The Coming Of The Invaders!

Never have I been so ready to consume a comic book than I was the debut issue of the The Invaders. The notion of the Timely "Big Three" (Captain America, Human Torch, Sub-Mariner) becoming a team (as they had done very briefly in the pages of All-Winners) was an idea I thought downright ripe and ready as 1975 rolled around. So, when Roy Thomas and Frank Robbins sprung The Invaders on us "Marvelites" of the time, I was aboard the Fortress Europa Express in a nanosecond. I love the concept so much I have all the originals, the paperback reprints and I've just added The Invaders Omnibus, which is what I'm reading the epic war saga in this time. 

(Gil Kane)

I had been made ready, eager, and willing by a host of forces. Fantasy Masterpieces was a potent comic in the late 60's, giving fans not just reprints of Marvel's vigorous Silver Age, but reaching back into the then not-so-distant mists of time to bring forth true-blue Golden Age stories of likes of Cap, Subby, and the Torch among others. The comic was a peephole into comic book lore, allowing a glimpse but little else of the sprawling vista the Golden Age had been. But it was enough.

(Sal Buscema and Sam Grainger)

The Golden Age heroes started popping up in actual comics, specifically those written by Roy such as The Avengers and The Uncanny X-Men. The mostly forgotten Red Raven flew into a single story with the high-flying Angel when the X-Men had gone their separate ways for a time. Golden Age heroes sprang from the mind of Rick Jones in the climax of the awesome space-spanning Kree-Skrull War. The Invaders themselves were presaged in earlier pages of that same comic when time-traveling Assemblers at the behest of Kang traveled to wartime Paris to battle the Timely trio. Former All-Winners Squad members Whizzer and Miss America had recently shown up in the back story of Marvel's mysterious mutant siblings Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. The Golden Age was bubbling up all over creating a heady brew indeed.

(Gil Kane and Bill Everett)

So, The Invaders were inevitable really, and when Roy "The Boy" Thomas relinquished the reins of Editor-in-Chief of the mighty Marvel Bullpen, he had a project he'd been born to write, a ret-conned history of Marvel's most vintage heroes. He created The Invaders, and made them "Giant-Size" to boot. 

(The original splash page by Frank Robbins was tweaked by John Romita and became the debut cover.)

Giant-Size Invaders was the original format for Marvel's WWII heroes, a format which was widespread and popular with yours truly. We got a new story of extended length along with a great Golden Age reprint, in this issue one starring Namor, the Sub-Mariner from his first self-titled comic way back in 1941 by his creator "Wild" Bill Everett.

(Frank Robbins created this splash which shows the scene on the cover from the reverse angle.)

The debut story assembles our disparate heroes as they all confront a threat on the high seas. The Nazis are trying to kill the Prime Minister Winston Churchill before he can come to the Americas to ask for aid for his afflicted country. To that end they kidnap a scientist who was a part of the creation of Cap himself and force him to assist them in the creation of their own ideal warrior dubbed "Master Man". Controlled by Colonel Kreighund the Master Man battles to destroy Churchill's ship but is stopped when Cap, Bucky, Torch, Toro and Namor combine forces to stop him. Afterwards Churchill himself suggests the heroes form a team to storm Fortress Europa itself, and dubs them "The Invaders".

(John Romita)

But that was the last Giant-Size issue for many decades. With the very next installment, that format was dropped and The Invaders went to a then-regular sized twenty-five cent comic, but that meant the next story originally developed for the larger size was shifted to two full issues. In those the newly assembled Invaders head to London where they confront the deadly Blitz and in the midst of that find a mysterious girl who seems to have a link to the rumored "Brain Drain" which was itself connected to the Master Man they'd defeated in their first adventure.

(John Romita)

They soon enough find sufficient reason to travel to into enemy territory where they find and battle three seeming gods from legend, but who turn out to be space travelers instead used by the Brain Drain, a scientist who has been transformed by their coming into a man with a brain encased in a glass dome. The girl turns out to be the fourth space traveler and they all decide since they are stranded here they are better off dead and the world is introduced to nuclear energy sooner than has been documented.

