roy thomas – Coke ⊕ Comics

Sgt. Fury #41

Blitzkrieg in Britain!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: February 2, 1967
Cover: April 1967
Stan Lee proudly presents..
A Roy Thomas-Dick Ayers movie-length masterwork!
Inking: John Tartaglione
Lettering: Sam Rosen
Technical advisor: PFC. Irving Forbush (retired)
20 pages

Previous	#668	Next
Daredevil #27	Reading order	X-Men #31
Sgt. Fury #40	Sgt. Fury	Sgt. Fury #42

“I know it don’t help much for me to say this, Dino… but, we’re gonna pay ‘im back! For Nina– For Pam– An’ Junior Juniper… for all of ’em!” (An’ mebbe, when that day comes, Nick Fury’ll finally know what it feels like to be at peace… with the world, and with himself!)

My copy seems to have some extra artwork.

There’s a phrasing in the credits which will be important, and I think it’s the first time we’ve seen it. “Stan Lee proudly presents..”

When I started reading comics in the eighties, every Marvel comic featured the phrase “Stan Lee presents”, though Stan’s role in production by that point was purely symbolic. As Stan has gone from writing everything to letting Roy Thomas write several titles, he’s still made sure his name goes on top of the credits, usually with an “editor” credit.

But here, it’s “Stan Lee… presents”, a phrase we will see again. And again.

Also of note, the comic is described as “movie-length”. It’s 20 pages. That’s not movie-length. Maybe the length of a movie from the 19th century. That said, I think the phrase is really a nod to this issue’s plot.

Sgt. Fury #40

…That France Might Be Free!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: January 10, 1967
Cover: March 1967
12 cents
Explosive editing by Stan Lee
Scorching scripting by Roy Thomas
Piping-hot plotting and drawing by Dick Ayers
Inflammable Inking by John Tartaglione
Lukewarm lettering by Sam Rosen
20 pages

Previous	#661	Next
X-Men #30	Reading order	Fantastic Four #61
Sgt. Fury #39	Sgt. Fury	Sgt. Fury #41

Perhaps it is not I, Sergeant, so much as what I stand for… A France that one day shall be free again!

D-Day is approaching, but the Allies will need the help of the French Resistance, and an important leader has been captured.

His names is Jacques Dernier. The Commandos know him as Frenchie. The editor’s note lets us know we met him in Sgt. Fury #21.

X-Men #30

The Menace of Merlin!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: January 10, 1967
Cover: March 1967
12 cents
Stan Lee, editor
Roy Thomas, scripter
Jack Sparling, designer
John Tartaglione, delineator
Artie Simek, letterer
Irv Forbush, manicurist
20 pages

Previous	#660	Next
Tales to Astonish #91, Story B	Reading order	Sgt. Fury #40
X-Men #29	X-Men	X-Men #31

Because it pleases me, I shall explain my master plan to you…

Last month we saw Jack Sparling drawn a Captain America story.

This is his second Marvel work, and his last one for a very long time.

Sparling is drawing some uniquely structured pages compared to the rest of our Marvel reading.

Tales of Suspense #87, Story B

Wanted: Captain America!

Featuring: Captain America
Release: December 8, 1966
Cover: March 1967
12 cents
Editing: Stan Lee
Script: Roy Thomas
Drawn by: Jack Sparling
Inked by: Joe Sinnott
Lettered by: Sam Rosen
Subway swept by: Honest Irv
10 pages

Previous	#654	Next
Tales of Suspense #87	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #88
Tales of Suspense #87	Tales of Suspense	Tales of Suspense #88

You may have had hours of practice… but I’ve had years!

That’s quite a surprising line-up of creators. Lee and Kirby have been handling Captain America thus far. Kirby took a couple issues off last year, with fill-ins by Ayers or Romita. And Kirby isn’t done with the book, but it will be a few issues until we see him again, with Gil Kane taking over. Lee is only taking this one issue off.

Thomas is Lee’s standard backup at this point, so his name isn’t that surprising. Joe Sinnott is our favorite inker these days, so it’s good to see him.

