In Search of a Phantom Submarine

Capt. Savage and His Leatherneck Raiders #2 (Marvel, March 1968, 12 cents)
"The Return of Baron Strucker!" Edited by: Stan Lee, Written by: Gary Friedrich, Drawn by: Dick Ayers, Inked by: Syd Shores, Lettered by: L.P. Gregory, Was here: Forbush.

This title, a Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos spinoff, lasted 19 issues—and might be one of my favorite comic series discovered in the last year. Friedrich and Ayers also helmed an even-shorter later spinoff, Combat Kelly and the Deadly Dozen, which lasted only nine issues. (I've yet to read that title.)

The issue opens with Capt. Savage watching his fellow marines during a training exercise: grizzled veteran Yaketty Yates, the French-accented and mustachioed Jacques La Rocque, former teacher Lee Baker, Native American wrestler Chief Jay Little Bear, and second in command Blarney Stone. Once done, they go in search of a phantom submarine sinking ships.



A Japanese team of soldiers, the Samurai Squadron, also searches for that mysterious sub, which turns out to be controlled by one Baron Strucker, the Supreme Hydra. As the marines and Japanese encounter a series of traps landing on the beach of a small island—"This place's got more dangers than Dracula's castle!"—Strucker remembers what brought him here. (This issue contains the origin of Hydra.)

Strucker's traps eventually bring the two landing forces face to face, each thinking the other country controls the threatening submarine. They fight for the rest of the issue, punctuated by relatively racist dialogue, before realizing that they share a common enemy in Strucker on the last page of the comic.

Friedrich's writing—though no longer appropriate in terms of racial sensitivity—is natural and smooth. And Ayers art is excellent. He might even be my favorite artist in recent months. I found the pacing and page balance even more impressive, with only two pages featuring more than six panels.

Read Also: Sgt. Fury and His Leatherneck Raiders #29.

Availability: Capt. Savage has not been collected. We recommend Essential Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos.

Cute and Brutish

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #30 (Marvel, May 1966, 12 cents)
"Incident in Italy!" Editing: Stan Lee, Writing: Roy Thomas, Art: Dick Ayers, Delineation: John Tartaglione, Lettering: Sam Rosen.

The character Nick Fury has had a long and prosperous history in the Marvel universe, and this early pre-SHIELD incarnation is a strong bridge between the war comics of the past and the superhero comics—as well as movies and TV—of today. Largely a team book similar to DC's Blackhawk, Fury is accompanied by a group of soldiers as diverse as America itself, including Italian-American Dino Manelli.



This issue finds the Commandos parachuting into Italy to help fight Mussolini and the fascists. They surrender and are taken to a prisoner of war camp, where they meet their contact Major Carlo, a partisan and, as chance would have it, Mussolini's cousin. With the help of the beautiful Sophia, the Commandos plot to appropriate some stolen treasure buried on a farm.

A few Commandos get the spotlight: British Pinkerton gets handy with his umbrella; the southerner Ralston shoots down a dive bomber; and Manelli translates some documents and gets the girl, pledging to cast her in a movie—perhaps Boy on a Dolphin? The issue also features a two-page letter column.