(Jack Kirby and John Romita)

(Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia)

Following that deadly struggle the heroes return to the United States for a time and run afoul of a new foe, one of the Sub-Mariner's own Atlantean minions named Merrano who has used his science to make himself into a super-powered soldier for the Reich calling himself "U-Man" after the deadly submarines which threatened the Eastern coast of the United States and all of the Atlantic at the time.

(Gil Kane)

The Invaders eventually put down the threat of the U-Man, but not before uncovering a mystery in the region we commonly call the Bermuda Triangle, an enigmatic area which seems to drag in the unsuspecting into a time warp to a deadly zone filled with prehistoric creatures, among other things. This is a shout out to another Marvel comic of the time, Skull the Slayer which explores the area in modern times.

(Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott)

The Invaders then begin one of their most important missions, one which finds them back home front hawking war bonds.

One offbeat note is a panel in which Bucky and Toro are seen reading the comics above, a reference to the Marvel Comics within the Marvel Universe in which they get many things different than "reality".  Sadly the heroes, save for Bucky who is deemed too weak to fool with, are captured by the Red Skull and turned into mind-controlled super-soldiers for the Third Reich, and turn their attention to destroying weapons plants.

(Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia)

Bucky left alone takes steps to assemble other superheroes of the time and creates the Liberty Legion made up the Patriot, the Whizzer, Red Raven, Miss America, the Blue Diamond, the Thin Man, and Jack Frost.

(Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott)

These heroes confront the Invaders as the latter attack different regions of the United States, but the battles are somewhat inconclusive, though Toro is captured.

(Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia)

Then eventually the tide turns, and the Liberty Legion is able to free the Invaders of the Skull's mind-control, which was made possible by use of technology developed by the now-dead Brain Drain. Afterwards it seems the Legion will stay together to defend the Homeland while the Invaders return to their primary mission to "invade" Fortress Europa.

For the record this story wove between two issues of The Invaders and two issues of Marvel Premiere which showcased the Liberty Legion drawn by Don Heck. Rich Buckler and Dick Ayers stepped in to handle one issue of the crossover, a springtime blockbuster of sorts. The name "Liberty Legion" was one Roy Thomas had created when he was a teenager and is now finally able to use.

(Jack Kirby, Frank Giacoia, and John Romita)

When the team returns to London, they find almost immediately that the Blitz continues. Amid that destruction they discover the supernatural in the form of Baron Blood, a for-real vampire.

(Neal Adams)

We eventually learn that Baron Blood was created by none other than Dracula himself, though this was of course decades before the Count's then modern adventures in the pages of The Tomb of Dracula.

(Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia)

The team also meets for the first time Union Jack, a British hero of the earlier World War I. He turns out to be Lord Falsworth and the secret of Baron Blood is closer to him than he realizes. We learn that Union Jack is one of several heroes from the "Great War" who formed a team not unlike The Invaders themselves. The Phantom Eagle was a colleague of the Union Jack. Also threatened by the deadly vampire is his daughter Jacqueline, a high-born but brave woman.

(Jack Kirby and Frank Springer)

The Invaders work together alongside Union Jack to defeat Baron Blood, despite injuries which prevent Lord Falsworth from being able to continue in his heroic role.

(Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia_

Worth noting is that with the ninth regular issue, original inker Vince Colletta gave way to Frank Springer who would be the regular for several years to come. Also, the return of Jack Kirby to Marvel was most important as he became a regular cover artist for the line for a while and some of his absolute best work is seen on these Invaders covers. 

(Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott)

But the stage is set for something new as the ranks of The Invaders is about to grow permanently.

The invasion continues. More tomorrow. 

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Toka On This!

