of Baron Strucker’s Blitzkrieg Squad, introduced in issue 14, the Nazi counterparts to the Howling Commandos.
That truck seems to have a target on it.
Unless somebody has a better explanation, I’m going to suggest the logo is the RAF roundel, simply miscolored here, and not indicative of the Target corporation. The Turkish Air Force roundels look like the Target logo, but no British ones that I can find.
A bit of poking fun at themselves here. Fury’s rival Bull McGiveney claims all Fury knows how to do is rip up shirts.
A torn chest-revealing shirt is basically Fury’s uniform.
Well, a hectic one. The first year where I forgot to mark the anniversary of this blog. On April 6, we celebrated our 3-year anniversary… except I completely forgot to celebrate.
So let’s do it now. I’d normally start with an overview, but I did something like that back in March, after I took an unplanned 2+ month hiatus, and made a We’re Back post.
That post gave a walk through of the blog, and I don’t want to repeat myself. So I’ll note a couple changes since March.
First I’ll note that our Best We’ve Read page has expanded from 50 to 100 Marvel Universe entries, spotlighting our posts on the best Marvel stories of the era. This allowed a lot more variety. The top 50 is very dominated by Steve Ditko, particularly Spider-Man stories. The top 100 spotlights a greater diversity of characters, including Iron Man and Ant-Man.
Somehow, even with a hundred entries, still no Human Torch stories made the cut. That’s a head scratcher, there.
Trying a new thing I call “Reading Topical Comics”. The idea is that people seem particularly interested in things that tie into current media. But I’ve struggled to figure out how to tap into that. I started by doing expansive posts that walked through every comic reference I could find in a show. They were extremely popular, but also too much work. Now I’m trying to just pick up a relevant comic and read through it and make some notes. For the recent Dr. Strange film, we read through a comic about America Chavez. And for the Morbius film, we read through an entry about Morbius himself.
I didn’t love how either turned out, and still haven’t gotten out as many entries as I’d hoped (still no Moon Knight post, for example), so am still tweaking the format. We’ll see how it goes.
My blog numbers had been doing well as long as I was making regular posts, but my recent 3-month hiatus led to a drop in readership. I think people got out of the habit of checking the page regularly. Now that I’m back to regular posts, it’s picking up rapidly, but still not to where it was a year ago. No more vacations, I guess.
Monetization. I do this blog as a hobby, not for money. It costs a fairly trivial amount of money to keep the site running, but a very large amount of time. In an attempt to recoup a bit, I’d included links to Amazon of comics I talked about. That really wasn’t making much money, and I decided I don’t feel quite right advertising for Amazon, so I’m stopping that practice.
If you’d like to support this page, you are free to donate at Buy Me a Coffee. Find the coffee cup icon in the bottom corner, or the “Buy me a Coke” button at the side.
For the anniversary, we actually got to read a really good Spider-Man comic, a fine end to year 3. We’d ended the previous year with an also-excellent Spider-Man comic.
Unfortunately that’s only 68 entries for the year, not an impressive rate. (68 in my main Marvel Universe reading; there were some 40 other posts.)
Starting to get a realistic sense of the rate I’m putting these out. My guidepost for the effort is the Marvels series. I’m hoping to cover the ground of Marvels #2-4 with this format, which takes us from the Wedding of Reed and Sue, through the Coming of Galactus, through the Death of Gwen Stacy from 1973. That will take well over 5 years unless I really pick up the pace.
Once we reach 1973, we’ll probably pause and see how I old I am and where my life is, and then go from there.
What kind of year has it been?
A year of love found as Mr. Fantastic finally proposed to the Invisible Woman. A year of love lost as Nick Fury’s girlfriend Pam was tragically killed. A year of love confused as Peter had not yet met the lovely Mary Jane Watson, but Betty and Liz have, which is not helping with Betty’s jealousy complex.
A year of final battles. The Stranger carries Magneto off to deep space, forever ending his threat, I assume. Zemo dies in battle with Captain America, and Bucky’s death is avenged.
A year of endings. The Human Torch/Thing stories mercifully came to a close. Giant-Man and Wasp decided to retire from superheroing and their series came to an end as well. Iron Man decided to also take a leave of absence from the Avengers, and Thor was called off to the Trial of the Gods, leaving Captain America as the last Avenger.
A year of reform. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch renounced their evil ways. Hawkeye vowed to reform after Black Widow was injured and perhaps killed by her Soviet masters.
A year of new beginnings as those three reformed villains formed a new team of Avengers, led by Captain America. Namor was also offered a chance to join the Avengers, but refused, as he remains at war with the surface.
The X-Men traveled to a hidden Antarctic jungle where dinosaurs still roamed, and met its lord, Ka-Zar, with his trusty pet, Zabu.
An outmatched Daredevil (in a spiffy new suit) stood valiantly against Namor.
