Since Roussos left, this title is having trouble finding a consistent inker for Ayers. We had Giacoia last issue and Ditko the issue before. This issue, Vince Colletta finds time between issues of Thor to lend his inks. Colletta had been a sergeant in the Air Force, so he fits the credits scheme of noting the military service of this series’ contributors.
We pick up where last issue left off, with the Commandos still in the Sahara desert. They are ready to return home, but are instead given a new assignment.
Fighting Side-By-Side With… Captain America and Bucky!
Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Release: October 8, 1964 Cover: December 1964 12 cents Written and drawn by the Titanic Two: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Inked by: Dick Ayers Lettered by: A. Simek 23 pages
Jack Kirby returns for one final issue of Sgt. Fury, likely motivated by the choice of guest star. Under Kirby, this was one of Marvel’s best titles. It’s perhaps lost a step under Ayers, though remains one of the better series we are reading.
So far, one could almost question why we are reading this World War II series along with all the superhero ones. It is certainly the odd duck in my reading list. We have had two points of crossover so far. The Commandos teamed with a young Mr. Fantastic when he was Major Richards of the OSS, and we saw an older Colonel Fury team up with the Fantastic Four. This is the third point of crossover between Nick Fury and the superhero titles. There will be more.
Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Release: July 9, 1964 Cover: September 1964 12 cents Written by: Stan Lee (the ol’ three-striper himself) Illustrated by: Dick Ayers ( the ol’ high-flyin’ corporal) Inked by: Geo. Bell Lettered by: S. Rosen 22 pages
A feature of this comic has been a desire to send the Howlers to every theater of the war. They are based in England, but have already fought in Germany, Italy, Africa… now they’re off to Japan. Does it make any actual sense that a single squadron would have such geographically disparate missions? I don’t think we’re supposed to worry about it.
Captain Sawyer describes Okinawa as Japanese-occupied. An odd phrasing. Japan had conquered it over 60 years earlier. At some point, it’s just part of Japan. At the time the comic was published, Okinawa was occupied by America, but has since been returned to Japan. It remains part of Japan to this day.
Captain Sawyer and the other characters refer to the Japanese as “Japs”. Today, this is generally recognized as a racial slur that was prevalent among 1940s Americans. Having the characters use such language is likely historically accurate.
Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos Release: June 9, 1964 Cover: August 1964 12 cents Sensational story by: Ex-Sgt. Stan Lee! Awe-inspiring art by: Ex-Corp. Dick Ayers! Inked by: Geo. Bell Lettered by: S. Rosen 22 pages
Nick Fury is always on his best behavior when on a date with Pam. Unfortunately, their lovely evening is brought to a halt when Fury’s Howlers splash mud on him. He starts to lose his temper, only to be scolded by Pam, who is more impressed by Percy’s gentlemanliness. Fury then gets a scolding from the Captain for the muddy uniform. This remains the funniest title.
The Howlers’ mission is to sneak into Berlin and capture Hitler. Seems easy enough until Fury is recognized by Baron Strucker.
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.
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.
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.
