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Marvel Masterworks: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #3
Marvel Masterworks: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Vol. 3
The Marvel Masterworks are proud to present the continuing adventures of Colonel Nick Fury in the swingin' Sixties! The irascible Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s series was a truly innovative lightning-in-a-bottle merger of comics and the spy craze of the day, and where better to start our collection than with a Nick Fury origin issue housed inside an iconic Jim Steranko cover? Next up: Steranko's last S.H.I.E.L.D. epic, "Whatever Happened to Scorpio?" will dazzle you before we launch into a new era of adventures including a moon-busting space mission; a mindbending trip that Fury may never come back from; and a sub-earth battle with Supremus!
320 pages, Hardcover
First published December 28, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 30, 2014
Excellent reprint of these rare silver age stories. I enjoy these collected editions of the comics I remember reading as a kid. Great art and plot for the early days of Marvel Comics rebirth. Very recommended to any comic fan
February 15, 2020
This third volume concludes the collection of Marvel's Silver Age NICK FURY, AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D. series (originally published in 1968-1969), along with AVENGERS #72 (1969) and a "bonus" Bronze Age tale. There are a number of cooks involved in this particular stew, with predictably uneven results.
In the first story, from NICK FURY #4, writer Roy Thomas and artist Frank Springer provide a lackluster retelling of the first S.H.I.E.L.D. story from STRANGE TALES #135. Then, in NICK FURY #5, legendary writer/artist Jim Steranko returns to further the mystery of the villain Scorpio, whom he introduced in NICK FURY #1 (reprinted in the previous volume). That mystery is then seemingly dropped, as Steranko provides no further story content, although he does draw the next two covers (reproduced here along with the stories).
Frank Springer returns to draw NICK FURY #s 6-7 and 9-11, with Herb Trimpe filling in for issue #8. Springer attempts some "Steranko effects" - unusual panel layouts, odd camera angles, arms and legs that extend toward the reader, etc., but of course, he's no Steranko. I thought that his pencils were fine, although mostly unremarkable. His inks, however, are another story. Springer serves as his own inker in all of his issues but one, and he employs a pretty heavy inking hand. In that one exception, former EC artist Johnny Craig inks Springer's pencils, and the art suddenly becomes sharper and clearer and improves for me by leaps and bounds. It's a testament to what a good inker can do, but sadly, Craig doesn't stick around.
Springer himself leaves after issue #11, then Barry Windsor-Smith draws an issue, and finally, Herb Trimpe becomes the series' regular penciller with #13. While I didn't care for Trimpe's art as a kid, I've since come to appreciate his clean, Kirby-inspired (but still distinct) style. Unfortunately, he only draws three issues before the book is cancelled.
Writers also come and go. Archie Goodwin writes stand alone stories for two issues, Golden Age comic writer Ernie Hart pens an additional stand alone tale, and then, finally, in NICK FURY #9, Gary Friedrich comes aboard as the series' regular writer. The stand alone tales aren't bad, but it's nice to see Friedrich finally get some real momentum going from issue to issue. He gives us some good villains such as the Hate Monger (who originally appeared in FANTASTIC FOUR #21 by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee) and some new ongoing plot threads. Then, Steve Parkhouse steps in to write #12, and while he continues Friedrich's storyline, there are nonetheless some "disconnected moments" (more on one of those in a moment). Friedrich returns in #13, but the book is cancelled mid-story two issues later.
I wouldn't be surprised if all that coming and going of creative talent impacted sales. The constant gear shifting is annoying enough when read in this collected edition, and I can only imagine how frustrating it was for 1968-1969 readers. Besides Steranko's Scorpio mystery being ignored, there are also little things like Nick Fury inexplicably switching girlfriends. In the old STRANGE TALES issues, Kirby and Lee had introduced a potential love interest named Laura Brown. Steranko then replaced her with Countess Valentina de Fontaine (aka "Val"). Fredriech, for seemingly no reason, ignores Val and shows Nick dating Laura...only for Steve Parkhouse and Barry Windsor-Smith, in their one fill-in issue, to bring back Val. Friedrich returns, and then, Val is out and Laura is back...again, with no real explanation (Friedrich also introduces a secretary with a fondness for Nick, and this seems to be yet another love interest, but she only appears in one issue). Ultimately, Fury starts looking like a bit of a cad.
