Nick Fury from the Beginning (reviews by shaxper)

[shaxper]

Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #14

"The Blitzkrieg Squad of Baron Strucker!"
writer: Stan Lee
pencils: Dick Ayers
inks: Geo Bell
letters: Artie Simek

grade: C

This issue hurts my brain for several reasons.

The first is that this issue is supposed to mark the big debut of Strucker's Blitzkrieg Squad. The cover clearly promises this, showing an exciting confrontation between them and the Howlers, and we spend five pages watching Strucker amass and train a crew with skills and abilities exactly equal to those of the individual Howlers, yet there is no confrontation! Apart from Gabe's counterpart playing a flute, the rest just pull levers and throw nets and steel crates to trap the Howlers. We never actually see this "Blitzkrieg Squad" in action, never see them match their abilities against those of the Howlers, etc. By the end of this issue, you'd expect to see the big confrontation, watch the Howlers prevail, and learn that it isn't the individual skills and abilities that matter, but rather the resolve that comes from American rugged individualism, but this story never gets there. We never even learn any of the Squad members' names, never see them in action, and pretty much forget about them so much that, in the last panel, when Dick shows us their faces and Stan promises that they will return, my initial response was, "Who? ...Oh. Uh, why?"

Another thing I didn't get about this issue was the return of Captain Savage. Stan and Dick draw a lot of attention to his return, yet his name is never given, and he doesn't really add anything to this story or even further the plot in a way that some other submarine captain couldn't. Was Stan testing the waters to see if fans would demand to see more from this character? Between this and Happy Sam's taking time off to train some other team a few issues back, it seems like Stan might have been thinking about launching Captain Savage and his Leatherneck Raiders this early on, but (as Cei-U! has aptly pointed out), that title is still three years away.

Then there's the whole continuity problem. The first issue clearly indicates that D-Day was already being planned, leaving me to wonder if continuity was going to make any sense in a series that was clearly intended to be ongoing. But then Stan has this issue begin with the Howlers training for D-Day. It had me begin to think that Stan WAS watching continuity and intentionally setting this title in the final months of the European Theater. But then, in this VERY SAME ISSUE, he responds to a fan's letter by saying:

"Anyhow, you should know by now that our yarns don't necessarily follow any definite chronological order...We just write 'em as we dream 'em up! Okay?"

Here's a hint, then. Don't mention D-Day in your stories! If you don't want us to look for chronology, then avoid the battle that EVERYONE knows definitively ended the conflict in Europe! Granted, the attack on Okinawa was a giveaway to some as well, but how much more stupidly obvious can you be than by repeatedly invoking D-Day? Save it for one of those annuals that take place in the future!

And finally, Ayers' art is really starting to lose its charm. Whereas I originally praised him for his attention to facial detail, his characters' faces are suddenly becoming as wildly inconsistent as Kirby's. Check out Fury in the last panel of page 8, Captain Savage on page 10, Reb on page 12, Hitler on page 19, and even the German flautist across panels on page 5. Inexcusable, considering how consistently we've seen him draw faces before.


The minor details:

- Strucker got his spectacle back. He didn't have one in his last appearance.

- Hitler spends all that time threatening to kill Strucker if he fails in this mission, and yet nothing appears to happen when he does fail. What gives?

- Strucker has now become the Howler's main antagonist by default. Hitler essentially decides to use Strucker to stop the Howlers because he's failed the least miserably in attempting to stop them in the past, so we can be pretty sure Hitler will employ the same logic again. Not sure I like the idea of The Howlers getting a supervillain team akin to The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, though. Isn't this supposed to be a war comic?


The plot synopsis in one sentence:

Hitler orders Strucker to capture The Howlers, Strucker assembles his own team of commandos with skills equal to those of the individual Howlers, he sets a trap for them with fake missiles, they fall into the trap, they get out of the trap, and Strucker looks stupid.


Pretty much an "eh" issue that felt a little too much like a generic superhero team story, not giving enough attention to the charm that makes this title special.

I wonder if Strucker's "Blitzkrieg Squad" truly will return.

[Cei-U!]

