dick ayers – Page 4 – Coke & Comics

Sgt. Fury #20

The Blitz Squad Strikes!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos
Release: May 11, 1965
Cover: July 1965
12 cents
Smashing script: Stan Lee
Awesome art: Dick Ayers
Inspired inking: Frank Ray
Luscious lettering: Artie Simek
20 pages

Previous	#370	Next
Strange Tales #135	Reading order	Avengers #18
Sgt. Fury #19	Sgt. Fury	Sgt. Fury #21

Mister, when it comes to being tough, us Commandos invented the word!! And we don’t need a ravin’ Fuehrer to remind us how good we are!! All we gotta do is pick up a history book!! Mebbe we don’t push our weight around like you Nazis do! But, mebbe it’s because we know we don’t haveta! We got all the muscle we need– when we need it! And the dictator don’t live who can push us around!! Waddaya think of us “inferior races” now? Answer me, ya creep!! And then answer all the innocent people, all over the world, that ya been tramplin’ on–!!

We just saw an eye-patched Colonel Fury take over the international spy agency, SHIELD in the 1960s. Let’s head back to the 1940s to see the adventures of Sgt. Fury with two good eyes.

The credits on these Sgt. Fury books have usually emphasized the creators’ status as former military. “Ex-Sgt. Stan Lee”, “Ex-Corp. Dick Ayers”, “Ex-Corp. Frank Ray”. In fact, I think they’ve done that in every one of the first 19 issues of this series, but seem to be done with the practice now. I wonder why. They’re not phasing it out; they’ll just never mention the military service of the creators again.

We see the return of Baron Strucker’s Blitzkrieg Squad, introduced in issue 14, the Nazi counterparts to the Howling Commandos.

That truck seems to have a target on it.

Unless somebody has a better explanation, I’m going to suggest the logo is the RAF roundel, simply miscolored here, and not indicative of the Target corporation. The Turkish Air Force roundels look like the Target logo, but no British ones that I can find.

A bit of poking fun at themselves here. Fury’s rival Bull McGiveney claims all Fury knows how to do is rip up shirts.

A torn chest-revealing shirt is basically Fury’s uniform.

Strange Tales #135

The Man for the Job!

Featuring: Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD
Release: May 4, 1965
Cover: August 1965
12 cents
Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby
Inked by: Dick Ayers
Lettered by: Artie Simek
12 pages

Previous	#369	Next
Amazing Spider-Man #27	Reading order	Sgt. Fury #20
Strange Tales #134, Story B	Strange Tales	Strange Tales #135, Story B

Your entire life qualifies you for this job!

It’s 1965. Thunderball will be hitting the cinemas in Decembr, the 4th consecutive year Sean Connery will go into action as 007.

In the second film, From Russia with Love, we were introduced to a global criminal organization that it takes a dedicated government to fight– SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion).

The head of SPECTRE wasn’t named and we didn’t see his face, only his kitten. The kitten plainly identifies him as evil.

These movies are popular, and the rest of the entertainment industry is taking notice.

Michael Caine just went into “action” in a more subdued and bureaucratic spy tale as Harry Palmer, definitely not the world’s best spy.

Television will soon be satirizing this secret agent genre with Get Smart, in which Maxwell Smart of CONTROL fights against KAOS, an international organization of evil.

The following year, secret agents on TV will be offered an impossible mission, if they choose to accept it.

Probably most relevantly, the previous year introduced The Man from UNCLE (United Network Command for Law and Enforcement), letting us know that these organizations should have acronyms for names.

(Picture chosen especially for my mother)

In the 1950s, Marvel had dabbled in every genre, including the occasional spy series like Spy Fighters or Kent Blake of the Secret Service.

Now they are bursting at the seams with the expanding superhero genre. They have one current war title, Sgt. Fury, which we’ve been reading with the superhero comics for some reason.

They haven’t abandoned their long successful romance/humor girl genre, and Millie and Patsy each carry two titles still. And three western heroes still carry titles: Two-Gun Kid, Rawhide Kid, and Kid Colt.

They’re ready to ride on the booming spy genre with their own 007 or Man from Uncle. They’ll need a secret spy organization with a cool title that’s really an acronym. And they’ll need an evil organization to pit them against. Preferably headed by a mysterious man with a kitten.

And a star to headline these adventures. New character? Or look to their already expansive cast of characters.

We know from the pages of Fantastic Four that Sgt. Fury of World War II is now Colonel Fury of the CIA. Why invent a new top spy when you already have one?

Where to put them? Make a new title? No, you’re having crazy distribution problems at the moment and are artificially limited in the number of titles you can put out. Why Captain America and Iron Man need to share a book.

I’ve got it! Strange Tales. The Human Torch/Thing stories all sucked, so we cancelled them. Our new spy series can share this former horror title with Dr. Strange. Makes sense to me.

On that note, I then have to recall that we haven’t actually read any Dr. Strange stories since issue 129, 6 issues ago. We read the wonderful Human Torch stories from issues 130-134, but skipped the Dr. Strange stories.