We have unresolved plot threads. Thor’s hammer is broken from battle with the Destroyer, and he remains unaware the Avengers had disbanded; and he still needs to get the Norn Stones to Odin to prove Loki cheated in the Trial of the Gods. The year ended with the Fantastic Four still lost at sea, their powers faded. (Because this post is a bit late, we now know they got their powers back after an epic battle with Dr. Doom.) The wedding remains imminent. The X-Men are still recovering from injuries sustained in battle with the Juggernaut. The schemes of the Leader continue to plague Hulk. In old Tales of Asgard, Thor and his allies continue their quest to learn why the Odinsword is cracked.
Featuring: Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD Release: May 4, 1965 Cover: August 1965 12 cents Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Jack Kirby Inked by: Dick Ayers Lettered by: Artie Simek 12 pages
It’s 1965. Thunderball will be hitting the cinemas in Decembr, the 4th consecutive year Sean Connery will go into action as 007.
In the second film, From Russia with Love, we were introduced to a global criminal organization that it takes a dedicated government to fight– SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion).
The head of SPECTRE wasn’t named and we didn’t see his face, only his kitten. The kitten plainly identifies him as evil.
These movies are popular, and the rest of the entertainment industry is taking notice.
Michael Caine just went into “action” in a more subdued and bureaucratic spy tale as Harry Palmer, definitely not the world’s best spy.
Television will soon be satirizing this secret agent genre with Get Smart, in which Maxwell Smart of CONTROL fights against KAOS, an international organization of evil.
The following year, secret agents on TV will be offered an impossible mission, if they choose to accept it.
Probably most relevantly, the previous year introduced The Man from UNCLE (United Network Command for Law and Enforcement), letting us know that these organizations should have acronyms for names.
(Picture chosen especially for my mother)
In the 1950s, Marvel had dabbled in every genre, including the occasional spy series like Spy Fighters or Kent Blake of the Secret Service.
Now they are bursting at the seams with the expanding superhero genre. They have one current war title, Sgt. Fury, which we’ve been reading with the superhero comics for some reason.
They haven’t abandoned their long successful romance/humor girl genre, and Millie and Patsy each carry two titles still. And three western heroes still carry titles: Two-Gun Kid, Rawhide Kid, and Kid Colt.
They’re ready to ride on the booming spy genre with their own 007 or Man from Uncle. They’ll need a secret spy organization with a cool title that’s really an acronym. And they’ll need an evil organization to pit them against. Preferably headed by a mysterious man with a kitten.
And a star to headline these adventures. New character? Or look to their already expansive cast of characters.
We know from the pages of Fantastic Four that Sgt. Fury of World War II is now Colonel Fury of the CIA. Why invent a new top spy when you already have one?
Where to put them? Make a new title? No, you’re having crazy distribution problems at the moment and are artificially limited in the number of titles you can put out. Why Captain America and Iron Man need to share a book.
I’ve got it! Strange Tales. The Human Torch/Thing stories all sucked, so we cancelled them. Our new spy series can share this former horror title with Dr. Strange. Makes sense to me.
On that note, I then have to recall that we haven’t actually read any Dr. Strange stories since issue 129, 6 issues ago. We read the wonderful Human Torch stories from issues 130-134, but skipped the Dr. Strange stories.
But now that Nick Fury is taking over the first half of the book, I would like to… still not read the Dr. Strange stories. Not just yet. We’ll read this first half of this comic, then return to it later. Even though, with the new Dr. Strange movie out, a Dr. Strange post would be topical.
Featuring: Spider-Man Release: May 11, 1965 Cover: August 1965 12 cents Edited and written by Smilin’ Stan Lee Plotted and drawn by Scowlin’ Steve Ditko Lettered and gift-wrapped by Swingin’ Artie Simek 20 pages
Spider-Man is still Green Goblin’s prisoner, as Green Goblin is trying to take over the gangs instead of Crime-Master.
Lots of mysteries left over from last issue. Who is Green Goblin? Who is Crime-Master? Who is Patch? What is Foswell’s secret connection to all this? We should answer all but one of those questions by issue’s end.
Featuring: Spider-Man Release: April 8, 1965 Cover: July 1965 12 cents Stealthily scripted by: Stan Lee Painstakingly plotted and drawn by: Steve Ditko Lovingly lettered by: S. Rosen 20 pages
The issue credits Ditko for the plot. Ditko has probably plotted most of these stories and has been largely responsible for the writing. But he has only so far been credited as the artist, with Lee taking the writer’s credit. Lee’s role is that of editor and making the final script off Ditko’s notes. Most of the storytelling is done through the art, which is entirely by Ditko, accompanied by notes as to what is happening and what type of thing each character might be saying.
