Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: November 10, 1964
Cover: January 1965
12 cents
Written with the explosive power of a live grenade by: Ex-Sgt. Stan Lee
Drawn with the savage impact of a block-buster by: Ex-Corp. Dick Ayers
Inked with the smashing force of a Sherman tank by: Geo. Bell
Lettered with a brand new bottle of India ink by: Artie Simek
20 pages
| Previous | #297 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Tales to Astonish #64 | Reading order | Amazing Spider-Man #21 |
| Sgt. Fury #13 | Sgt. Fury | Sgt. Fury #15 |
We’ve met Baron Strucker twice before. Fury’s only recurring foe at this point. But now he’s got his own team of commandos backing him up, the Blitzkrieg Squad.
The idea of the Blitzkrieg Squad is that each is specifically chosen to be a match for a commando. The brawler matches Dugan; the charmer, Manelli; the musician, Gabe; the mechanic, Izzy; the horseman, Reb; the aristrocrat, Percy.
I was a bit confused by the word “Junker” in the context and had to look it up. It refers to a Prussian noble, not somebody who trades in scraps.
The Howlers will fight the Squad a few times, and we’ll eventually learn names for them all, but we don’t learn them yet. I thus put descriptions in the character listing below.
Speaking of unnamed characters, the submarine captain we met in issue 10 didn’t die after all. He’s back to give them another underwater lift. Still no name though. Guess we’ll keep calling him “The Skipper”.
I appreciate they give us insights into Strucker’s thoughts about Hitler, that even one of the top Nazi soldiers considers Hitler a madman.
Strucker’s chest logo is interesting. It appears to be a skull and crossbones. Except for the coloring, it is very close to Black Knight’s chest logo. Probably because it was the exact same artist drawing the skull emblems.
It is probably meant to approximate the traditional German military Totenkopf. Which brings to mind the classic Mitchell and Webb skit…
I have trouble looking at Baron Strucker and not thinking of Herr Starr from Preacher.
The early issues of this series all had a “weapons of war” section. We’ve seen less and less of those, but this issue does have a spotlight on the B-26 Martin Marauder.
Rating: ★★★☆☆, 56/100
Significance: ★★★☆☆
Except where noted, scans are taken from a reprint in Special Marvel Edition #12 (1973).
You can find this story in Sgt. Fury Epic Collection vol. 1: The Howling Commandos. Or on Kindle.
Characters:
- Sgt. Nick Fury
- Dum-Dum Dugan
- Gabe Jones
- Rebel Ralston
- Dino Manelli
- Izzy Cohen
- Percy Pinkerton
- Adolf Hitler
- Baron Strucker
- Brawler on Blitzkrieg Squad
- Charmer on Blitzkrieg Squad
- Musician on Blitzkrieg Squad
- Mechanic on Blitzkrieg Squad
- Horseman on Blitzkrieg Squad
- Aristocrat on Blitzkrieg Squad
- Happy Sam Sawyer
- The Skipper
Minor characters:
- Oberleutnant Shultz
Story notes:
- Howlers in cliff-climbing exercise which Stan and Dick note is in preparation for D-Day.
- Izzy’s mom in Brooklyn has arthritis.
- Gabe suggests Manelli had been in Hitchcock films.
- Narrator notes Hitler is an ex-house painter.
- Hitler orders Strucker to capture–not kill–the Commandos.
- Strucker a Prussian nobleman with a castle in Bavaria.
- Strucker forms Blitzkrieg Squad as counterparts to the Commandos.
- Strucker constructs fake V-2 rocket site as bait.
- Squad of B-26 Martin Marauders discovers site.
- Musician plays the flute.
| Previous | #297 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Tales to Astonish #64 | Reading order | Amazing Spider-Man #21 |
| Sgt. Fury #13 | Sgt. Fury | Sgt. Fury #15 |