Another thing I didn't get about this issue was the return of Captain Savage. Stan and Dick draw a lot of attention to his return, yet his name is never given and no mention is made anywhere in this book that his own title is debuting in this very same month. And, if the purpose of having him return wasn't to promote his book, then what was it? He doesn't really add anything to this story or even further the plot in a way that some other submarine captain couldn't. Finally, what's he doing in the European Theater? Is this explained in Captain Savage #1?

shax, Captain Savage #1 doesn't hit the stands until January '68. Sgt. Fury #14 is cover-dated January '65. Savage, as The Skipper, will remain a minor recurring character during the interim. His true name will not be revealed until his title debuts. And yes, the Blitzkreig Squad does appear again... and again... and again. It was one of Stan's unspoken rules that every super-team needed an evil counterpart (hence the Frightful Four, Masters of Evil and Brotherhood of Evil Mutants). The individual members will be named in their next appearance.

Cei-U!
I summon the footnotes!

[dan bailey]

I wonder if Strucker's "Blitzkrieg Squad" truly will return.

Not to give anything away, but this happens to be the cover of yours truly's first issue ever --

[shaxper]

shax, Captain Savage #1 doesn't hit the stands until January '68. Sgt. Fury #14 is cover-dated January '65.

Major oops, there. Thanks much for the correction.

And yes, the Blitzkreig Squad does appear again... and again... and again. It was one of Stan's unspoken rules that every super-team needed an evil counterpart (hence the Frightful Four, Masters of Evil and Brotherhood of Evil Mutants).

Booooooo!

[foxley]

So Dum-Dum's counterpart is also required to wear a stupid hat?

I'm curious as to exactly what Strucker's recruitment process was. I like to imagine it went something like yhis:

"You there, corporal! Put on this Tyrolean hat! Excellent! You are now exactly equivalent to Dum-Dum Dugan! Welcome to the Blitzkrieg Squad! Heil Hitler!"

[Scott Harris]

So Dum-Dum's counterpart is also required to wear a stupid hat?

I'm curious as to exactly what Strucker's recruitment process was. I like to imagine it went something like yhis:

"You there, corporal! Put on this Tyrolean hat! Excellent! You are now exactly equivalent to Dum-Dum Dugan! Welcome to the Blitzkrieg Squad! Heil Hitler!"

Actually, if you look closely you'll note that all of the Blitzkrieg Squad members are wearing hats that match their Howler counterparts. Hats were very important to the Third Reich, you know. According to many historians, they initially invaded Poland because they didn't like the current haberdashery that was in fashion in Lvov. True story.*

* - Not a true story.

[shaxper]

So Dum-Dum's counterpart is also required to wear a stupid hat?

I'm curious as to exactly what Strucker's recruitment process was. I like to imagine it went something like yhis:

"You there, corporal! Put on this Tyrolean hat! Excellent! You are now exactly equivalent to Dum-Dum Dugan! Welcome to the Blitzkrieg Squad! Heil Hitler!"

Sadly, you're not far off. His first recruit is pretty much just a guy he sees playing a flute, who he then decides is comparable to Gabe. He then sees a good looking guy with women all around him and equates him with Dino. Curious to see how that latter ability would work itself out on the field.

[shaxper]

Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #15

"Too Small to Fight, Too Young to Die!"
writer: Stan Lee
pencils: Dick Ayers
inks: Steve Ditko
letters: S. Rosen

grade: C

I'm not sure this issue had any idea what it wanted to be. The cover and title seemed to suggest this would be a story about the Howlers having to protect an orphaned child on the field of battle, but that's far from what was delivered. The boy was far from helpless and was devoid of a personality to boot. The central conflict of the story wasn't a need to protect him. Instead, the story took an abrupt turn into the question of who Agent X was, with some far too obvious clues left that it was the Hans' father (of whom he is ashamed, believing him to be a Nazi sympathizer). I called this twist early on in the story, for what it's worth, but I was disappointed to see it take center stage by the end. For at least the third time now, this title is feeling too much like a superhero mag, with issues of mysterious heroes and secret identities at the center. These kinds of issues are not what has made this a strong title in the past. I still want to see that story of the Howlers getting an innocent child to safety.

So is Hans going to be sticking around in this title?


Minor details:

- Ditko takes over the inks for this issue. Can't say I noticed. I would have loved to have seen Ditko pencil this thing, though. Ayers' work is so basic in contrast. Ditko probably inked this in his sleep.