Both Friedrich's story and Steranko's "Scorpio mystery" are resolved by Roy Thomas and artist Sal Buscema in AVENGERS #72, which is also presented herein. Even Thomas himself, in his introduction to this volume, calls the work "a minor effort," and frankly, he didn't quite dot all the "i's" that Friedrich had left undotted. Thomas does reveal Scorpio's true identity, and I honestly couldn't tell you if it's the revelation that Steranko himself had in mind. It DOES solve the mystery, however, and as a solution, I think that it works.
That brings us to the final "bonus" story, from MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #31 (1976). In this tale, scripted by Jim Starlin with art by Howard Chaykin, we learn about the Infinity Formula, which has kept Fury from aging since World War II. While it keeps him young, he will also age rapidly and die if he doesn't receive his annual booster shot. At the time, this "answer" to how Nick Fury could still be so active thirty years after the war was somewhat controversial. In 1976, however, the SGT. FURY series was still being published, albeit as a reprint title, so it seems that some sort of explanation would be needed sooner or later. The story is tightly plotted, contains some real suspense and is more down to Earth than most Nick Fury S.H.I.E.L.D. tales. Chaykin also does some nice work on the art, giving Fury and his world a grittier and updated contemporary look. My only complaint concerns the implication that Fury values staying alive above all else and is willing to compromise some personal integrity to do so. This sounds like the sort of flawed protagonist that Howard Chaykin generally favors, and I wonder if Chaykin didn't contribute to the plot (especially since Starlin is credited as a "scripter," rather than a "writer"). Regardless, this didn't seem like the Nick Fury that I admired from previous stories, although the story itself was certainly enjoyable.
Ultimately, then, this book is a bit of a hodge podge, with a lot of lost potential and missed opportunities on display. While the stories aren't as energetic as in the Kirby/Lee run (reprinted in Volume 1), as innovative as the Steranko run (most of which was reprinted in Volume 2), or as consistent as either, I nonetheless found most of them enjoyable. I also really like the character of Nick Fury, a tough "everyman" who faces the same threats as many super heroes, but with no powers, costumes or a code name. Perhaps someday, fans will come to appreciate him more, and he will become the star that I feel that he deserves to be. In the meantime, we can revisit these three MARVEL MASTERWORKS volumes and contemplate "what might have been."
In the first story, from NICK FURY #4, writer Roy Thomas and artist Frank Springer provide a lackluster retelling of the first S.H.I.E.L.D. story from STRANGE TALES #135. Then, in NICK FURY #5, legendary writer/artist Jim Steranko returns to further the mystery of the villain Scorpio, whom he introduced in NICK FURY #1 (reprinted in the previous volume). That mystery is then seemingly dropped, as Steranko provides no further story content, although he does draw the next two covers (reproduced here along with the stories).
Frank Springer returns to draw NICK FURY #s 6-7 and 9-11, with Herb Trimpe filling in for issue #8. Springer attempts some "Steranko effects" - unusual panel layouts, odd camera angles, arms and legs that extend toward the reader, etc., but of course, he's no Steranko. I thought that his pencils were fine, although mostly unremarkable. His inks, however, are another story. Springer serves as his own inker in all of his issues but one, and he employs a pretty heavy inking hand. In that one exception, former EC artist Johnny Craig inks Springer's pencils, and the art suddenly becomes sharper and clearer and improves for me by leaps and bounds. It's a testament to what a good inker can do, but sadly, Craig doesn't stick around.
Springer himself leaves after issue #11, then Barry Windsor-Smith draws an issue, and finally, Herb Trimpe becomes the series' regular penciller with #13. While I didn't care for Trimpe's art as a kid, I've since come to appreciate his clean, Kirby-inspired (but still distinct) style. Unfortunately, he only draws three issues before the book is cancelled.
Writers also come and go. Archie Goodwin writes stand alone stories for two issues, Golden Age comic writer Ernie Hart pens an additional stand alone tale, and then, finally, in NICK FURY #9, Gary Friedrich comes aboard as the series' regular writer. The stand alone tales aren't bad, but it's nice to see Friedrich finally get some real momentum going from issue to issue. He gives us some good villains such as the Hate Monger (who originally appeared in FANTASTIC FOUR #21 by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee) and some new ongoing plot threads. Then, Steve Parkhouse steps in to write #12, and while he continues Friedrich's storyline, there are nonetheless some "disconnected moments" (more on one of those in a moment). Friedrich returns in #13, but the book is cancelled mid-story two issues later.