Above is some original artwork by Springer. While he wasn't everyone's cup of tea, Frank Springer was an artist who managed to have his hand in some really innovative things over his long career. Aside from standard comics work like Toka, he replaced Jim Steranko on SHIELD, worked on a bunch of wonderful satires for National Lampoon, and was even part of one of the early independent comics, The Adventures of Phoebe Zeit-Geist. Springer was a member of the famous Berndt-Toast Gang.

Now that's a vivid collection of covers. Toka Jungle King was the last of Dell's "jungle" push, which began with Tarzan of course and soon included Turok Son of Stone and later Kona Monarch of Monster Island. At about this time Dell and Western split with the latter making off with Tarzan and Turok, leaving Dell with Kona. They added Naza Stone Age Warrior. Toka was the last to be added and featured work by Frank Springer. The first two covers are painted by Jack Faragasso, but Springer is responsible for the all the exciting images for the remaining issues. Toka was an Aztec warrior torn four hundred years after his time and apparently confronted a host of very different menaces. This would make for a very entertaining collection indeed.

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Nick Fury Agent Of SHIELD - File Four!

The debut issue of Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD was a blockbuster for this young fan. Somehow or other, I'd gotten hold of Strange Tales #167 and had beheld the greatness of Steranko, but this was the first issue I intentionally bought for myself, and it literally blew me away.

I was at once mystified and fascinated by Steranko's storytelling and imagery. The famous silent multi-page opener fascinated and confused me simultaneously. I looked at those pages trying to understand what I was seeing. 

The book had bravura and a heart, but the time jumps made the whole a bit of jumble for me at the time. On this most recent reading I really was able to enjoy the lush Steranko images for their own sake and appreciate Joe Sinnott's cohesive and expressive inking.

The story of a loser comedian who gets mixed up with a murderous hood and then comes across the path of Nick Fury who is fighting for his life against the mysterious and murderous Scorpio is a beautifully rendered cautionary tale. It's loaded with atmosphere and saturated with a noir attitude bonded to the high-octane action sequences.

In the second issue of the series Steranko gets his science fiction rocks off as he gives us an updated version of a classic monster movies blending plot elements from The Island of Doctor Moreau and King Kong (literally almost).

Inked with gusto by Frank Giacoia, this one is guns-a-blazing all the way. The opener showing Jimmy Woo's initiation into SHIELD addresses that dangling plot element, and sets up the two-man adventure as Fury and Woo find the deadly volcanic island of Centurius a mad scientist who is creating and revising life at will.

Against this threat to the whole world, Fury finds and drafts a whole movie crew who are busy on the island making another variation of King Kong. This one has humor and some true-life tragedy.

In the third issue Steranko switches gears again, this time beautifully assisted by the soft inks of Dan Adkins.

Effectively Steranko adapts The Hound of the Baskervilles and blends it with some classic ghost stories and haunted house lore. There are more than a few secrets in this one, a beautifully drawn classic that offers a visual feast on every page.

Nick Fury is a man with a mission and more than bit of mystery as he stands in for Sherlock Holmes to battle the ghostly and ghastly hound. And he solves the mystery of the Loch Ness monster to boot. 

Issue four has only a cover by Steranko. In a sign of what was to come, the reliable artist Frank Springer steps in with script by Gary Friedrich to reprise the origin of Nick Fury, a useful tale for those of us just discovering SHIELD at the time.

Steranko returns, with the assistance of inks by John Tartaglione, for one more full issue when he brings back the deadly Scorpio and attempts to deepen the mystery.

Scorpio captures Nick and in a weird reversal of the LMD confusion from the debut issue has Nick mistaken for his artificial counterpart. There are some delightful characters in this one and dark moments as Fury learns the real identity of Scorpio. The reader is not given access to this secret which will require a few more years and an issue of Avengers to solve. 

And that my friends largely ends the relationship of Jim Steranko with the series which truly launched his career and to a very great extent still defines it.