But now that Nick Fury is taking over the first half of the book, I would like to… still not read the Dr. Strange stories. Not just yet. We’ll read this first half of this comic, then return to it later. Even though, with the new Dr. Strange movie out, a Dr. Strange post would be topical.

Sgt. Fury #19

An Eye for an Eye!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: April 8, 1965
Cover: June 1965
12 cents
You’ll relive the torment of warfare in this script by Ex-Sgt. Stan Lee
You’ll see the blaze of battle in this artwork by Ex-Corp. Dick Ayers
You’ll feel the drama of conflict in this inking by Ex-Corp. Frank Ray
You’ll hear the sounds of attack in this lettering by exquisite S. Rosen
20 pages

Previous	#370	Next
Daredevil #8	Reading order	Amazing Spider-Man #26
Sgt. Fury #18	Sgt. Fury	Sgt. Fury #20

Let’s remind ourselves of the dramatic final page of the previous issue.

This story picks up where that left off. Lady Pamela Hawley died in a bombing raid before Nick could propose to her. Now we see him trying to deal with his pain and frustration. Will revenge bring him catharsis?

After Nick is working the Howlers too hard, Captain Sawyer orders a furlough. They decide to take their “furlough” in occupied Holland and track down the Squadron behind Pam’s death.

Sgt. Fury #18

Killed in Action!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: March 11, 1965
Cover: May 1965
12 cents
Writer: Stan Lee
Penciller: Dick Ayers
Inker: Chic Stone
Letterer: Artie Simek
20 pages

Previous	#359	Next
Avengers #17	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #66
Sgt. Fury #17	Sgt. Fury	Sgt. Fury #19

The title of this story is “Killed in Action!”

“Once again, sudden death claims another victim!” reads the cover.

The “once again” refers to Junior Juniper, the first Commando to fall in battle, all the way back in issue 4. Letting us know that this was a series with consquence. It wasn’t a sure thing our heroes would make it back after each mission.

Since then, they all have turned out okay. But let’s read on.

The art is credited to Ayers and Stone, but Jack Kirby was brought in to redraw most of the famous final sequence.

The issue begins in the middle of intense action. Sgt. Fury is in his fancy duds, clearly having been on a date that’s been interrupted by an air raid.

Avengers #17

Four Against the Minotaur!

Featuring: Avengers
Release: April 8, 1965
Cover: June 1965
12 cents
Story by: Stan Lee (Who else?)
Art by: Don Heck (Why not?)
Inked by: Dick Ayers
Lettered by: S. Rosen
20 pages

Previous	#358	Next
Tales to Astonish #69, Story B	Reading order	Sgt. Fury #18
Avengers #16	Avengers	Avengers #18

Here it is, the first outing of the New Avengers. How will they measure up to the old team? Lots of differences. In terms of power level, we’ve traded in a god and a man in a powerful suit of iron armor for a guy with a bow and arrows and a guy who runs fast. In terms of character strength, we’ve traded in four people who sustained their own features for 3 years now for three who have only been side characters. In terms of ethics, we’ve traded in four superheroes for three characters who were super-villains a month ago. Two members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and one lovesick Soviet stooge.

The opening tag refers to the team as the New Avengers, which is what I have always called them. Similarly if you hear me refer to the New X-Men, I probably mean the 1975 team.

It also lets us know the Avengers have begun the search for the Hulk. I’m not convinced they look very hard at all.

Tales to Astonish #65, Story B

On the Rampage Against the Reds!

Featuring: Hulk
Release: December 3, 1964
Cover: March 1965
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee (our faithful writer!)
Drawn by: Steve Ditko (our reliable artist!)
Inked by: Dick Ayers (our dependable inker!)
Lettered by: S. Rosen (our other letterer!)
10 pages

Previous	#350	Next
Tales to Astonish #64, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #66, Story B
Tales to Astonish #65	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #66

Our saga continues. Stan offers a recap. Hulk and Talbot are on Astra Isle with a new nuclear device of Dr. Banner’s. Hulk is fighting the Leader’s humanoids and a Marine task force is closing in.

We know now that strain triggers the transformation. When Dr. Banner feels strain, he turns into the Hulk. And when the Hulk feels too much strain, he turns back into Dr. Banner.

Now that Roussos has moved on, Ditko will have rotating inkers to finish off his run on the Hulk. Of course, Ditko’s work looks its best when he inks himself.

The cliffhanger of last issue resolves by page 2 as Hulk and the Humanoids fall into the ocean.

This leads to the actual plot of this issue. Banner is rescued by a Soviet sub and taken to an unnamed Soviet country as a prisoner.

Avengers #16

The Old Order Changeth!

Featuring: Avengers
Release: March 11, 1965
Cover: May 1965
12 cents
Dazzling script by: Stan Lee
Dashing layouts by: Jack Kirby
Darlin’ artwork by: Dick Ayers
Delicate lettering by: Artie Simek
20 pages

Previous	#334	Next
Avengers #15	Reading order	Journey Into Mystery #114
Avengers #15	Avengers	Avengers #17

“Avengers Assemble!” shouts Captain America. With quite the assemblage of heroes and villains behind him. Check out our pretty full cast list near the end.

