betatron bomb – Coke & Comics

Strange Tales #140

The End of Hydra!

Featuring: Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD
Release: October 12, 1965
Cover: January 1966
12 pages
Senses-shattering story by: Stan Lee
Power-packed presentation by: Jack Kirby
Drama-drenched drawing by: Don Heck
Dreamy-designed delineation by: Joe Sinnott
Booboo-bulging balloons by: Sam Rosen
12 pages

Previous	#425	Next
Strange Tales #139, Story B	Reading order	Strange Tales #140, Story B
Strange Tales #139, Story B	Strange Tales	Strange Tales #140, Story B

Mankind cannot live in fear of Hydra! In the name of SHIELD… in the name of universal freedom… I cannot fail!

Kirby. Heck. Sinnott. That’s a lot of artists to draw 12 pages of comic. (A heck of a lot.)

“Booboo-bulging balloons” took a bit of deciphering. I think Stan’s claiming the letterer makes a lot of mistakes. The word balloons are bulging fit to burst with mistakes.

Hydra could have served as a looming background threat for some time to come. But they decided it was time to settle it up. This is part 6 of the “Hydra Saga”. SHIELD agents are swarming Hydra’s headquarters for the final battle.

Strange Tales #138

Sometime the Good Guys Lose!

Featuring: Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD
Release: August 10, 1965
Cover: November 1965
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee, sultan of script!
Laid out by: Jack Kirby, master of melodrama!
Drawn by: Johnny Severin, archduke of art!
Lettered by: S. Rosen, prince of penmanship!
12 pages

Previous	#421	Next
Strange Tales #137, Story B	Reading order	Strange Tales #138, Story B
Strange Tales #137, Story B	Strange Tales	Strange Tales #138, Story B

And knock off that “Colonel” jazz, Mister! I keep thinkin’ ya mean someone else!

Nick Fury gets the cover again, even though the Dr. Strange story is one of the single greatest issues of all time.

Last issue, we watched three SHIELD agents sacrifice their lives in an attempt to find Hydra’s Betatron Bomb. Nick reflects on that as he realizes they are just moments too late to prevent the launch. And Hydra can now hold the world hostage.

Even Hydra has an org chart in every presentation.

Tony Stark has a secret invention which can help, but before he shows it to Fury, Hydra attacks the Stark plant. Tony is able to save himself, but not Fury, who is captured by Hydra.

Strange Tales #137

The Prize is… Earth!

Featuring: Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD
Release: July 8, 1965
Cover: October 1965
12 cents
Story: Stan Lee
Layouts: J. Kirby
Art: J. Severin
Lettering: Art Simek
12 pages

Previous	#419	Next
Strange Tales #136, Story B	Reading order	Strange Tales #137, Story B
Strange Tales #136, Story B	Strange Tales	Strange Tales #137, Story B

Well, we can’t just stand here cryin’ in our soup, like kids! That won’t bring those joes back! We gotta make sure they didn’t cash in their chips for nothin’!

It’s a pretty big deal that Severin is given the cover. Even when Stan’s used different interior artists, he’s wanted Kirby on the cover. Heck’s been the regular artist on Iron Man since day 1, but Kirby’s almost always done the covers. All but one, so far. Kirby got all the Giant-Man covers, whether it was Heck or Ayers on art. But the artist base is starting to expand. Colan’s been doing the Sub-Mariner covers, and now Severin gets a SHIELD cover.

We get something new with the credits. The art attempts to integrate them into the story. Rather than a separate box, they show up on a computer screen at SHIELD HQ.

We see the “Q” scene as Nick Fury gets his fancy gadgeted clothing. The dialogue is pretty rote at this point. “Why are you giving me an ordinary hat?” “Ho ho, it just looks like an ordinary hat…”

I think the hat is cool because it seems like it might actually work. There’s nothing too fancy going on in their diagram. A hat whose brim works like a periscope to allow you to see what’s going on behind you.

I’m not sure I would want to wear a suit made of explosive fabric.