Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: September 3, 1963
Cover: November 1963
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Drawn by: Jack Kirby
Inked by: G. Bell
22 pages
The cover lets us know that one Commando will fight no more after this mission. Comic covers of the time are full of exaggerated dramatic assertions. This is not one of those.
George Roussos is fast becoming one of the more regular inkers, using the pseudonym George Bell. This is his first time on Sgt. Fury. Dick Ayers handled the inking for the first 3 issues.
The opening page is a good test for me to see if I’ve been paying attention. Last issue offered the name of each character on the opening page. This time the question is whether I can identify each Commando to fill out my character section below. Sgt. Fury and Dum-Dum are distinctive, and I know them well from many later comics. Gabe Jones is clear, the only black man on the team. Fortunately, Dino Manelli is combing his hair; that comb is a signature; recall he’s a famous Hollywood actor. The scraggly guy is Izzy Cohen. That leaves the two blonde guys to not mix up, and I had to peek at the previous issue. I think the green hat is meant to be distinctive for Rebel Ralston, making the other one Junior Juniper. Junior is freckled, but that’s not obvious in this picture.
Story begins in London amid a surprise air raid by the Luftwaffe; the Commandos had been sight-seeing.
“Soon it’ll be our turn!” shouts Fury. It’s 1943. The Italian campaign has already begun, and Fury’s team has been making small commando raids into France and Germany. But Fury is hinting that D-Day is coming.
We see only a glimpse of the aerial battle, but the RAF overcome the Luftwaffe.
“We’ll never surrender, no matter what”. Some inspiring British patriotism from Pam Hawley. One reason this issue is notable is that it introduces a potential love interest for Sgt. Fury.
The main plot of the issue is that the Howlers go on a suicide mission to Berlin to retrieve the son of a British lord who has been broadcasting Nazi propaganda to the UK as Lord Ha-Ha.
Lord Ha-Ha is based closely on actual historical figures. Lord Haw-Haw is a nickname given to British defectors who broadcast Nazi propaganda to the UK. The most famous one was William Joyce, with his radio program “Germany Calling”. In January 1946, William Joyce became the last person to ever be hung for treason in the UK. There is apparently a whole tangle of controversies and conspiracy theories which surround him that I haven’t had a chance to do more than glance at.
Sigh; the military and their acronyms. Stan and Jack both served in the war, so they might just know this stuff of the top of their heads. Generally, this comic shows more interest in getting the details right than most anything else we’ve been reading. Some I know: the PX is the post exchange; USO is United Services Organizations (a charity that still does a lot of great work). I had to look up “p.o.e.”. It means “point of entry”. I guess I could have inferred that from context. I similarly had to look up what a “gauleiter” was. It’s a Nazi political official.
At first, I thought the Burt Lancaster reference was going to be apocryphal, as this was set before he made his name as an actor. But it turns out to fit, as he had been a famous acrobat. At the time of this story, he would have been enlisted and working with USO to provide entertainment to deployed troops. He would soon be deploying to Italy himself.
This remains the funniest series.
The most notable thing about this issue is the death of Junior Juniper. He’s the first significant character death in our Marvel reading. It would be a rather rosy picture of the war if the team that goes on death-defying missions always returned without any casualties.
His death is particularly undramatized. It’s barely even rendered. The Commandos charge against enemy troops and one is felled. It was quick. A single panel. Half-finished final words.
Had we gotten to know Junior very well? No, not at all. In fact, he was the one I had trouble identifying on the first page. Perhaps that makes his death all the sadder.
Rating: ★★★★☆, 70/100
Signficance: ★★★★☆
I read this story in Sgt. Fury Epic Collection vol. 1: The Howling Commandos. The scans are mostly taken from a reprint in Sgt. Fury Annual 1.
You can also find the story in Marvel Masterworks: Sgt. Fury vol. 1. Or on Kindle.
Characters:
- Sgt. Fury
- Dum-Dum Dugan
- Izzy Cohen
- Dino Manelli
- Gabe Jones
- Rebel Ralston
- Junior Juniper
- Lord Ha-Ha/Sir Percy Hawley
- Captain “Happy Sam” Sawyer
- Lord Peter Hawley
- Evelyn Hawley
- Pamela Hawley
- Putzi (lion)
Story notes:
- Lord Ha-Ha taunts Commandos so they will come to Berlin.
- Pam Hawley a nurse for Red Cross.
- Lord Hawley owns a newspaper; his son Percy had worked for him as a war correspondent, before he was captured by the Nazis.
- Howlers disguise themselves as circus performers.
- Emily Post reference.
- Fury calls Nazi a skinhead.
- Rendezvous sub to meet them at Bremerhaven (northern Germany).
- Lord Ha-Ha killed by German soldiers, not recognizing him.
- Sgt. Fury lies to Pamela about Lord Ha-Ha’s death, claims he died heroically.
- Death of Junior Juniper.
#118 story in reading order
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