Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: January 11, 1966
Cover: March 1966
12 cents
Story by: Stan Lee
Art by: Dick Ayers
Inking by: John Tartaglione
Lettering by: Sam Rosen
20 pages
| Previous | #472 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Amazing Spider-Man #35 | Reading order | Sgt. Fury #29 |
| Sgt. Fury #27 | Sgt. Fury | Sgt. Fury #29 |
Without weapons, without organization, even without hope, the spirit of free Frenchmen cannot be snuffed out!
We come to Stan Lee’s final issue as writer on this title. It ends with a cliffhanger, though a rather exciting one.
We see some conflict between Hitler and Strucker. Baron Strucker is an aristocrat who hates Hitler, who thinks him a madman. But Strucker follows orders to crush the resistance in Cherbeaux, even if he must kill the entire town to do so.
Strucker does believe Germany should rule the world, but not with Hitler in charge.
The Commandos meet up with the resistance to commit acts of secret sabotage, foiling Strucker’s designs. The people he has sent to a concentration camp are rescued.
Hitler summons Goering and Goebbels. This is the first time we have met Goebbels in the modern Marvel reading; we met Goering last issue. Hitler orders that the entire town, and all its people, be destroyed.
Strucker is reluctant, but has the town sealed off and wired with explosives. It’s left to him to pull the switch.
He finally figures out the Commandos are present, and this changes his mood. He will happily murder an entire town if he’s confident the Commandos will die as well.
Strucker has his hand on a switch that will blow every building in town but his own. Fury has explosives set up in Strucker’s building and his finger on the trigger. Quite the showdown. To be continued.
The letters page notes next issue will feature a script from Stan’s protégé, Roy Thomas.
Rating: ★★★☆☆, 53/100
Significance: ★★★☆☆
Characters:
- Baron Strucker
- Sgt. Nick Fury
- Izzy Cohen
- Rebel Ralston
- Percy Pinkerton
- Gabe Jones
- Dino Manelli
- Dum Dum Dugan
- Captain Happy Sam Sawyer
- Hitler
- Goering
- Goebbels
Story notes:
- Sawyer orders Commandos to Cherbeaux in Occupied France to stop Hitler from crushing the town.
- Hitler chastises Strucker for always losing to the Commandos. He dispatches Strucker to Cherbeaux to crush the underground movement. And to execute every citizen of the town if the underground does not surrender.
- Hitler knows Aristocrats like Strucker think him mad, but he will make a German Reich which shall endure for a thousand years. Strucker does think he’s a madman.
- Citizens of Cherbeaux cheer on Strucker’s arrival at gunpoint.
- Strucker takes over mayor’s office. Mayor’s only purpose now will be to convey Strucker’s orders.
- Until resistance is stopped, a randomly chosen citizen will be sent to a concentration camp each day. A wife and daughter mourn as the father is selected.
- Commandos attack, half in town, half in nearby water.
- Commandos meet with the resistance but find a collaborator in their midst, who escapes.
- Strucker sends half of town to concentration camps, but Commandos rescue them
- Strucker does not wish to murder an entire town on Hitler’s orders, but Hitler will kill him and order other towns slaughtered otherwise.
- Strucker seals off town and posts notice he intends to murder all.
| Previous | #472 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Amazing Spider-Man #35 | Reading order | Sgt. Fury #29 |
| Sgt. Fury #27 | Sgt. Fury | Sgt. Fury #29 |
Did Sgt Fury and His Howling Commandos replace The Incredible Hulk in Marvel’s distribution rotation?
I don’t know that with any certainty, but the theory fits the data. Incredible Hulk was published bimonthly, and Sgt. Fury was the only title to premiere two months after the final issue of Incredible Hulk.
Whereas say Amazing Spider-Man premiered a month before Hulk’s final issue.
And apologies if you had asked this question previously and I didn’t answer. I think I had mistaken it for an assertion before.