Excellent synopsis/commentary, Shax.

I think this may also have been part of an aborted plan Martin Goodman had to redeploy the features in the split books (Tales of Suspense, Tales to Astonish, Strange Tales). As noted by Mark Evanier in The Jack Kirby Collector #44, in 1966 Goodman wanted to shake up the split books' features so that Cap and Nick Fury would be in Suspense; Iron Man And Subby in Strange Tales; and Hulk and Dr. Strange in Astonish. Doing this would mean that each book would be anchored by a stronger, popular character/feature (Cap, Iron Man, Hulk) to offset the less popular character/feature (Nick Fury, Namor, Dr. Strange).

So this particular Cap-Nick Fury story may have originally been written/intended as a way to "introduce" Suspense readers to the Nick Fury feature. A month later there's an Iron Man-Sub-Mariner crossover. I feel that was also intended to pave the way for IM and Namor sharing a book.

Yes, but I liked the pairing of Strange and SHIELD, as both dabbled in the "strange," -- one through sorcery and one through technology.

A friend of mine who is a major back issue dealer in this region assures me that Strange Tales is and always has been the least in-demand superhero title from Marvel's Silver Age, if that helps.

Well, once it hits the 130s. Before that, not so much. Early Dr Strange was pretty rough, and Johnny is my least favorite of The Fantastic Four. I forget who predated Dr. Strange on the title.

Probably due to the lack of movie/tv shows.  I figure that will change when Dr. Strange comes out and if Samuel L. gets his own movie.  

Worth noting -  I was trying to unload some late Tales of Suspense (including the issue reviewed above) and they were worth a lot less than the Captain America and iron Man comics that followed 'em.  Nobody likes split book anymore.     (I still love you, though.)  

There's at least one interesting thing coming up before Gary Friedrich arrives. Not necessarily in a good story or anything, but interesting.

One note: the allies spent two years or so planning D-Day. It was initially planned for the summer of 1943, not 1944, but the logistics and tactical situation were such that it had to be delayed an entire year. So the time dragging out is more feasible than it seems, though still kind of boring. And that was high level planning - the grunts on the ground probably wouldn't have known about D-Day specifically being planned, other than a general sense that at some point they would likely have to invade mainland Eurpoe sooner or later. But it did drag out a long time.

Strange Tales #146



"When the Unliving Strike!"

script: Stan Lee
layouts: Jack Kirby
pencils: Don Heck
inks: Mike Demeo
letters: Sam Rosen

grade: A-


Despite the credits, I don't feel much of Kirby in this story. The sci-fi gadgetry that he usually has the most fun with is relatively uncreative this time around and given no visual prominence, and the layouts are pretty boring to boot. Add to that a little evidence that Stan may have steered this script on his own, as the most recent issue of Sgt. Fury opened with an underwater scene because Stan requested one, and now this issue's first major action sequence occurs underwater as well. Normally, didn't Stan offer the big idea for the issue and then leave Jack to work out the rest?

Whatever the case, what's most notable about this issue is the amount of developing it does for the previously ambiguous threat of THEM. We're now given THEM's true name as of this story:



though Fury won't figure out the two organizations are one and the same until the end of the issue.


But we also get a better sense of what AIM is and what threat it poses, with each member being a super genius



making them a far larger threat than HYDRA ever was




AIM is presented as being an international coalition of geniuses working towards the betterment of mankind, but clearly they have ulterior motives expressed through their activities as THEM.

But there's also a conceptual struggle between AIM and SHIELD, one of brains vs. braun. The ambassador for AIM repeatedly drives home the idea that SHIELD should not be led by someone who isn't a genius (perhaps a fair point):



and yet Fury repeatedly gets to prove in this issue that he is actually quite smart and thinks ahead more than we might expect, even chastising Sitwell for rushing in half-cocked without thinking in this story, as well as proving to those two AIM agents that text-book smarts and practical smarts are two very different things. Clearly, Fury has done some serious maturing since his days as a Howler.



And yet, the very best part of this issue is neither the villain, the action, nor any deeper concepts about brain vs. braun. Instead, it's the little moments that Lee manages to make so memorable this time out, from this exchange between Fury and Sitwell that I really need to turn into a meme of some kind:




to this little plug for Marvel:




to the sheer mouth Lee puts on the AIM ambassador:




to this awesome moment that defines what makes this feature so different from the Marvel superhero books:





Just a really strong and fun installment all around, even without Kirby's presence being felt.



Important Details:

- First mention of AIM (Advanced Idea Mechanics)

- Revelation that THEM is AIM




Plot synopsis: Fury and the core SHIELD agents manage to find and invade a THEM installation, only to discover just how advanced their technology is and how ready they are to take over the world, while Count Royal, ambassador for AIM, attempts to convince SHIELD to remove Fury as its director in order to receive technology and weapons from them. Fury figures out that THEM is likely AIM.