But who is Jack Sparling? That’s a new name to us. He’s one of those guys that’s worked in comics since the 1940s, seemingly at every company but Marvel. This is his first Marvel work and he won’t become a regular.

Here’s a sampling of his work.

The Yorktown Younger Set, Calling All Girls #3, Parents’ Magazine Press, 1942
Hap Hopper, Sparkler Comics v2 #10, United Feature Syndicate, 1942
Nyoka the Jungle Girl, Master Comics #50, Fawcett, 1944
Claire Voyant, Keen Teens, M.E., 1945
Lovers Lane #2, Lev-Gleason, 1949
Texas Rangers, Action Comics #140, DC, 1950
Kid Lochinvar, Great Lover Romances #1, Toby, 1951
Warfront #1, Harvey, 1951
Masked Raider #1, Charlton, 1955
The Sword and the Dragon, Four Color #1118, Dell, 1960
Adventures into the Unknown #121, ACG, 1961
Immortal Man, Strange Adventures #177, DC, 1965

He’s at this time a fixture of DC’s horror books, while still drawing romance, war, or other comics for companies like Harvey and Dell.

Avengers #37

To Conquer a Colossus!

Featuring: Avengers
Release: December 8, 1966
Cover: February 1967
12 cents
Electrifying editing by Stan Lee
Scintillating scripting by Roy Thomas
Invigorating illustrating by Don Heck
Languishing lettering by Artie Simek
20 pages

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Avengers #36	Reading order	Tales of Suspense #87
Avengers #36	Avengers	Avengers #38

How must it feel to be the last of your kind– alone in a world where you don’t belong? Can it be even lonelier than to live forever behind the colorful mask of… Captain America?

Ixar’s Ultroids have defeated the Avengers and plan to absorb their powers.

We learn the Ultroid who had impersonated Scarlet Witch is named Ultrana.

Avengers #36

The Ultroids Attack!

Featuring: Avengers
Release: November 10, 1966
Cover: January 1967
12 cents
Edited by: Stan (The Man) Lee
Scripted by: Roy (The Boy) Thomas
Drawn by: Don (The One) Heck
Lettered by: Sam (The Sham) Rosen
20 pages

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Sgt. Fury #39	Reading order	Avengers #37
Avengers #35	Avengers	Avengers #37

It was with a feeling of eagerness… almost of exhilaration… that I donned my crimson costume once again…

Stan the Man is by far Stan’s most common nickname at this point. I think this is our first time seeing Roy the Boy. I appreciate the rhyming scheme they have going on here, except… Don and One don’t rhyme. Maybe they do in the same way as eye and symmetry.

Who was the mystery figure who confronted Captain America at the end of last issue? It turns out to be the Scarlet Witch.

Or does it?

Sgt. Fury #39

Into the Fortress of… Fear!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury
Release: December 8, 1966
Cover: February 1967
12 cents
Herculean editing by Stan Lee
Halcyon scripting by Roy Thomas
Heroic plotting and drawing by Dick Ayers
Heavenly inking by John Tartaglione
Homogenized lettering by Artie Simek
20 pages

Previous	#650	Next
X-Men #29	Reading order	Avengers #36
Sgt. Fury #38	Sgt. Fury	Sgt. Fury #40

Oh well, like I always say, nobody lives forever!

There is a trend toward recognizing artists for their work in plotting. I think this is the first time we’ve seen Ayers get a plotting credit.

The Howlers are in the Bavarian Alps, infiltrating a Nazi stronghold known as the Fortress of Fear to stop a new superweapon called the Thunderer.

X-Men #29

When Titans Clash!

Featuring: X-Men
Release: December 8, 1966
Cover: February 1967
12 cents
Stan Lee… editor
Roy Thomas… scripter
Werner Roth… artist
John Tartaglione… inker
Sam Rosen… letterer
Irving Forbush… skating instructor
20 pages

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Amazing Spider-Man #46	Reading order	Sgt. Fury #39
X-Men #28	X-Men	X-Men #30

Funny… it took an inhuman, emotionless thing like the Super-Adaptoid… to make me realize the true value of the emotion called… friendship!

