Featuring: Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD
Release: June 8, 1965
Cover: September 1965
12 cents
Script by the unpredictable Stan Lee
Layouts by the unmatchable Jack Kirby
Art by the unbeatable Johnny Severin
Lettering by the unsinkable Art Simek
12 pages
| Previous | #380 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Sgt. Fury #21 | Reading order | Tales to Astonish #70 |
| Strange Tales #135, Story B | Strange Tales | Strange Tales #136, Story B |
Hail Hydra! Immortal Hydra! We shall never be destroyed! Cut off a limb and two more shall take its place! We serve none but the Master– as the world shall soon serve us! Hail Hydra!
We get a new artist, described as another returnee from the Golden Age. John (Johnny) Severin. I’m a big fan and excited he’s joining us.
Kirby is on the layouts, but John will provide most of the details. This of course means Kirby is responsible for the storytelling.
He’s been with the industry almost 20 years by this point, working off and on for Marvel, but doing his most famous work for EC. Here’s a sampling.
- Prize Comics Western #72 (Prize, 1948)
- Actual Romances #1 (Marvel, 1949)
- Two-Fisted Tales #19 (EC, 1951)
- Frontline Combat #1 (EC, 1951)
- Mad #1 (EC, 1952)
- Sergeant Barney Barker #1 (Marvel, 1956)
Notice that the colorist for the EC books, including Mad, was John’s sister Marie Severin. We’ll be hearing more from her soon.
Of those titles, Mad is the most famous, and would endure in some form for 65 years until finally shutting down in 2018. Perhaps the world had grown too farcical by then to satire.
What, me worry?
This is the second part of the Hydra saga. For a handful of reasons, we’re not reading the entire saga in one go. The first couple chapters work as standalone tales well enough, and they must intertwine with other Marvel titles which feature Nick Fury or the threat of Hydra.
Notice the Hydra agent exclaims: “Hail Hydra!”. In the movies, they tend to whisper this. But there’s no whispering in Marvel Age comics. Only exclamation.
The Hydra agents are attempting to follow Fury to SHIELD Headquarters. I thought we learned last issue the headquarters was a giant floating fortress which seems hard to miss.
I guess there’s also some hidden headquarters beneath this barber shop.
Ooh, the coin is secretly a communication device. Clever and cool.
Everyone at the barbershop is a SHIELD agent in disguise, even the manicurist. Given that, is it appropriate for the Colonel to kiss her and refer to her as “Doll” and “Gorgeous”? Maybe these were different times.
Notice how much detail John Severin puts into everything. More than Kirby or Ditko would be likely to include. We’ve really only seen a comparable level of detail from Joe Orlando on his Daredevil books.
The point of the issue is that SHIELD is prepared with elaborate traps and plans for any eventuality. Fake headquarters in a warehouse is really a trap. Fake window with a fake backdrop of New York.
We saw a similar fake backdrop and window in the Captain America film. When they were trying to convince Cap it was still the 1940s.
We learned last issue what happens when a Hydra agent fails to kill Nick Fury. The same thing happens to this one… murdered by his replacement. They go through a lot of Hydra agents that way. But you know what they say, cut off one head…
The second story of this issue is a Dr. Strange story. And, well, we’ll get there.
Rating: ★★★½, 61/100
Significance: ★★★☆☆
I read this story in a reprint in Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #16 (1970). Even scanned that reprint. Before noticing I actually owned this issue and could read and scan the original. Which is where the scans above come from.
Characters:
- Colonel Nick Fury
- Hydra-Hunter 14
- Slim
- The barber
- The manicurist
- Section Leader B, Hydra-Hunter
- Supreme Hydra/The Master
- New Section Leader B
Story notes:
- Hydra agent spots Fury approaching 59th and Madison.
- Fury’s codename is Leader “A”.
- At least three Hydra agents in disguise tailing Fury; they observe him entering barbershop and dispense assassin squad.
- Asking for the “Works” is code for trouble on his heels.
- A Hydra-Hunter, Section Leader B, is unmasked so that if he fails, he cannot hide from his replacement.
- Hydra assassins wear NASA-type experimental jetpacks.
- Fury uses hypno-beam to convince Hydra agents SHIELD HQ is an old warehouse.
- Fury and his agents play dead while hypnotized Hydra agents lead assassins to warehouse.
- Warehouse has steel walls behind false veneer. X-ray scanner shows collection of electronic computers inside.
- Hydra agents break into warehouse with Hydra Ram. When that fails, they use laser ray and electro-magnet.
- New Section Leader B replaces old one.
| Previous | #380 | Next |
|---|---|---|
| Sgt. Fury #21 | Reading order | Tales to Astonish #70 |
| Strange Tales #135, Story B | Strange Tales | Strange Tales #136, Story B |
I’m caught up. Noooooo!
I must apologize as I have fallen behind. Been trying to get out at least 2 posts a week, but I am now 3 weeks behind. I started the next one a few weeks ago, but paused in the middle of writing because I had some research to do I just haven’t found the time or energy for. I’ll get it out soon. I do have time today. But it’s also very hot.