- Still don't understand the rationale behind the mission. All the Nazis have to do is amass their troops in a scattered fashion, and suddenly bombers, battleships, and invading infantries won't work against them anymore? It HAS to become a commando espionage mission?? And really, if they're so spread apart, how will blowing the dam in one spot drown all the Nazi forces?

- Reb's inability to be beaten in poker has become a running gag by this point.

- On page 14, Percy complains about Gabe's horn and is told by Dum Dum that he'll "get used to it." Apparently, very little time has progressed between these stories if Percy is still adjusting to the squad.


The plot synopsis in one ridiculously long sentence:

The Howlers have to covertly blow up a part of a dam in Holland in order to drown the Nazi forces amassing there without drowning any native homes, they are told to rendezvous with an "Agent X" who does not show at first, they meet 14 year old Hans who has run away from his father, the town's mayor and a Nazi sympathizer, Agent X shows up and is strongly implied to be Hans' father, he asks the Howlers to take Hans to England and away from the fighting, and they do so.


Not a great issue. I feel like Stan is getting lost in the rising Marvel Superhero Universe and losing sight of what makes this title special.

[Cei-U!]

So is Hans going to be sticking around in this title?

Intermittently, though he is never again the centerpiece of a story. The Howlers eventually send him stateside to live with Reb's parents until the war is over.

I feel like Stan is getting lost in the rising Marvel Superhero Universe and losing sight of what makes this title special.

Yes and no. After all, Stan originally sold Martin Goodman on the title by convincing him his "super-heroes with problems" approach would work in other genres. It will never recapture the feel of those first 3 or 4 issues but it will become a truly great series once Gary Friedrich assumes the scripting chores.

Cei-U!
I summon something for shax to look forward to!

[shaxper]

It will never recapture the feel of those first 3 or 4 issues but it will become a truly great series once Gary Friedrich assumes the scripting chores.

Oh good. That's only 28 issues away...

I summon something for shax to look forward to!

You've been uncharacteristically positive in both review threads lately. It's kinda' creeping me out

[Scott Harris]

Oh good. That's only 28 issues away...

Freidrich takes over at just about the same time John Severin joins the art team, so there's a lot to look forward to. The issues between now and then aren't all to be dismissed though; Stan still has some tricks up his sleeve for sure, with 18 and 24 being personal highlights for me. Though I seem to recall #17 has some rather dubious jungle stuff going on in it that I'm looking forward to seeing your commentary on.

The brief Roy Thomas era are the issues to be worried about, as it was before Roy really got his bearings as a writer. Let's just say I don't think it's possible to fit any more dialogue onto those pages without the use of a microscope.

Next issue has a great Kirby cover on it, anyway!

[shaxper]

Freidrich takes over at just about the same time John Severin joins the art team, so there's a lot to look forward to. The issues between now and then aren't all to be dismissed though; Stan still has some tricks up his sleeve for sure, with 18 and 24 being personal highlights for me. Though I seem to recall #17 has some rather dubious jungle stuff going on in it that I'm looking forward to seeing your commentary on.

The brief Roy Thomas era are the issues to be worried about, as it was before Roy really got his bearings as a writer. Let's just say I don't think it's possible to fit any more dialogue onto those pages without the use of a microscope.

Next issue has a great Kirby cover on it, anyway!

Thanks for the reassurance!

Yes, I've read some very clumsy Roy Thomas scripts before, so I think I know what to expect there.

I know the story with #18, but I'm curious to find out what happens in #24.

[shaxper]

Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #16

"A Fortress in the Desert Stands!"
writer: Stan Lee
pencils: Dick Ayers
inks: Frank Ray
letters: Artie Simek

grade: C-

I'm getting very bored with these. Whereas this title once had charm, pushed boundaries, and stood for certain ideals, now it's just a matter of putting the group on an impossible mission and watching the inevitable happen. I think the only interesting aspect of this entire issue was watching the team care for a seriously wounded Reb. Of course he's magically all better by the end of the issue.

Minor details:

- Hans Rooter is still sticking around and still displaying absolutely no personality as a base-grounded kid sidekick.

- Far too many lucky moments for the Howlers this issue, especially as the German commander fires a semi-automatic at Fury while only about 15 feet from him and somehow completely misses. Dum Dum and Reb had considerable luck earlier in the issue as well, with Reb's being wounded actually seeming like the result of highly unlikely good fortune.

