jonathan junior juniper – Coke & Comics

Sgt. Fury #4

Lord Ha-Ha’s Last Laugh!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: September 3, 1963
Cover: November 1963
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Drawn by: Jack Kirby
Inked by: G. Bell
22 pages

The cover lets us know that one Commando will fight no more after this mission. Comic covers of the time are full of exaggerated dramatic assertions. This is not one of those.

George Roussos is fast becoming one of the more regular inkers, using the pseudonym George Bell. This is his first time on Sgt. Fury. Dick Ayers handled the inking for the first 3 issues.

The opening page is a good test for me to see if I’ve been paying attention. Last issue offered the name of each character on the opening page. This time the question is whether I can identify each Commando to fill out my character section below. Sgt. Fury and Dum-Dum are distinctive, and I know them well from many later comics. Gabe Jones is clear, the only black man on the team. Fortunately, Dino Manelli is combing his hair; that comb is a signature; recall he’s a famous Hollywood actor. The scraggly guy is Izzy Cohen. That leaves the two blonde guys to not mix up, and I had to peek at the previous issue. I think the green hat is meant to be distinctive for Rebel Ralston, making the other one Junior Juniper. Junior is freckled, but that’s not obvious in this picture.

Sgt. Fury #3

Midnight on Massacre Mountain!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandoes
Release: July 2, 1963
Cover: September 1963
12 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Drawn by: Jack Kirby
Inking: Dick Ayers
22 pages

The scans below are taken from a reprint in Special Marvel Edition #5, from 1972.

The goal of this blog is to get at the large meta-story that is the Marvel Universe. What we are mostly reading is a collection of titles that don’t seem to be particularly related except for one piece of glue: the Fantastic Four. At this point, the Fantastic Four have met Spider-Man, Hulk, Namor, and Ant-Man. They have not yet met up with Iron Man or Thor, but we have here a more unlikely connection. The story of how Reed Richards met Sgt. Fury.

Of course, the bonds will be forming even stronger in another comic that premieres this very same day, one which really ties the universe together, just as a rug might do to a room.

Sgt. Fury #2

7 Doomed Men!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandoes
Release: May 2, 1963
Cover: July 1963
12 cents
Script: Stan Lee
Art: Jack Kirby
Inking: Dick Ayers
23 pages

I read this story in Sgt. Fury Epic Collection vol. 1: The Howling Commandoes. Scans are taken from a reprint in Sgt. Fury #95 from 1972.

The story opens at a Nazi u-boat port in occupied France.

The plan is to create a diversion so that Nazis don’t notice a destroyer coming in to destroy the port. I have one concern with the plan. Sgt. Fury notes the destroyer is coming at 1300. The narration tells us it’s currently dark out. The implication is that it’s nighttime, presumably no later than 0400 or so. Are they supposed to create a 9-hour long diversion? Even if it’s just a dark morning, we’re still looking at 0800 at latest, well before it seems an appropriate time to start the diversion.

Sgt. Fury #1

Sgt. Fury, and His Howling Commandos/Seven Against the Nazis!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos
Release: March 5, 1963
Cover: May 1963
12 cents
Story: Stan Lee
Art: Jack Kirby
Inking: Dick Ayers
21 pages

I read this comic in Sgt. Fury Epic Collection vol. 1: The Howling Commandos.

So why are we reading this comic in with the superhero stories? Well, the answer is probably obvious, but let’s think it through a little. What else is Marvel putting out in March of 1963 that I could be reading?

Two western comics: Gunsmoke Western and Rawhide Kid. And a few later time-travel stories will intersect these heroes with our superhero comics, so they’re not irrelevant. The problem is there are so many western comics, going back to well before we started our reading in 1961. The original Two-Gun Kid debuted in 1948, the same month as Annie Oakley #1. Kid Colt, Blaze Carson, Tex Morgan, and Tex Taylor debuted soon after. Point is, we are nowhere near a good jumping on point for the western stories.

There are two romance titles out this month, Love Romances and Patsy and Hedy. As we’ve mentioned, Patsy Walker will eventually become a superhero. But there are also a lot of these comics going back to the 1940s. Patsy’s had a regular feature since 1945.

(Notice that’s also Jack Kirby on the Love Romances comic. So he’s telling a lot of stories in a lot of genres this month.)

There are four fantasy anthology titles, each with a superhero feature we’ve been reading as the lead story. One pure superhero comic.

And now a war comic set in World War II. Why read the war comic with our superhero reading and not the westerns or romance comics?

Two answers, there.