SHIELD by Jim Steranko: The Complete Collection

Even though Nick Fury and SHIELD was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby...

Even though dozens of talented writers and artists have put the World War II hero turned secret agent through thick and thin...

-You just cannot explore this cloak and dagger corner of the Marvel universe without mentioning Jim Steranko.

Steranko's time at Marvel might have been brief. But the time Steranko spent at the House of Ideas not only changed Marvel Comics but the entire medium as well. He loved to fuse psychedelic art with optical illusions. There was also a little bit of Dali's surrealism infused with the dynamic posing created by Jack Kirby and Will Eisner's love of playing with story titles within the artwork.

When it came to the writing style, Steranko's Nick Fury was like Ian Fleming's James Bond on acid and steroids. The gadgets were more far out. The women were more exotic. And the baddies were so much more deadlier. Plus, Steranko wasn't afraid to kill off characters. Nor was he afraid to literally destroy SHIELD headquarters in every issue (only to miraculously have the agency built back up the next issue.)

One thing Steranko did that I wasn't a fan of was that he broke up the team. Gabriel Jones and Dum Dum Dugan both disappear midway through this book. Thankfully, Dum Dum's absence wasn't very long. But Gabe stays MIA. He was always a favorite of mine in the pages of Howling Commandos. So to not have Gabe around was a disappointment. (BTW- Gabe was the star of one of the first Marvel features to involve a black main character; posing as a AIM agent. When will those historic issues ever get collected and published?)

I'm trying to read my way through the complete adventures of Nick Fury. I seem to be going more in a chronological order of publication rather than through Nick's timeline. But I don't mind. Fury is a favorite, always has been. I can't experience the true story of Nick Fury without this period of comics history. And if you are wanting the full course of Nick Fury stories, neither should you!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Milt Gross' New York

DC's pair of New York World's Fair Comics are the cultural benchmark of that global event. Superman went from kids curiosity to household name to worldwide icon thanks to these publications. Batman and Robin jumped in visibility too, though maybe not yet to the extent of the Man of Steel.

The two volumes of World's Fair Comics weren't the only funny books being peddled from 1939-40. There was another comic being sold during that time as well. That's My Pop! Goes Nuts for Fair was an early precursor to the modern graphic novel. However, with a 25 cent price tag, unusual New Yawker-style syntax and phrases, and an unfamiliar lead character, the book was a minuscule seller and long forgotten by collectors and historians- until now! 

Previous to this collection's 2015 publishing, the great comic book historian Craig Yoe had crafted a retrospect on That's My Pop! creator, Milt Gross. During his research, Yoe learned of the World's Fair book. But apparently, he couldn't find any evidence of the book. Once The Complete Milt Gross Comic Books and Life Story debuted, Yoe's search finally bore fruit. A rare comics collector sought of  Craig Yoe and presented him a very delicate copy of the missing book Finally, this lost treasure was allowed to return to print and countless new generations of comic book fans. 

Comic book legend Jim Steranko pens the forward. A product of the same New York as Milt Gross, Steranko reveals how the cartoonist inspired him as well as capture the Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD innovator's childhood neighborhood. Yoe continues with an introduction into the history of Milt Gross' That's My Pop! comic strip. He also explains about the history of this book's 1939 production and subsequent failure to find an audience. 

When I read from both Steranko and Yoe that this book was full of zany dialect, I was a little apprehensive to read this book further. But my wife knew that I am a fan of Jewish humor, Yoe Books and comics history in general. This was a gift! So I pressed on. 

The meat of this volume was actually very good. It's full of clever gags about a man named Pop, who will do anything to save a buck as equally will he attempt to earn a dollar! Some of Pop's schemes are as elaborate as the plans of a Rube Goldberg machine. More often than not, Pop's cons are discovered by the local authorities. Sometimes, the proud papa succeeds!  Always off to the corner is Pop's tow-haired son, in awe of his old man's genius. 

Milt Gross' comic book is something that could not be published today. His 'tar-baby' renderings of African Americans are just one example of stereotypes portrayed in this book. I highly doubt that the Jewish Milt Gross was racist. His humor just reflects the time period, warts and all. 

I am actually glad that Craig You doesn't edit these books. He is a historian and he believes that to revise these works would actually cloud an observers view of the true nature of time period. Being a history major, I agree with this theory.

To erase all presence of past wrongs doesn't make the world better. If anything, it prevents us from trying to do better than our parents and grandparents. They say that failure to learn from the mistakes of history causes us to repeat it. If we can't remember the mistakes of the past, we'll never have an example in which to learn from.

To all publishers out- learn from Craig Yoe! Don't be like DC Comics and cancel a collection of classic comics that depict false characterizations of minorities. Print them as ugly as they are! Then use your introduction, foreword and even afterwords to reinforce that those ideals aren't who you are anymore.

IDW Publishing- I applaud you for supporting Yoe Books in the creation of these time capsules. They are an informative and educational as they are entertaining!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #10

 It seems that even a suave superspy can't enjoy a peaceful Christmas Eve at their bachelor pad. Col. Fury is called upon SHIELD to save the world from the Hate-Monger. The villain's plan is to drop a germ warfare bomb upon the Big Apple. Upon detonation, the missile would release a contagion eventually wiping out the 'inferior' races of planet earth. With time running out, Nick Fury will meet the enemy in earth's orbit. But if he's not able to stop the Hate-Monger before the clock strikes Midnight over Manhattan, this will be their last Christmas ever...

   When I last encountered the Hate-Monger it was in the pages of Fantastic Four (#s 21-22). Seemingly, the foe had died but this is comic books and well bad guys don't tend to stay deceased for long. But the Hate-Monger's return wasn't the only thing that perplexed me about this issue.

    I bought Nick Fury #10 for a song. Not in great shape, but to pay only $4 for an original 1969 reader's copy with the cover still intact is not a bad deal. Being complete like that, this book shouldn't be missing any pages. Yet my copy started on page 4. There was no splash page, no title, and no credits. Why the book even starts off with Fury beating the crap outta a group of punks for no apparent reason.  

   Now artist/ writer Jim Steranko was known to be very experimental with his books- especially Nick Fury. So, having the book start in the middle of the action with no warning might have been one of his tests. If so, it failed completely on me because I spent a lot of time trying to find the title page elsewhere in the comic.

   (And for those of you saying that this book was an error with pages missing from the print run or that they were torn out- there is no evidence of any ripped pages and the book has a definite ending and the ubiquitous letters page and Stan's Soapbox editorial are both included at the end of this issue. So, there... But if anyone could scan me those missing pages, that'd be sweet!)

    Regardless of the strange beginning, this was a fun read. The art was classy and very Steranko. The painted cover is so retro cool! The dialogue was a little cheesy but so were most spy films of the era. Plus, it's a Christmas themed issue, people! That's like printed gold.

    Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.