Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandoes
Release: August 11, 1964
Cover: October 1964
12 cents
Two-fisted tale by: Ex-Sarge Stan Lee, U.S. Army
Power-packed pencilling by: Ex-Corp. Dick Ayers, U.S. Air Force
Inking by: Geo. Bell
Lettering by: Art Simek
21 pages
| Previous | #257 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Avengers #9 | Reading order | Amazing Spider-Man #17 |
| Sgt. Fury #10 | Sgt. Fury | Sgt. Fury #12 |
This is a familiar story. Captain Sawyer is temporarily replaced by the uptight rules-obsessed Captain Flint.
He does things like insist on uniform regulations that end up giving their position away on a mission that required subterfuge.
By the end of the story, the Howlers have taught him to loosen up a bit. I don’t much care for rule sticklers myself, hate when I have to work with them. My experience is that they don’t come around quite so easily in real life.
We see a Colonel Parker. We’ve met a number of Parkers now, and this is the second Colonel Parker. In fact, we met a Colonel Parker just last issue, but this seems to be a different Colonel Parker. We also met a Lieutenant Parker once. Pretty sure the superhero stories we’ve been reading have somebody named Parker as well; I’ll have to double check.
This Colonel Parker explicitly recounts the history of Happy Sam, stuff that’s only been hinted at before. He founded the Howling Commandos, having once been an exceptionally valorous junior officer in North Africa, not so different from Sgt. Fury. He was seriously wounded in his last combat mission, which is what finally led to his becoming a Captain.
I get that some of Captain Flint’s rules were getting in the way of the mission, but was it that important that everybody change hats once he wasn’t looking?
Rating: ★★★☆☆, 58/100
Significance: ★★★☆☆
Scans are taken from a reprint in Sgt. Fury Annual 2 (1966).
I read this story in Sgt. Fury Epic Collection vol. 1: The Howling Commandos. You can also find the story in Marvel Masterworks: Sgt. Fury vol. 1 . Or on Kindle.
Characters:
- Rebel “Reb” Ralston
- Dum Dum Dugan
- Gabe Jones
- Izzy Cohen
- Percy Pinkerston
- Dino Manelli
- Captain “Happy Sam” Sawyer
- Sgt. Nick Fury
- Captain Flint
- Sgt. Bull McGiveney
- Colonel Parker
Story notes:
- Stan clarifies “C.O.” does not stand for “chicken officer”.
- Captain Sawyer on detached service for 2 weeks; Captain Flint will fill in.
- Sgt. McGiveney in charge of Second Attack Squad.
- G2 has learned of a Nazi convoy in Normandy carrying vital parts for German V-2 rockets; Fury ordered to smash convoy.
- Captain Sawyer organized and trained the Howling Commandos; he won countless citations for valor in North Africa as a junior officer; a demolitions expert; refused field promotions; wounded in last combat mission.
- Flint good officer, but out of place on commando raids. His bars and their polished helmets make sniper targets. Flint goes by the book; the manual says to wear his insignia of rank.
- Howlers in regulation GI duds; Ralston doesn’t have his Confederate cap.
- Reference to Joe DiMaggio and Shirley Temple.
| Previous | #257 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Avengers #9 | Reading order | Amazing Spider-Man #17 |
| Sgt. Fury #10 | Sgt. Fury | Sgt. Fury #12 |