I wouldn't be surprised if all that coming and going of creative talent impacted sales. The constant gear shifting is annoying enough when read in this collected edition, and I can only imagine how frustrating it was for 1968-1969 readers. Besides Steranko's Scorpio mystery being ignored, there are also little things like Nick Fury inexplicably switching girlfriends. In the old STRANGE TALES issues, Kirby and Lee had introduced a potential love interest named Laura Brown. Steranko then replaced her with Countess Valentina de Fontaine (aka "Val"). Fredriech, for seemingly no reason, ignores Val and shows Nick dating Laura...only for Steve Parkhouse and Barry Windsor-Smith, in their one fill-in issue, to bring back Val. Friedrich returns, and then, Val is out and Laura is back...again, with no real explanation (Friedrich also introduces a secretary with a fondness for Nick, and this seems to be yet another love interest, but she only appears in one issue). Ultimately, Fury starts looking like a bit of a cad.
Both Friedrich's story and Steranko's "Scorpio mystery" are resolved by Roy Thomas and artist Sal Buscema in AVENGERS #72, which is also presented herein. Even Thomas himself, in his introduction to this volume, calls the work "a minor effort," and frankly, he didn't quite dot all the "i's" that Friedrich had left undotted. Thomas does reveal Scorpio's true identity, and I honestly couldn't tell you if it's the revelation that Steranko himself had in mind. It DOES solve the mystery, however, and as a solution, I think that it works.
That brings us to the final "bonus" story, from MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #31 (1976). In this tale, scripted by Jim Starlin with art by Howard Chaykin, we learn about the Infinity Formula, which has kept Fury from aging since World War II. While it keeps him young, he will also age rapidly and die if he doesn't receive his annual booster shot. At the time, this "answer" to how Nick Fury could still be so active thirty years after the war was somewhat controversial. In 1976, however, the SGT. FURY series was still being published, albeit as a reprint title, so it seems that some sort of explanation would be needed sooner or later. The story is tightly plotted, contains some real suspense and is more down to Earth than most Nick Fury S.H.I.E.L.D. tales. Chaykin also does some nice work on the art, giving Fury and his world a grittier and updated contemporary look. My only complaint concerns the implication that Fury values staying alive above all else and is willing to compromise some personal integrity to do so. This sounds like the sort of flawed protagonist that Howard Chaykin generally favors, and I wonder if Chaykin didn't contribute to the plot (especially since Starlin is credited as a "scripter," rather than a "writer"). Regardless, this didn't seem like the Nick Fury that I admired from previous stories, although the story itself was certainly enjoyable.
Ultimately, then, this book is a bit of a hodge podge, with a lot of lost potential and missed opportunities on display. While the stories aren't as energetic as in the Kirby/Lee run (reprinted in Volume 1), as innovative as the Steranko run (most of which was reprinted in Volume 2), or as consistent as either, I nonetheless found most of them enjoyable. I also really like the character of Nick Fury, a tough "everyman" who faces the same threats as many super heroes, but with no powers, costumes or a code name. Perhaps someday, fans will come to appreciate him more, and he will become the star that I feel that he deserves to be. In the meantime, we can revisit these three MARVEL MASTERWORKS volumes and contemplate "what might have been."
March 7, 2021
I wasn't sure how I'd like this series once Steranko (and Lee and Kirby) left, but really it was still pretty good. It didn't have the dynamic and innovative art that Steranko provided, but the art wasn't bad. Frank Springer did most of the art but some others also chipped in including Barry Windsor Smith and Howard Chaykin. The writing actually got a little tighter when Steranko left as he had a tendency to be "wordy" for lack of a better term.
Overall this was a good series but it does seem like it had become so linked to Jim Steranko that when he left it just floundered, even though the creative teams were doing a good job.
Overall I enjoyed the Silver Age Nick Fury/Shield run. I haven't read the later series yet but I plan to. This is an important part of Marvel History that seems to get lost in the mix sometimes among the more high profile Spiderman, Fantastic Four, X-Men etc.
If you're a fan of Silver Age Marvel and haven't read this series yet, you should check it out.