A little annoyed with myself as I make this post. I screwed up. In the middle of a move and all my comics are in transit. I have this issue, my second oldest Avengers comic after issue 8, and I thought I had scanned this before I packed and shipped it. I remembered doing so. Apparently I only scanned the single page I used in my Wandavision post.

I considered pausing our reading for a bit until I could scan my comic, but who knows when that will be. So we’ll press forward with scans, err, found on the internet. We’ll call them temporary. I’ll come back in a month or so and replace them with my own. You probably won’t even notice the difference. I just prefer to scan my own comics when I can.

And this issue means a lot to me.

Had it since early childhood somehow. My cousin had borrowed it for an extended period of time, but I eventually got it back.

This is a pretty historic issue. For whatever reason, Heck chose this issue of all issues to take a breather, leaving Ayers to do the artwork over Kirby’s layouts… or perhaps Kirby’s loose pencils, or maybe full pencils for some of the comic.

Here’s an interesting post on the breakdown of artistic labor in this issue, including speculation that Carl Hubbell was involved: https://nick-caputo.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-unknown-art-of-carl-hubbell.html

First, we need to wrap up the story from last issue. Captain America had just fatally defeated Zemo, and now needs to get back to New York with Rick. He’ll have some trouble with Zemo’s henchmen. Meanwhile, the battle with the Masters of Evil continues in New York.

Let’s just say the Avengers win, though Enchantress and Executioner escape. The battle’s anyway over by page 4, and we have more important things to discuss.

It turns out this was these heroes’ final battle together.

Sgt. Fury #17

While the Jungle Sleeps!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: February 11, 1965
Cover: April 1965
12 cents
Story: Ex-Sgt. Stan Lee, U.S.A.
Art: Ex-Corp. Dick Ayers, U.S.A.F.
Inking: Ex-Sgt. Vince Colletta, U.S.A.F
Lettering: Artie Simek, civilian tax-payer
20 pages

Previous	#322	Next
	Prelude	Captain America Comics #1, Story D
Sgt. Fury #16	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #65
Sgt. Fury #16	Sgt. Fury	Sgt. Fury #18

Since Roussos left, this title is having trouble finding a consistent inker for Ayers. We had Giacoia last issue and Ditko the issue before. This issue, Vince Colletta finds time between issues of Thor to lend his inks. Colletta had been a sergeant in the Air Force, so he fits the credits scheme of noting the military service of this series’ contributors.

We pick up where last issue left off, with the Commandos still in the Sahara desert. They are ready to return home, but are instead given a new assignment.

Sgt. Fury #16

A Fortress in the Desert Stands!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: January 12, 1965
Cover: March 1965
12 cents
Written with machine gun power by Ex-Sgt. Stan Lee
Drawn with howitzer impact by Ex-Corp. Dick Ayers
Inked with rifle-fire sharpness by Ex-Corp. Frank Ray
Lettered with bloodshot eyes by Artie Simek Civilian 1st Class
20 pages

Previous	#321	Next
Amazing Spider-Man #23	Reading order	Sgt. Fury #17
Sgt. Fury #15	Sgt. Fury	Sgt. Fury #17

The cover is striking because of the dominant yellow. We haven’t yet seen a cover with such a coloring scheme, but they’ll become more common, and they’ll always catch my eye. This particular color evokes the intense heat of the desert.

Hans Rooten takes his new place as squad mascot. He’s even got a uniform to indicate his “mascot” status. He’s written far more sensibly than, say, Rick Jones is in Avengers. He is allowed to train with the Commandos, but not on dangerous maneuvers, and he doesn’t go on missions, whereas the Avengers take Rick to fight most any super-villain.

The only not-particularly sensible thing is why they continue to let Hans believe his father is a traitor. Now that he’s safely in England, there’s surely no harm in telling the kid his father is a heroic Allied double agent. But these were his father’s wishes, so the child will go on thinking himself to be basically an orphan, with the Howlers the only family he has left.

This page is from the original comic, found online.

Hans has already figured out the character of Sgt. Fury: “He is yelling at me! That means he likes me!”

Hans wants to be a Howler when he grows up. Nick hopes that when he grows up, there won’t be any need for Howlers.

Strange Tales #131

The Bouncing Ball of Doom!

Featuring: Human Torch and Thing
Release: January 12, 1965
Cover: April 1965
12 cents
Story by: Stan (Prolific) Lee
Illustrations by: Bob (Terrific) Powell
Delineation by: Dick (Specific) Ayers
Lettering by: S. (Hieroglyphic) Rosen
12 pages

Previous	#318	Next
Tales of Suspense #64, Story B	Reading order	Fantastic Four #37
Strange Tales #130, Story B	Strange Tales	Strange Tales #131, Story B
Captain America Comics #1, Story C	Prelude

Continuing through the Human Torch stories in Strange Tales while saving the Dr. Strange stories for much later.

Why is the story titled the “Bouncing Ball of Doom”? Because the Thinker’s plan involves a bouncing ball.

Huh.

How many Human Torch stories do we still have to read?

I must emphasize that the Dr. Strange story is one of the single greatest Marvel stories of all time, yet the Bouncing Ball of Doom is what gets spotlighted on the cover.