Sgt. Fury #30

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: March 10, 1966
Cover: May 1966
12 cents
Energetic editing by: Stan Lee
Rambunctious writing by: Roy Thomas
Actionistic art by: Dick Ayers
Dynamic delineation by: John Tartaglione
Lethargic lettering by: Sam Rosen
20 pages

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Avengers #31	Reading order	X-Men #20
Sgt. Fury #29	Sgt. Fury	Sgt. Fury #31

Awright you yardbirds… keep firin’! You want the Fascisti ta forget we’re here?

The Howlers parachute into Italy. This is momentous for Dino. We knew he was Italian-American, but we learn a couple new facts, including that he was born in Italy, but moved to America as a baby. We also learn he loves spaghetti.

Unusually, Sgt. Fury orders the Commandos to surrender, and they are taken to a prison camp. The Canadian Captain in charge has been planning a great escape. But Sgt. Fury has other plans.

Of course Nick doesn’t surrender. This was a ruse to meet the head of the prison camp, a Partisan spy. The mission is to steal gold reserves Mussolini has tucked away to provide for his retirement after inevitably losing the war and being removed from power.

We get some creative framing by Ayers, who is generally much more straightforward in his art. We see Percy take out a guard that was going to call for reinforcements off camera, with the focus on the hanging phone.

Another Partisan contact is a young girl, aged 16. Her parents had been murdered by the fascists.

She and Dino develop a flirtation, but I would ask him to remember that she’s only 16. He thinks he can make her a star in Hollywood when the war is over.

We learn her name is Sophia, but Stan tells us they are going to leave off her last name, hinting she may be faous.

Sofia Loren was a famous actress born in Italy, but of course was about 7 years younger than this character. She’d have only been 9 years old at this point in the war.

Rating: ★★½, 48/100
Significance: ★★☆☆☆

Most scans are from a reprint in Sgt. Fury #132. The final page is from a reprint in Sgt. Fury Annual 7. The cover is from the GCD.

At a young age, I noted that later issues of Sgt. Fury often just reprinted the older ones. Being thrifty, I figured I only needed one version of any story, and wasn’t picky about originals. However, I didn’t appreciate that these reprints truncated the story by a couple pages. Had I known that, I’d probably have been more picky about the originals.

And as I have grown more interested in the medium in my later years, I appreciate the coloring, text editing, and other distortions that happen in reprints, and have really come to appreciate the originals.

Unfortunately, I don’t own Sgt. Fury #30. I have these two partial reprints and some scans found online to compare with.

Here’s what’s deleted from the reprints.

Sgt. Fury #132: Page 2; Page 19, panels 2 and 5
This shifts around the other panels on Page 19, and two panels from page 20 onto page 19.

This allows the story to fit in 18.7 pages, leaving the bottom of the final page for a statement of ownership in the reprint.

Sgt. Fury Annual 7 deletes pages 2 and 17.

Here’s page 2 from the original, not reprinted in either reprint.

Here’s page 17 from the original and in the reprint in Sgt. Fury #132.

Find here the original pages 19-20, followed by the final 2 pages in Sgt. Fury #132.

For some coloring comparisons, here is page 7 of the original, compared with Sgt. Fury #132 and Sgt. Fury Annual 7.

Characters:

• Sgt. Nick Fury
• Dum Dum Dugan
• Rebel Ralston
• Izzy Cohen
• Dino Manelli
• Percy Pinkerton
• Gabe Jones
• Captain Andre
• Major Carlo
• Sophia

Minor characters:

• Mario (Soldier at roadblock)
• Antonio (Soldier at roadblock)

Story notes:

• We see many presumably dead Italian soldiers.
• Captain Andre of Royal Canadian Air Force is highest ranking prisoner.
• Captain Andre has worked out a master escape plan, but Fury refuses.
• Captain Andre insists he be obyed and called “Sir”; Fury compares him to Happy Sam.
• Major Carlo head of camp, but also secret Allied contact, a Partisan sworn to oppose Mussolini. He and Fury greet with a code phrase: “The sky is very clear tonight/The better to see you with”
• Intelligence report that Mussolini is burying a fortune in gold bullion on farmland in Northern Italy, in case the Axis loses the war.
• Plan is to escape through tunnel on the west side of camp, where a Partisan will lead them to trucks. Carlo orders heavy labor on the west side of camp for the Commandos.
• Major Carlo under arrest pending loyalty investigation to Il Duce; has been under surveillance because of family ties.
• Dino played Wyatt Earp before enlisting.
• Captain Andre and other prisoners will serve as distraction for Italian army while Fury completes mission.
• Partisan leads Commandos to 7 trucks.
• Major Carlo bluffs his way in, claiming (or noting) to be cousin to Il Duce.
• Farmhouse post guard tries to call General Lorenzo but is stopped by Pinky.
• Commandos dig up all gold and load trucks.
• Convoy attacked by dive bombers, Savoia-Marcheetti S.M. 79-11 Sparvieros
• Reb shoots down plane.
• Tanks confront convoy.
• Destroyer warship confronts planes attacking convoy
• Carlo chooses to stay in Italy.
• Dino and Carlo are cousins!
• Dino tells Sophia he can make her a star after the war. For now, she will fight in Italy.
• Destroyer takes Howlers home.
• Narrator notes D-Day is coming!

Previous	#524	Next
Avengers #31	Reading order	X-Men #20
Sgt. Fury #29	Sgt. Fury	Sgt. Fury #31