We haven’t seen many seasons yet in our years of Marvel reading. But now it’s clearly winter. We’ll think at the end of the post about what that means for our continuity.

Jean is in town for the weekend from college. Going off to college seemed like a way of sidelining her from the series, but she’s managed to miss very few adventures.

We learn Warren is recovering from his accident.

And see Scott standing alone and aloof off to the side while his teammates enjoy themselves.

Ghost Rider #1

The Origin of the Ghost Rider

Featuring: Ghost Rider
Release: December 1, 1966
Cover: February 1967
12 cents
Edited by… Stan Lee
Written by… Gary Friedrich and Roy Thomas
Plotted and drawn by… Dick Ayers
Inked by… Vince Colletta
Lettered by… J. Verpooten
17 pages

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Tim Holt #11, Story B	PRELUDE
Sgt. Fury #38	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #88
	Ghost Rider	Ghost Rider #2

It is sheer folly to do battle with a ghost!

Magazine Enterprises is long since defunct. So nobody owns the character of Ghost Rider we met in Tim Holt #11. The co-creator Dick Ayers is now a Marvel regular, so Marvel takes the character and has Ayers revive him.

Of course this means Marvel, now owned by Disney, owns the character of Ghost Rider and will for all time.

Ayers would attempt to return to his character in the ’90s, adding some new covers to the old stories, but they had to call him the “Haunted Horseman”, as they had no rights to the name. Because of the world we live in (or at least the country I live in) and laws built to serve corporations and not artists.

Gary Friedrich is a mostly new name to us. This is his first Marvel work. He’s in his early ’20s. He started at Charlton and we saw his work with Steve Ditko on Blue Beetle over there. He’ll become a prolific writer over the decades.

Gary has no relation to Mike Friedrich, who will be starting work at DC soon.

The letterer John Verpooten is also new to us. He’s just started as a regular at Marvel, working on staff. He’s here for behind-the-scenes stuff, and we’ll start seeing him occasionally as a letterer, and soon enough as an inker. He’ll spend a decade with Marvel until his untimely death in 1977 at the age of 37.

Giving Ayers a plotting credit is part of a general trend we are seeing of recognizing artists for their plotting contributions.

Though Thomas would much later claim that credit was false, and the plotting was entirely done by Friedrich and himself.

While the name and likeness are lifted directly from Ayers’ 40s hero, this is a different character with a different origin. The original Ghost Rider was Rex Fury. This issue introduces Carter Slade.

Sgt. Fury #38

This One’s For Dino!

Featuring: Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos
Release: November 10, 1966
Cover: January 1867
12 cents
Editing– Stan Lee
Script– Roy Thomas
Art– Dick Ayers
Inking– John Tartaglione
Lettering– Bob Agnew
Technical advisor this ish– Morrie (Super-samurai) Kuramoto
20 pages

Previous	#642	Next
	PRELUDE	Tim Holt #11, Story B
X-Men #28	Reading order	Ghost Rider #1
Sgt. Fury #37	Sgt. Fury	Sgt. Fury #39

I think you fellas must have me confused with the rats that bombed Pearl Harbor! Personally, I’ve never been west of San Francisco!

Bob Agnew is a new name to us. 99% of the comics we’ve read have been lettered by Sam Rosen or Artie Simek. The lettering here is by Agnew, in what is as best as I can tell his only Marvel work. His stint in comics seems to have been brief.

Morrie Kuramoto is credited with technical advising, with no more clarity offered as to what that entails. Kuramoto is Japanese-American who served the US in WWII, and this comic will introduce a Japanese-American soldier. The credit calls him a super-samurai, so it’s also possible he advised on the martial arts on display in this issue.

We’ve seen Kuramoto’s work occasionally as a letterer, under the pen name Sherigail.

Morrie Kuramoto was associated with Marvel on and off going back to 1946. He just joined back as a regular member of the Bullpen, and would be with Marvel continually for the next two decades. Morrie passed away in 1985 at the age of 64.