Nick Fury – Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Frank Cho — Visiting Steranko

October 8, 2020 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #1, February 2015

Starlord and the rest of The Guardians of The Galaxy probably never looked as good as they do in this enjoyable one-shot drawn by the incomparable Frank Cho.

When I first saw this original title splash page offered for sale, it immediately brought to mind to Jim Steranko’s iconic cover to Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD (#6, 1968). It is Itself an homage to Wallace Wood’s classic and incomparable EC science fiction covers.

It was only after I had tracked down the actual comic itself that I realized there was even more to it. Not only had Frank subtly referenced that classic cover with this great opening splash, but he had also taken a more direct route later in the issue. (See below)

And for my two cents, that’s a fun move by Cho and writer Brian Michael Bendis.

In the MCU, Guardians and Captain Marvel both present opportunities to expand the cosmic part of the Marvel Universe. Nova? Adam Warlock? Both have been hinted at in the Guardians films, and, based on anecdotal references in Avengers Endgame, Carol Danvers has been universally occupied during the five year “blip” between the Avengers films.

That opens up all sorts of possibilities to look forward to.

*Jim Steranko’s classic 1968 cover alongside Frank Cho’s version — printed page and original art.*

Gene Colan — Agent Of Sleep

May 30, 2020 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Captain America #120, December 1969

Concluding our look at SHIELD on the eve of its 55th anniversary.

Gene Colan was a polarizing storyteller when it came to artistic style.

Fans either really loved his work (count me in that group) or didn’t like it at all. I could never figure that out. Of course his work didn’t look anything like the rest of Marvel Bullpen, but that was cool; his dynamic storytelling and extraordinary use of light and shadows was astonishing. To me, at least.

Colan’s run on Captain America came after both Kirby and Steranko, and that was a definite change of pace. But Gene’s reality-defying physics felt like a perfect fit for Cap, Marvel’s own reality-defying super powered acrobat.

Inking Gene Colan was one of the most challenging assignments in comics, but the legendary Joe Sinnott delivers here.

Nick Fury, of course, is the most important supporting character in the Marvel Universe. After Kirby and Steranko’s run was completed, the character couldn’t sustain his own title, but SHIELD was an important part of the entire Marvel Universe, primarily with Captain America in the latter part of the Silver Age.

And of course that dynamic repeats — brilliantly — in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

And for the record, even though it appears Fury’s up to absolutely no good by hypnotizing Steve Rogers in this scene, he actually did have a higher purpose in mind.

Ultimately it didn’t work. The man is Captain America, after all.

Inking Gene Colan was one of the most challenging assignments in comics, but these two issues stand out: Issue #127, inks by Wally Wood, and #135, inked by Tom Palmer. The Palmer splash is a wonderful harbinger of monstrous things to come on the Wolfman/Colan/Palmer Tomb of Dracula series, while the Wood issue is simply spectacular looking from start to finish.

Meta Fury: Fury is retooled as a black character in the Ultimate Marvel line in the early 2000s, and writer Mark Millar **ultimately** utilizes the likeness of Samuel Jackson for the role — neglecting to tell him that. But Jackson held no grudge — ultimately playing the character in 11 films and counting.

*Fury and Cap share a special bond early on, as discussed here.*

Frank Springer — Death To Fury!

May 28, 2020 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #10, March 1969

Continuing a look at SHIELD on the eve of its 55th anniversary.

Jim Steranko is not a hard act to follow.

He’s an impossible one.

But on the SHIELD solo series, Frank Springer gave it a try. And in possibly another circumstance, it probably would have been fine.

But, like I said, all of sudden SHIELD transformed into an inadvertent real life version of another spy series: Mission Impossible.

Springer, who broke into Marvel with his work on this series actually captured some of the Steranko vibe in these issues. Barry Smith also managed to capture some it in one issue as well, and even Herb Trimpe had a few cool stories before it became a moot point, and the series died.

In a vacuum, the Springer Fury issues, as exemplified by this page, are well told and illustrative. Clear storytelling and panel variety move us through the action quickly and creatively.

But coming off the Kirby-meets-Krigstein pop-psychedelic acid trip of Steranko’s earlier issues, it wasn’t enough to keep the series going.

But of course, Nick Fury, and SHIELD, lived on.

*Springer’s original cover (right) had Fury as the “lead”, but it was re-done, with the help of Art Director John Romita, with the villainous Hate Monger as the main emphasis.*

*Steranko’s trippy covers for Fury issues five, six and seven channeled Wes Wilson, Wallace Wood, Salvador Dali and much more.*

*Springer’s great splash from issue #10, certainly channeling Steranko… and Krigstein, Eisner, et al…*

Dave Bullock — Man For The Job

May 26, 2020 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Ultimates #21, April 2013

1965. We entered the age of acronyms.

SPECTRE. SMERSH. UNCLE. THRUSH. THUNDER. Et al.

The spy craze had given birth to super secret organizations for both good guys and the bad.

Enter SHIELD, 55 years ago. Nick Fury had already joined the Marvel Universe as WW 2 commando Sgt. Fury in 1963. And he showed up later that year in Fantastic Four, 20 years in the future (present day) as a CIA officer. But now he was ColonelFury, head of the super secret spy agency SHIELD. (Originally, Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage and Law-Enforcement Division.)

In 12 short pages, we are not only introduced to SHIELD, but the villainous Hydra (Not an acronym, one of the few) and of course those great gadgets like the crazy heli-carrier. Comics, as noted previously, do not have budget constraints. Artists can go wild, and as we know when it came to wild tech, Kirby always delivered. All the bells and whistles of the Bond films, plus much, much more.

As a very young reader, I appreciated that Fury was a unique character; living in two different eras, in Sgt. Fury and in Shield. And that he interacted with Captain America and Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) in both of those eras.

SHIELD was another great Lee and Kirby creation, but the series became something extraordinary when Jim Steranko took over, first pencilling over Jack’s layouts, and eventually writing, pencilling, inking and even coloring some those epic SHIELD stories himself. (More on that in the next post.)

Dave Bullock’s modern cover is a pseudo-homage to one of Steranko’s great Shield covers, SHIELD # 4, with the uniform almost identical, minus the dagger on the boots. The background references the groundbreaking pop psychedelic look that Steranko himself was creating at the time.

If Marvel ever decided to create a SHIELD animated series, I’d want it to look exactly like this.