The first page serves as a detailed teaser for the comic. Crime-Master is a new character to us, but we are told his identity will be a mystery. Green Goblin was introduced in issue 14; he’s yet to be caught, and his face has always been hidden from us, so his identity remains a mystery. Issue 10 revolved around the mystery of the Big Man’s identity. He turned out to be meek Frederick Foswell of the Daily Bugle. Ditko’s noting this plot will resemble plots we’ve seen, but also take its own twists. We now have three crime bosses or former crimes bosses with a secret.
Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Release: April 8, 1965 Cover: June 1965 12 cents You’ll relive the torment of warfare in this script by Ex-Sgt. Stan Lee You’ll see the blaze of battle in this artwork by Ex-Corp. Dick Ayers You’ll feel the drama of conflict in this inking by Ex-Corp. Frank Ray You’ll hear the sounds of attack in this lettering by exquisite S. Rosen 20 pages
Let’s remind ourselves of the dramatic final page of the previous issue.
This story picks up where that left off. Lady Pamela Hawley died in a bombing raid before Nick could propose to her. Now we see him trying to deal with his pain and frustration. Will revenge bring him catharsis?
After Nick is working the Howlers too hard, Captain Sawyer orders a furlough. They decide to take their “furlough” in occupied Holland and track down the Squadron behind Pam’s death.
Featuring: Daredevil Release: April 1, 1965 Cover: June 1965 12 cents Written with the inventive genius of Stan Lee Drawn with the artistic brilliance of Wally Wood Lettered with the scratch penpoint of S. Rosen 20 pages
Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: April 8, 1965 Cover: July 1965 12 cents Spellbinding script by: Stan (The Man) Lee Astonishing artwork by: Jack (King) Kirby Inked by: V. Colletta Lettered by: Artie Simek 20 pages
Stan’s repeaing himself here. He used those same credits in Journey Into Mystery #107 the previous year. Stan (The Man) Lee. Jack (King) Kirby. Basically every comic has had a different nickname for the creators. These may be the first repeats. They are certainly the most famous and today recognized as the semi-official nicknames of the two creators.
Dr. Doom purloins Reed’s remote-control TV eye. Basically what we today would call a drone. Now readily available. Invented 60 years ago by Reed Richards. Reed refers to the drone as a “flying spotter”. Another invention Reed refers to is the “electronic stimulator”. I wonder if that resembles any modern devices?
We’ve seen Daredevil’s billy club has some neat tricks, like becoming a grappling hook. But now we see it’s a gun. That’s new.
Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: March 11, 1965 Cover: June 1965 12 cents Splendiforious story by: Stan Lee Delectable drawings by: Jack Kirby Deliciious Delineation by: Frank Ray Laconic lettering by: Artie Simek 20 pages
I don’t normally post things on Sundays, so I had planned this for Monday. But today is April 10, 2022. And it just seemed too fitting not to post this today, in honor of the introduction of Dr. Doom, April 10, 1962. Here’s the post we did on his introduction almost 3 years ago.
So, happy birthday to the greatest comic book villain of all time. Let’s celebrate by reading his first truly great battle against the Fantastic Four, still one of the greatest Dr. Doom stories ever.
Just don’t mention his age to him. He’ll probably kill you. He can be a bit vain.
After a battle with the Frightful Four, the Fantastic Four were caught in a Q-bomb explosion and left for dead in the middle of the ocean. When we last saw them, it appeared as though Ben was turning human again.
To me, that’s a good excuse to jump straight to the next issue where they are getting dragged out of the water.
But we didn’t do that. We read another 35 comics in between the two. Why? Well, a lot was happening all at once. While they were still at sea, the Frightful Four showed up in Thor’s comic during the Trial of the Gods. That’s a whole thing. That tied into this Daredevil/Sub-Mariner battle as well as to this milestone Avengers issue where a new team of Avengers formed. That spun out of an X-Men story which happened before Human Torch showed up in the pages of X-Men. It’s tightly connected.
Obviously, the FF couldn’t be at sea that many days without the submarine finding them. They need water at some point. But it could have taken a bit of time to get back to their headquarters. And all the other superhero adventures must have elapsed in that time.
Frank Giacoia is the credited inker (under the pen name Frank Ray), but Wally Wood was brought in to ink Daredevil specifically, to ensure consistency with Daredevil’s look across the books.
Featuring: Spider-Man Release: March 11, 1965 Cover: June 1965 12 cents Swingin’ script by: Stan Lee Dazzlin’ drawings by: Steve Ditko Loquacious lettering by: S. Rosen 20 pages
I appreciate that the splash page centers Spider-Man’s supporting cast. It really is what separates this comic from all the others we’re reading. And this issue is significant for an almost-addition to that cast!
In addition to the normal credits, there’s an extra note crediting Ditko with the plot. Ditko has been responsible for all the plots and most of the writing without credit for it. And his relationship with Stan is starting to deteriorate over this and other concerns. Pretty soon, we’ll be at the point where Ditko has made a condition of his continued employment that he never has to speak to Stan.