- Why did Fury have to wait until the moment the commander ordered the firing squad to fire to lead his attack? Isn't that cutting it just a bit too close for the sake of unnecessary drama?

- This is the second time the Howlers have run into Arabic Muslim tribes in this title. The first time, the tribe they ran across was far too happy to help Americans. This group is a bit more real, mistrustful of Americans and their Western culture, though they are still won over to the Allied cause entirely too easy after some minor persuasion.

- Reb seems to have grown attached to the Muslim girl who nursed him back to health. I wonder if that's going anywhere in later issues.


The plot synopsis in one long sentence: The Howlers attempt to raid a Nazi fortress in the North African desert, they faiil, Dum Dum is captured and Reb is seriously wounded, they stumble upon a (Persian?) tribe that mistrusts them but ultimately agrees to help them, they attack and rescue Dum Dum, and Reb has recovered.

[shaxper]

Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #17

"While the Jungle Sleeps!"
writer: Stan Lee
pencils: Dick Ayers
inks: Vince Colletta
letters: Artie Simek

grade: C+

As surprisingly progressive as this comic is for the time period, sometimes its willingness to tackle issues no one else was tacking back in the day comes off...weird.

Case in point: This issue tries to put Gabriel, the African American member of the gang, in the lead role for much of the issue, but the means of doing this is having him strip down and pretend to be a witch doctor to a tribe of restless natives in an African jungle. Ummm... Technically, nothing at all about this was racially insensitive beyond the tribe being depicted in a very stereotypical fashion and in their complete willingness to accept a new witch doctor who appeared out of nowhere. Still, it was...weird.

Whereas I once found this title fresh and original in portraying WWII in a less than idyllic light, it's now starting to feel very conventional. EVERY Nazi is a mindless drone touting Nazi propaganda and ultimately turning out to be a coward; there isn't a single member of the Nazi army who is brave, and there isn't a single member of the army who is just there because he has to be. They're all Hitler zombies, which feels more like propaganda than reality.

And, in contrast, all G.I.s come off as perfect heroes (well, aside from Bull McGivers). Check out the soldiers Nick rescues from the native prison camp. They're all in rag tag clothes and have scruffy faces, but their hair is perfect, and so is their morale. A part of this fantasy is nice -- especially Lee's continued celebration of an American ideal in which everyone is an individual, but everyone pitches in for the sake of the greater whole. Still, the all Germans = zombies, and all Americans = heroes bit is beginning to feel very cheesy. Maybe I'm expecting too much from an early Marvel comic tackling a war that still felt close to home.

Really, the only other bits worth mentioning in this issue are that there's a nice bit of continuity in this issue, having its events pick-up directly after the end of the previous issue, and the reintroduction of Pamela Hawley, who hasn't been seen in quite a few issues and is undoubtedly tacked on at the end just so that we'll remember and care about her in time for the next issue.


Minor details:

- Ayers has a lot of fun with Nick in this issue, having him smile and look happy several times. Get it out of your system now, Dick. He won't be smiling for at least the next few issues.

- In general, I think I enjoyed Nick's characterization most in this issue, both watching him look happy and having him watch over the sleeping Howlers while he, himself, was exhausted. There's a kindness and good nature coming through his rough exterior. Maybe this comes out the longer that they're deployed (they've been in the field for well over a week now), or maybe it was just a random shift in this issue.

- So the plan was to have Gabe infiltrate as a witch doctor and then stop watching him? He's captured, and the Howlers have plenty of opportunities to rescue him from a wooden cage, yet they don't show up until after the German commander fires his gun directly at him.

- Speaking of which, why wasn't Gabe hurt? The commander clearly fired, and we heard a "click," but nothing more was mentioned of this. Was he out of ammo???

- Best moment in the issue -- Percy 'chuting in with his umbrella as a native warrior comments "What manner of warrior is THAT??!"

- The letter column shows a lot of fan distaste for the Fury/Captain America team-up and a desire to keep the series grounded and away from super-heroics.


These stories are never bad, but they're certainly becoming boring by this point. Obviously, next issue brings about a major change. Hopefully some momentum will be generated from that.

