Featuring: Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD Release: September 9, 1965 Cover: December 1965 12 cents Sensationally written by: Stan Lee Spectacularly laid-out by: Jack Kirby Superbly illustrated by: Joe Sinnott Silently lettered by: Artie Simek 12 pages
You know that no insurance company would give a policy to a SHIELD man! There’s only one thing we won’t die of– and that’s old age!
I think you can tell at a glance my copy of this comic has seen better days.
The cover’s an interesting gimmick. It’s mostly just the first page of the issue, but then it has Dr. Strange holding the page. The caption tells us, “Amost everybody reads SHIELD!”
The Dr. Strange figure is drawn by Marie Severin, sister of John Severin, who drew the last couple issues of SHIELD. She’s been doing staff work at Marvel, but will soon enough be chosen to draw Dr. Strange herself.
You kind of get the sense that they didn’t have a cover at all, and this got thrown together by staff. But they get a nice test run for Ms. Severin on the Doctor.
The story opens with Nick Fury in outer space being pursued by…err… that… thing.
Ah, he’s being subjected to some virtual reality thing designed to pry from his mind the secrets of Stark’s new weapon, the, err, braino-saur.
Featuring: Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD Release: August 10, 1965 Cover: November 1965 12 cents Written by: Stan Lee, sultan of script! Laid out by: Jack Kirby, master of melodrama! Drawn by: Johnny Severin, archduke of art! Lettered by: S. Rosen, prince of penmanship! 12 pages
And knock off that “Colonel” jazz, Mister! I keep thinkin’ ya mean someone else!
Nick Fury gets the cover again, even though the Dr. Strange story is one of the single greatest issues of all time.
Last issue, we watched three SHIELD agents sacrifice their lives in an attempt to find Hydra’s Betatron Bomb. Nick reflects on that as he realizes they are just moments too late to prevent the launch. And Hydra can now hold the world hostage.
Even Hydra has an org chart in every presentation.
Tony Stark has a secret invention which can help, but before he shows it to Fury, Hydra attacks the Stark plant. Tony is able to save himself, but not Fury, who is captured by Hydra.
Featuring: Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD Release: July 8, 1965 Cover: October 1965 12 cents Story: Stan Lee Layouts: J. Kirby Art: J. Severin Lettering: Art Simek 12 pages
Well, we can’t just stand here cryin’ in our soup, like kids! That won’t bring those joes back! We gotta make sure they didn’t cash in their chips for nothin’!
It’s a pretty big deal that Severin is given the cover. Even when Stan’s used different interior artists, he’s wanted Kirby on the cover. Heck’s been the regular artist on Iron Man since day 1, but Kirby’s almost always done the covers. All but one, so far. Kirby got all the Giant-Man covers, whether it was Heck or Ayers on art. But the artist base is starting to expand. Colan’s been doing the Sub-Mariner covers, and now Severin gets a SHIELD cover.
We get something new with the credits. The art attempts to integrate them into the story. Rather than a separate box, they show up on a computer screen at SHIELD HQ.
We see the “Q” scene as Nick Fury gets his fancy gadgeted clothing. The dialogue is pretty rote at this point. “Why are you giving me an ordinary hat?” “Ho ho, it just looks like an ordinary hat…”
I think the hat is cool because it seems like it might actually work. There’s nothing too fancy going on in their diagram. A hat whose brim works like a periscope to allow you to see what’s going on behind you.
I’m not sure I would want to wear a suit made of explosive fabric.
Featuring: Fantastic Four Release: July 1, 1965 Cover: 1965 25 cents Written by: Stan Lee Drawn by: Jack Kirby Inked by: Vince Colletta Lettered by: Artie Simek 23 pages
I now pronounce you man and wife! You may kiss your bride!
It’s the wedding of the century. Today’s the day. Half the Marvels have been invited! And the rest of them are turning up anyway!
This issue represents by far the largest gathering of heroes and villains yet, forever binding these disparate characters into a universe.
This issue represents the idea that there is no status quo, that these characters are at their best when they change and grow. Forward momentum is an essential ingredient to storytelling. Genuine, non-illusionary, change.
This is the most significant moment in the early Marvel Universe.
I think I’d have come up with a better title than “Bedlam at the Baxter Building”.
I wish Chic Stone or Joe Sinnott had been the inker. A few months too late to have Stone and one month too early to have Sinnott. Also, Colletta is uniquely suited to a long special issue with many characters because he’s famously expedient.
I appreciate that the headline takes for granted the public knows who Reed and Sue are without the need for surnames or superhero identities. The cover does the same for its audience.
Pretty cool this worked out to be the 400th story in our reading order. Currently on track to also have the 500th story be a particularly special issue of Fantastic Four as well. When we read Avengers #1, it was the 100th story, but then I went and retroactively mucked with the ordering.
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
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.
Featuring: Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD Release: June 8, 1965 Cover: September 1965 12 cents Script by the unpredictable Stan Lee Layouts by the unmatchable Jack Kirby Art by the unbeatable Johnny Severin Lettering by the unsinkable Art Simek 12 pages
Hail Hydra! Immortal Hydra! We shall never be destroyed! Cut off a limb and two more shall take its place! We serve none but the Master– as the world shall soon serve us! Hail Hydra!
We get a new artist, described as another returnee from the Golden Age. John (Johnny) Severin. I’m a big fan and excited he’s joining us.
Kirby is on the layouts, but John will provide most of the details. This of course means Kirby is responsible for the storytelling.
He’s been with the industry almost 20 years by this point, working off and on for Marvel, but doing his most famous work for EC. Here’s a sampling.
Prize Comics Western #72 (Prize, 1948)
Actual Romances #1 (Marvel, 1949)
Two-Fisted Tales #19 (EC, 1951)
Frontline Combat #1 (EC, 1951)
Mad #1 (EC, 1952)
Sergeant Barney Barker #1 (Marvel, 1956)
Notice that the colorist for the EC books, including Mad, was John’s sister Marie Severin. We’ll be hearing more from her soon.
Of those titles, Mad is the most famous, and would endure in some form for 65 years until finally shutting down in 2018. Perhaps the world had grown too farcical by then to satire.
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
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
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.
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
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.
Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Release: December 10, 1964 Cover: February 1965 12 cents Writer: Stan Lee Artist: Dick Ayers Inker: Steve Ditko Letterer: S. Rosen 20 pages
This is pretty exciting. Ditko inking Ayers. Definitely the first time we’ve seen that. And the opposite of the roles I most associate each artist with. It’s mostly not obvious to my untrained eye that Ditko is the inker, but I think I see him shining through on some of the faces, particularly Captain Sawyer and some of the ladies.
George Roussos had been the regular inker up to this point, under the pseudonym George Bell. It looks like last month marked the end of his regular Marvel work for now. He will return in a couple years and eventually become a staff colorist at Marvel.
Roussos has likely been coloring many of the comics we’ve read as well, but I don’t often have colorist credits in front of me, and am anyway often reading these stories in recolored reprints. So I’ve certainly failed to appreciate his coloring contributions.
We’ll see Roussos once more in the near future, because we still haven’t read the Hulk story from last month. And then we’ll see him again, eventually.
The idea of these 15 issues has been to take the Commandos to every theatre of the war– Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, England, Japan, Africa… Holland was due.
