m. demeo – Coke & Comics

Strange Tales #144

The Day of the Druid!

Featuring: Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD
Release: February 10, 1966
Cover: May 1966
12 cents
Writer: Stan Lee
Designer: Jack Kirby
Penciller: H. Purcell
Inker: M. Demeo
Letterer: Sam Rosen
12 pages

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Daredevil #17	Reading order	Strange Tales #144, Story B
Strange Tales #143, Story B	Strange Tales	Strange Tales #144, Story B

It is given to few men to serve the forces of SHIELD… and those of us who are chosen dare not take the challenge lightly!

We are back for the new year! And Howard Purcell is back on art. He was credited with an assist last issue, but now is credited as the penciller, with Kirby as the “designer”. Which presumably means layouts by Kirby, finished pencils by Purcell, followed by inks by Esposito. Or something like that.

Strange Tales has oddly shared its pages of late between the spy stories of Nick Fury and the mystical stories of Dr. Strange. It seems like the writer has finally mixed up the two and tossed a Dr. Strange villain into Nick Fury’s story.

Tales to Astonish #75, Story B

Not All My Power Can Save Me!

Featuring: Hulk
Release: October 5, 1965
Cover: January 1966
12 cents
Story: Stan Lee
Layouts: Jack Kirby
Illustrations: M. Demeo
Lettering: S. Rosen
Enjoying: That’s your job, pussycat!
10 pages

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Tales of Suspense #76, Story B	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #76, Story B
Tales to Astonish #75	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #76

At last I got somethin’ to smash out against… somethin’ to fight… a chance to do the thing I can do better than anything that lives!

This picks up right where the last issue left off, though we paused for a bit since reading the last issue and since reading the earlier half of this comic.

Hulk had just acquired the Ultimate Machine for the Leader from the Watcher’s world. Leader’s attempt to use the machine resulted in his death.

Strange Tales #143

To Free a Brain Slave

Featuring: Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD
Release: January 11, 1966
Cover: April 1966
12 cents
Story: Stan Lee
Art: Jack Kirby
with an assist by: Howard Purcell
Inking: M. Demeo
Lettering: A. Simek
12 pages

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Strange Tales #142, Story B	Reading order	Strange Tales #143, Story B
Strange Tales #142, Story B	Strange Tales	Strange Tales #143, Story B

Howard Purcell is a new name to us, but he’s been in the business since 1940, mostly doing work for the companies that would become DC. He’s not going to be a regular Marvel artist. It’s not even clear what he did this issue. Some form of finishing Kirby’s pencil art before handing it off to Mike Esposito to finish in ink.