He did produce two more handsome covers for the original run but that was all as other talents stepped into try and reproduce the Pop-Art magic he'd concocted. 

(Frank Springer)

An experienced Frank Springer (who had done the fill-in issue) did quite a few, a callow Barry (Not-Yet-Windsor) Smith did one, and an up-and-coming Herb Trimpe produced three and all gave it a good yeoman's try but alas Steranko proved to be too tough an act to follow, or as has proven to be the case over the years there's little support for an ongoing SHIELD series.

Nick and his doughty agents of SHIELD battled the Hate-Monger for four issues, Nick's original modern antagonist, in a story by Gary Friedrich who took over the writing reins. There's a wonderful Christmas themed story which has been reprinted a few times. (Thanks for the reminder Colin.)

The young Barry Smith drew an issue in which Nick Fury is being chased by his very own agents of SHIELD. 

At the end of the brief series Nick Fury is seemingly dead, killed by an early rendition of Bullseye (not the Daredevil villain).  Even a guest-spot by Country Joe and the Fish couldn't save our stogie-smokin' ramrod. And that was it. The series came to an abrupt halt, its hero dead. 

One of the lovely things about following comics in the late Silver and early Bronze Ages was the tendency of the publishers, especially Marvel, to make sure that loose ends were tied up. When a series fell victim to cancellation due to poor sales often the storyline would end abruptly, since the creators were working far in advance of the news that cancellation might come. So, it wasn't unusual to see story lines find resolution in the pages of other comics some months after a character disappeared from the comic shelves. Avengers #72 is unusual in many respects, one is that it does indeed resolve dangling plot threads from the pages of the defunct Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD comic as well offer an update on Captain Marvel, who was at the time between issues of his off and on again run.

All that and the introduction of the crime cartel the Zodiac to boot. The Zodiac almost literally burst onto the scene in a relatively rare two-page spread by Sal Buscema and inker Sam Grainger. All of sudden the reader is presented with a dozen villains, eleven of them brand spanking new.

We'd learned more about Scorpio and got see his potent Zodiac Key in play once again. We'd learned that Scorpio is someone from Fury's past, but we are not shown who that someone is. Seemingly Scorpio dies at the end of that story but when has that really ever worked.

Rick Jones, recently bonded by dint of the Nega-Bands to Captain Marvel of the Kree seeks help from his old allies the Avengers. He finds Captain America, who he thought had rejected him (it was in fact the Red Skull in Cap's body) and goes to meet the other Avengers. They quickly gather and learn that Nick Fury is dead, killed by an assassin named Bullseye (not that one).

Rick tells them how he had previously gone to Nick's apartment and encountered Scorpio and as quick as you can say Nega-Band Captain Marvel appears to battle the villain. He is brought low by the Zodiac Key and now Rick brings the Avengers a list of names. Those names are those of important city figures but before the team can act Scorpio appears on their communications screen and an explosion knocks them all out. When they awake, they are captured by Scorpion in a hidden lair. Then the rest of the Zodiac reveal themselves to gloat, but thanks to Yellowjacket's control of bugs he is able to short-circuit the manacles and soon enough the Avengers and the Zodiac are fighting tooth and nail.

The battle takes a turn when Scorpio is revealed to be the seemingly dead Nick Fury himself and with that final twist the Zodiac escape. Fury reveals that the original Scorpio had been his brother Jake and that he had taken his place to infiltrate the cartel. Captain America offers Rick a place with the Avengers but now bonded to Captain Marvel he decides to head off on his own once again.

Steranko would return to SHIELD as an artist only on three occasions. He created some covers for reprints of his groundbreaking work in the early 70's, in the 80's. He struck again with a wonderful painting later in the 90's to kick off a new series. 

Nick Fury and his Agents of SHIELD was one of my early favorite comics. The wild creativity of Jim Steranko took me years to fully appreciate, but the stories of the cigar-masticating cyclopean leader of SHIELD always linger fondly in the memory. 

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