Sgt. Fury #32

A Traitor in Our Midsts!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: May 10, 1966
Cover: July 1966
12 cents
Exquisitely non-edited by: Stan Lee
Ecstatically scripted by: Roy Thomas
Excitedly drawn by: Dick Ayers
Elatedly inked by: John Tartaglione
Eventually lettered by: Sam Rosen
20 pages

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Sgt. Fury #31Sgt. FurySgt. Fury #33

“Now lissen, ya blasted goldbricks, and lissen good! This medic’s come all the way from the States to find out what makes us Howlers tick, an’ anybody that gives him trouble will answer to me! The doc’s here to see to it that none’a you jaw-flappin’ hyenas conks out on a mission! Like the sayin’ goes, a chain’s only as good as its weakest link!”
“Ain’t that pretty, Reb?”
“It sho’ nuff is, Gabe! Hey, Sarge… y’all think up that li’l ol’ speech by yoahself?”
“Shuddup!”

Stan has something of a mixed reputation amongst fans today. One of the common complaints against him is that he took more credit than was due, that he accepted the credit and pay of a writer on works where his role was closer to that of an editor.

As he’s been handing off scripting duties to folks like Thomas and O’Neil, he’s stopped taking writing credit. But still gets his name first in the credits, now as an editor. (Interestingly, Roy Thomas is facing a bit of controversy lately for claiming to much creative credit from his later role as an editor.)

Amusingly, the credits admit Stan is now on vacation and wasn’t able to edit this particular book. So he claims credit for not editing the comic.

And still gets his name at the top of the credits!

We’d recently read a Daredevil comic from the same month where O’Neil had to finish the script because Stan took a vacation.

This actually may be the first comic we’ve come across that Stan Lee claims no credit for.

It’s possible this was Stan’s first vacation in five years.

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Sgt. Fury #31

Into the Jaws of… Death!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandoes
Release: April 12, 1966
Cover: June 1966
12 cents
Written by: Roy Thomas
Illustrated by: Dick Ayers
Inked by: J. Tartaglione
Lettered by: Sam Rosen
20 pages

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Sgt. Fury #30Sgt. FurySgt. Fury #32

I guess these big bad nazis plain scared me so much I couldn’t remember a thing!

This is an above-average Sgt. Fury story. It’s got a more intricate plot than usual with some clear stakes. Captain Sawyer gets a larger role, allowing his character to be fleshed out some. And it’s notable for introducing us finally to General Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander. I like that guy.

We saw in last issue’s text box that D-Day was approaching. We see the Howlers training underwater for that mission, dubbed Operation Overlord.

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Sgt. Fury #29

Armageddon!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: February 10, 1966
Cover: April 1966
12 cents
Explosive editing by: Stan Lee
Seething script by: Roy Thomas
Pulsating pencils by: Dick Ayers
Invigorating inking by: John Tartaglione
Lacksadaisal lettering by Sam Rosen
20 pages

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Sgt. Fury #28Sgt. FurySgt. Fury #30

Armageddon… that the day when good and evil are supposed ta lock horns for the last time… with the good guys comin’ out on top! ‘Course, I know we went through that ‘war to end war’ jazz before! Still, a guy can’t help hopin’–! Yeah, every once in a while, I get ta thinkin’… mebbe this one will be the last war! Mebbe—

We met Roy Thomas in his first Marvel story featuring Millie the Model. He’s since done other work for Millie and for Kid Colt Outlaw. He has a couple other credits out there because he’d submitted some story ideas to other companies before landing the Marvel gig, and they’re now seeing print. We saw him a second time on a confusingly credited issue of Iron Man that seemed like they’d recruited everybody around.

This will be his first ongoing series. He’ll script the next 12 issues of Sgt. Fury. And the first time any of these Marvel titles have seen Stan Lee take a break of longer than a couple issues. Stan Lee has penned his last Sgt. Fury script. Without much fanfare.

Of course, Stan Lee still gets his name first in the credits. He is indeed the editor for this and all the titles.

It’s worth noting that right away Thomas will start referencing the continuity of earlier issues.

Thomas picks up where Lee left off with a tense face-off between Fury and his archnemesis, Baron Strucker. Strucker has a switch which will blow up the entire city; Fury a trigger to blow the building they are both in.

Except Fury is bluffing. His explosives aren’t wired yet.

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Sgt. Fury #28

Not a Man Shall Remain Alive!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: January 11, 1966
Cover: March 1966
12 cents
Story by: Stan Lee
Art by: Dick Ayers
Inking by: John Tartaglione
Lettering by: Sam Rosen
20 pages

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Amazing Spider-Man #35Reading orderSgt. Fury #29
Sgt. Fury #27Sgt. FurySgt. Fury #29

Without weapons, without organization, even without hope, the spirit of free Frenchmen cannot be snuffed out!

We come to Stan Lee’s final issue as writer on this title. It ends with a cliffhanger, though a rather exciting one.

We see some conflict between Hitler and Strucker. Baron Strucker is an aristocrat who hates Hitler, who thinks him a madman. But Strucker follows orders to crush the resistance in Cherbeaux, even if he must kill the entire town to do so.

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Sgt. Fury #26

Dum Dum Does It the Hard Way!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: November 11, 1965
Cover: January 1966
12 cents
Written with block-buster force by Stan Lee!
Drawn with machine-gun power by Dick Ayers!
Inked with dive-bomber impact by Carl Hubbell!
Lettered with bloodshot eyes by Artie Simek!
20 pages

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Sgt. Fury #25Sgt. FurySgt. Fury #27

Sweet dreams, Master Race!!

We last saw Dum Dum two issues back. He was wounded in America and sent to the hospital. The Howlers couldn’t wait for him because they were urgently recalled to base to battle (maybe) the Red Skull. Dum Dum was in for a worse fate, because his wife and mother-in-law were going to visit him in the hospital.

This will be Dum Dum’s chance to shine in a largely solo feature.

We see the rest of the team in the beginning for a mission brief that fills us in on what Dum Dum has been up to since his recovery.

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Sgt. Fury #25

Every Man My Enemy!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: October 12, 1965
Cover: December 1965
12 cents
Written in rage by: Stan Lee
Pencilled in panic by: Dick Ayers
Delineated in despair by: John Tartaglione
Lettered in the office by: Sam Rosen
20 pages

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Sgt. Fury #24Sgt. FurySgt. Fury #26

They seek a simple Nazi spy… an impersonator… nothing more! Little do they dream that they have the Fuehrer’s most dangerous agent in their midst! How they would tremble if they knew their foe is actually– the Red Skull!

Evocative cover not in Kirby’s usual mold for Sgt. Fury covers. Brings to mind the war comics covers of Joe Kubert, which this title owes many a debt to.

This is the first time we’ve seen John Tartaglione. He’s worked for Marvel on and off since the 1950s, with most of his work being in the romance genre. He’s going to become Ayers’ regular inker on this title for the next couple years.

Here’s an early example of his inking, over Pierce Rice from Marvel’s Amazing Detective Cases #6 (1951), and a contemporaneous example from Patsy Walker #124 (1965), over Al Hartley’s pencils.

Here are two examples of his pencil art, from Young Men #11 (1951) and True Secrets #13 (1952), both from Marvel.

Recall last issue, the Howlers were on furlough in America when they got urgent orders to return to Europe, with sealed instructions to be opened on the plane. Dum Dum was wounded and so remained in America. And Hans has gone to live with the Ralstons until the war ends.

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Sgt. Fury #24

When the Howlers Hit the Home Front!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Relase: September 9, 1965
Cover: November 1965
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee, Army Vet!
Pencilled by Dick Ayers, Air Force Vet!
Inked by Frank Ray, Air Force Vet!
Lettered by S. Rosen, Teacher’s Pet!
20 pages

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Stan and Dick want to take this opportunity to give a heartfelt thanks and well done to the countless wonderful guys and gals who did so much under the banner of the U.S.O., to keep up the morale of lonely Allied fighting men, both near and far from home! We’ll never forget ’em!

Happy Sam orders the Howlers on a furlough back to the States, including Percy and Hans.

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Sgt. Fury #22

Don’t Turn Your Back on Bull McGiveney!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: July 8, 1965
Cover: September 1965
12 cents
Story: The greatest, by Stan Lee
Art: The first-ratest, by Dick Ayers
Inking: The ornatest, by Carl Hubbell
Lettering: The straightest, by Art Simek
20 pages

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Marvels #2PRELUDE
Tales of Suspense #72Reading orderAmazing Spider-Man #29
Sgt. Fury #21Sgt. FurySgt. Fury #23

“Figure it wuz worth it, Sarge?”
“That’s for the history books, soldier!”

This story sets the Howlers on a mission that ties into a famous mission from World War II, Operation: Tidal Wave. This shows us where we are in time. It’s now August 1, 1943. The real-life operation was an ambitious bombing of Nazi oil refineries near Ploiești, Romania, which this comic will spell “Ploesti”.

Sergeants Fury and McGiveney will both be assigned to take their squads to provide preliminary support by destroying Nazi flak guns. McGiveney’s Maulers will be assigned to sabotage the main emplacements, while Fury and his Howlers will be assigned to destroy a train used to deploy mobile flak guns.

Of course, these two squads don’t get along and we’ve never before seen them try to work together. In fact, the story opens with them in a typical brawl, which gets interrupted by Captain Sawyer.

A Sergeant Lee and Corporal Ayers witness the Howlers going off to their mission. Lee decides he’s going to write stories about the Howlers one day and that Ayers can draw them. Indeed, we’ve met this Lee fellow a couple times before. We know he would go on to write the Fantastic Four comics, but would not get an invite to the FF wedding.

Sure enough, the rival squads step on each others’ toes a bit come the mission. The squads run into each other in the dark and mistake each other for the enemy. The confusion created leads to the capture of Fury and McGiveney.

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Sgt. Fury Annual 1

Commission in Korea!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: July 1, 1965
Cover: 1965
25 cents
Story: Smilin’ Stan Lee
Art: Darlin’ Dick Ayers
Inking: Frisky Frankie Ray
Lettering: Artful Artie Simek
15 pages

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Sgt. Fury AnnualSgt. Fury Annual 2

They have been shown, in the only way they understand, that free men can always strike back!

We check in with Sgt. Fury during the Korean War. The Commandos are sent on a secret mission across the 38th Parallel. Based on a cursory knowledge of the war, the massive American presence combined with a reticence to cross the 38th Parallel would place this story in July-August 1950.

The remaining Commandos all survived WWII and re-enlisted when the Korean War broke out. All of them have attained at least the rank of Sergeant, but they still seem to be in the same formation with the same personnel from 1943.

The narrator reminds us that the US are the good guys, who play by the agreed-upon rules of war. Unlike those Reds.

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Sgt. Fury #21

To Free a Hostage!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: June 8, 1965
Cover: August 1965
12 cents
Story by: Smilin’ Stan Lee
Pencilling by: Darlin’ Dick Ayers
Inking by: Cheerful Carl Hubbell
Lettering by: Adorable Artie Simek
20 pages

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Sgt. Fury #20Sgt. FurySgt. Fury #22

I’m sorry kid. I know what it’s like– to lose someone!

The Howlers seem to have been betrayed by their Czechoslovakian bomb maker, Dr. Zenish.

They deduce that it’s because his family is being used as hostages against him.

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