[shaxper]

Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #18

"Killed in Action!"
writer: Stan Lee
pencils: Dick Ayers
inks: Chic Stone
letters: Artie Simek

grade: A-


The second and certainly more memorable of the two major deaths that occur in this run. The cover outright promises this, the first pages lead you to believe it will be Pam, but a mission gone wrong with a distracted Nick Fury endangering his comrades offers some nice misdirection before the painful ending. It's a great issue throughout, leaving you afraid the entire time, first that Pam will die, second that a Howler will die and it will be Nick's fault, and finally knowing who has died but still dreading the painfully drawn out moment when Nick will learn this fact. In fact, the ending is kind of preposterous, with every single person in Nick's world in the know except for him and all making lame attempts to stop him, but it draws out the inevitable further, paints Nick's rose colored glasses a few shades rosier, and just makes the whole thing that much more unbearable.

Add to this the fact that everyone seems to have stepped up their work for this issue. The banter amongst the Howlers is more entertaining than usual, the pressure to create a mission that's somehow larger and more impossible than anything that's come before is off in this issue since it's not the main focal point, freeing Stan up to just have fun with the mission, and the art absolutely came alive stronger than it ever has before. Part of it is Ayers, taking soem unconventional approaches to dramatic focal points in his frames (i.e. the terrified half face of the German officer in the foreground int he final panel of page 7, the focus on the ringing phone over the face of the sleeping German officer in the third panel of page 5, or even just the dark silhouettes of Fury and the German officer fighting in darkness on page 14, emphasizing the primal struggle over the details of either character. Meanwhile, Stone does an extraordinary job on inking (a favorite example of mine is the last panel on page 13, where the inks make that officer far more foreboding and seemingly real than he otherwise should be), and whoever is on colors makes some bold decisions, especially bathing that German officer's face in red terror on page 7, or Lord Hawley in an entirely different shade of red grief on page 20. And, of course, there's those final four panels in which Nick drops the ring. Exceptional work on the parts of all three artists.

Still, my one complaint with this issue is that I find it frustrating that Pam Hawley had been out of the picture for so many issues and is now suddenly reintroduced at the end of the last issue and killed in this one. I think the impact would have been stronger had Nick planned to propose even an issue earlier, not forcing all of this into this one story. This was the first Sgt. Fury issue I ever read, and part of the reason I felt drawn to go back and read the series from the beginning was that I wanted to care about the loss of Pam Hawley more than I did, but going back and reading the earlier issues does nothing because she was a non-entity prior to this point - a cute accessory that put Fury in funny situations by attempting to reform him, but nothing more significant than that. Surely, her absence for the past however many issues didn't help either. Stan should have spent more time building her up before taking her away from us.

Finally, I want to share Stan's own comments about this issue from the letters page. I think they're important ones:

"We hope this month's issue will serve to point out a very meaningful fact to all who read it -- namely, war is hell! If you think there's glamour to it, forget it! People get hurt, people suffer, people die! And, as in the case of Nick Fury, people often lose loved ones! Once or twice in the past, readers have commented that we sometimes make war seem almost humorous because the Howlers kid around so much. However, any ex-serviceman knows that all fighting men clown around and swap wisecracks during moments of great stress -- not because there's anything to joke about, but merely to bolster their courage -- to take their minds off the threat of danger and sudden death which they lives with night and day! Sometimes a bantering remark can keep a combatman from cracking up under fire! So never be misled by any humor you may find in these yarns -- for, such is the nature of man that he will sometimes face death with a wisecrack, even while the icy fingers of fear are clutching at his heart!"

Nicely said, Stan.


Minor detail: Since when is Nick a master at firing anti-aircraft turrets?


The plot synopsis in one long sentence:

Nick and Pam are caught in an air-raid and have to split up, Nick calls to make sure Pam got back to her unit, she sounds more affectionate towards him than ever, he takes this as a sign to buy her an engagement ring and is deployed before he can propose, the Howlers are assigned to take down a German ship, things go wrong, Nick gets distracted when a German officer accidentally grabs Pam's ring, he nearly endangers the mission, the Howlers prevail, Captain Sawyers and the Howlers learn bad news ahead of Nick and try to tell him before he leaves to propose to Pam, but they fail, Nick gets to the door and is greeted by Pam's father only to learn that she has been killed in action, leaving Nick to drop the ring and wander, dazed, out into the distance.