Overall this was a good series but it does seem like it had become so linked to Jim Steranko that when he left it just floundered, even though the creative teams were doing a good job.
Overall I enjoyed the Silver Age Nick Fury/Shield run. I haven't read the later series yet but I plan to. This is an important part of Marvel History that seems to get lost in the mix sometimes among the more high profile Spiderman, Fantastic Four, X-Men etc.
If you're a fan of Silver Age Marvel and haven't read this series yet, you should check it out.
December 3, 2025
The remainder of the original agents of SHIELD comic is collected here, as well as an Avengers comic to round off both the Scorpio story from the start of the collection and the unfinished story from when the book cancelled. We also get a bonus Howard Chaykin story from Marvel Spotlight which introduces the Infinity Formula as an explanation of Fury’s living so long.
The tone of both art and story is uneven as the roles are passed between a wide selection. There’s the usual
Mix of daft stories, good ones, and variable characterisations as well as Nick’s love interests bouncing all over as writers change. Some try emulate Steranko, some less so. By the last story it definitely lost its mojo, with a daft ‘twist.’ Saying that, the villains are fun: Scorpio, Hate Monger, Hydra, Superpatriot to name a few.
The tone of both art and story is uneven as the roles are passed between a wide selection. There’s the usual
Mix of daft stories, good ones, and variable characterisations as well as Nick’s love interests bouncing all over as writers change. Some try emulate Steranko, some less so. By the last story it definitely lost its mojo, with a daft ‘twist.’ Saying that, the villains are fun: Scorpio, Hate Monger, Hydra, Superpatriot to name a few.
April 6, 2018
Unfortunately, only one issue in this collection is written and illustrated by Steranko. The Archie Goodwin stuff isn't bad, but Gary Friedrich's work—which makes up most of the latter half of this collection—is godawful. He gives Fury a twenty-something girlfriend who—unless I'm just no remembering her first appearance—kind of appears out of nowhere without explaining why he's no longer with the Contessa. Thanks to this character, who insists on dragging Fury to multiple rock concerts, we get a lame plot where Hate-Monger mind-controls a band and its audience to turn against old people. It's no wonder the series was canceled.
October 9, 2019
The series definitely declined over time. No real need to read the third volume (or the last half of the second volume, for that matter).
December 29, 2022
Very little Steranko in this collection. One full story, and a few superlative covers.
Frank Springer and Herb Trimpe do their best to fill those way out shoes.
Frank Springer and Herb Trimpe do their best to fill those way out shoes.
March 28, 2016
"Nejlepší žoldák světa" potřebuje nepozorvaně prchnout z parku, ve kterém se to hemží agenty Shieldu, a tak v barevném kostýmu s puškou přes rameno běží nenápadka do křoví.
Fury je vystřelen teroristy ve skleněné kapsli (která je součástí bomby) a shodou náhod jsou teroristé tak hloupí, že se z kapsle dá katapultovat a ještě je tu padák.
Fury během série asi 10x zachraní svět, ale na tu práci prej nestačí a měl by ho nahradit někdo mladší.
Teenager s vysílačkou obsadil jadernou základnu, podle prezidenta je to největší krize americké historie.
A tak by se dalo pokračovat.
Jsem asi moc přísný, ale tohle je ukázkový příklad toho, jak poslat skvělou sérii do sraček.
Debilní zápletky, bordel v postavách a dějové ne berličky, ale berle.
Občas se najde fajn sešit (zdrogovaný Fury), ale je jich zoufale málo.
Fury je vystřelen teroristy ve skleněné kapsli (která je součástí bomby) a shodou náhod jsou teroristé tak hloupí, že se z kapsle dá katapultovat a ještě je tu padák.
Fury během série asi 10x zachraní svět, ale na tu práci prej nestačí a měl by ho nahradit někdo mladší.
Teenager s vysílačkou obsadil jadernou základnu, podle prezidenta je to největší krize americké historie.
A tak by se dalo pokračovat.
Jsem asi moc přísný, ale tohle je ukázkový příklad toho, jak poslat skvělou sérii do sraček.
Debilní zápletky, bordel v postavách a dějové ne berličky, ale berle.
Občas se najde fajn sešit (zdrogovaný Fury), ale je jich zoufale málo.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews