howling commandos – Page 4

Sgt. Fury #8

The Death Ray of Dr. Zemo!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: May 5, 1964
Cover: July 1964
12 cents
Not a bad story by: Ex-Sgt. Stan Lee
Passable art by: Ex-Corp. Dick Ayers
Inked by: Geo. Bell
Lettered by: S. Rosen
22 pages

I know what you’re thinking.
Didn’t we just read Sgt. Fury #7 pretty recently?
Yes.
But isn’t Sgt. Fury bimonthly?
Yes.
Wait. This comic is from May. You were just reading March comics.
Yes.
You haven’t even finished March yet. We haven’t read the March Iron Man story.
True.
I know you’re mostly going in publishing order, but sometimes move things around for story reasons.
I do.
But that doesn’t make any sense here, right? You only move things around when comics tie into each other, and Sgt. Fury is set in WWII. How can it tie in directly with any superhero comics?

Well, there’s the rub. For reasons we’ll go into later, we are reading Avengers #6 two months early. And, as noted on the first page, this issue does tie into Avengers #6! Sort of, at least. They were released the same day and star the same villain, Dr. Zemo.

It makes for a pretty uncommon occurrence in comics, where fans like to track what a character’s first appearance is. Dr. Zemo has two. He was introduced on the same day in two different titles, two stories set twenty years apart. We’ll meet him here in Sgt. Fury, then see what he’s up to twenty years later menacing the Avengers.

It’s a pretty cool and unique quasi-crossover. In service of it, we’re reading Sgt. Fury #8 two months early.

Sgt. Fury #7

The Court-Martial of Sergeant Fury

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: March 3, 1964
Cover: May 1964
12 cents
Powerfully written by: Ex-Sergeant Stan Lee
Brilliantly drawn by: Ex-Infantryman Jack Kirby
Inked by: Geo. Bell
Lettered by: Art Simek
22 pages

We’re losing track of time a little because we’ve already read four comics from March and even one from April, but we are now actually finished with February and officially starting our March reading with this issue. So let’s take a moment to see what else is going on in the comics world in March 1964.

Our reading began in 1961 with Fantastic Four #1. We haven’t been covering every Marvel title; we’ve skipped all the western and humor comics that predate FF#1. We’ve been reading parts of all the horror titles as they have slowly transitioned to being superhero titles. We’ve read every new series Marvel has put out since, all superhero comics except for this title, Sgt. Fury. A new Marvel title premieres this month, the first new title that will be outside our scope: Monsters to Laugh With. It’s a comic I’ve never read and don’t have easy access to. The comic uses actual stills from monster movies and adds humorous word balloons to them, for some definition of “humorous”. Taint the Meat has a good description of the series.

This month also sees a significant comic show up at the Distinguished Competition. Detective Comics #327 debuts the “new look” Batman with the now-famous yellow oval around the logo and a new style of storytelling to go with it. Upping their game a bit, perhaps to compete with Marvel.

But this is also a significant issue in the history of Sgt. Fury. As Jack Kirby bids the series goodbye. Now that he’s the regular artist on Thor, it makes sense that something had to give. But it’s too bad it’s this. I think this series has so far been Lee and Kirby’s best work, and Kirby seemed to have a real passion and enthusiasm for these characters and stories. I am sad to see him go.

Sgt. Fury #6

The Fangs of the Desert Fox!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: January 3, 1964
Cover: March 1964
12 cents
Written by: Ex-Sergeant Stan Lee, U.S. Army
Illustrated by: Ex-infantryman Jack Kirby, U.S. Army
Inked by: Geo. Bell
Lettering: Art Simek
23 pages

The cover claims this story is based on a little known incident of the North African campaign. There’s a lot going on in this comic, plenty rooted partially in history, so I can’t pinpoint what incident the cover is referring to.

Rommel was a celebrated Nazi general and field marshal of their army in World War II. He did lead Axis forces in the North African campaign. His nickname was “the Desert Fox”. And he was involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler.

Sgt. Fury #5

At the Mercy of Baron Strucker

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: November 5, 1963
Cover: January 1964
12 cents
Written by: Ex-Sgt. Stan Lee, U.S. Army
Illustrated by: Ex-Infantryman Jack Kirby, U.S. Army
Inked by: G. Bell
23 pages

Last issue gave us the death of a Howler. The series hasn’t forgotten that, and the opening of the issue shows Sgt. Fury processing the death of Junior Juniper in his own way.

They also haven’t forgotten about the girl Nick met last issue. We see the Sergeant and Lady Hawley on a date. She encourages more gentlemanly behavior on his part. They seem to be an item.