Sgt. Fury cheerfully introduces the "Weapons of Wa"r feature. Jack Kirby may have come up with the concept and possibly did the research; Editor-writer Stan Lee likely provided Fury's dialogue. For you completists, Dick Ayers inked, Artie Simek lettered and Stan Goldberg is the primary palette suspect. Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos # 1, May 1963.
"The Enemy That Was!" is very likely written by Kirby, with some editing by Lee. The style is terse and reads very much like his later solo-scripted stories:
"The German soldier was tough, well-trained, well-disciplined! He carried out orders with unquestioning, deadly efficiency!"
Dick Ayers inks, Artie Simek letters, Stan G. colors? Sgt. Fury # 2, July 1963
Sgt. Fury # 2 included two "Weapons of War" pages. I won't "chatter" about this page too much, but will note that Kirby likely produced this solo as well, with possible Dick Ayers inks. The use of "quotation marks" was a Kirby stylistic tic that he used throughout his career.
Sgt. Fury returns to introduce another special feature focusing on the cost of war. Kirby pencils and possible script; Dick Ayers inks; Sam Rosen letters; Stan Goldberg colors? Sgt. Fury # 3, Sept 1963.
This "Weapons of War" page is signed Lee-Kirby, although there is little copy, so I doubt Lee had much input. Sol Brodsky inks ?; Sam Rosen letters; Stan Goldberg colors ? Sgt. Fury # 4, November 1963.
Kirby's final published "Weapons of War" page appeared in Sgt. Fury # 5, January 1964. This page is signed "Stan and Jack". Kirby inks ?; Sam Rosen letters, Stan Goldberg colors.
One final feature page was uncovered in recent years and finally published in The Complete Kirby War and Romance Omnibus in 2020 thanks to Editor Cory Sedelmier (and I'd add well worth purchasing). The crossed out notation on the top right reads: "no room for this page" and was likely scribbled by Lee. It was originally scheduled to appear in Sgt. Fury # 6, but instead the decision was made to devote two full pages of house ads to promote Avengers # 4 and X-Men # 4. Kirby would depart from Sgt. Fury after issue # 7, returning in # 13 to depict a sensational team-up with Captain America. It would be another decade before he again worked in the genre and then at DC (see my post on The Losers here: https://nick-caputo.blogspot.com/2012/10/kirbys-losers-personal-journey-into-hell.html
The "Weapons of War" page unceremoniously reappeared one year later in Sgt. Fury # 14, January 1965. Kirby was probably not involved, but neither was Dick Ayers, the artist who took over Sgt. Fury from Kirby for a long and successful run. The art appears to be the work of Don Heck. Its possible that Heck only inked the piece, but I don't detect another artist under the inks. Lee likely script, Artie Simek lettering.
Other special features would appear from time to time in Sgt. Fury, by the likes of Dick Ayers and John Severin, mainly in the Annuals (and I may showcase them one day) but when Kirby returned to a war feature, "The Losers" in Our Fighting Forces at DC, many issues included pages similar to those seen in the early issues of Sgt. Fury., leading me to believe Kirby was the primary architect of the concept.
Kirby's feature pages began in his second issue of Our Fighting Forces, # 152. Jan 1975. Inks and Lettering by D. Bruce Berry.
Kirby provides info on the allies and the opposition. Mike Royer inks and letters. Our Fighting Forces # 153, March 1975.
The "Big Boomers" of World War II. D. Bruce Berry inks and letters, Our Fighting Forces # 155, May 1975.
These special pages which appeared in both Sgt. Fury and Our Fighting Forces, gave the reader something extra for their money. They added background into the weapons, attire and hardware of WWII era combat which Kirby experienced first hand. I can't vouch for the authenticity of Kirby's research (if he indeed did the research on his own, although he probably had reference books in his library) but his gritty style and honest passion are evident. Kirby's sense of drama and superb storytelling was intensified by a feeling of desperation: nowhere did this come through more than in his war stories over the decades in Foxhole, Warfront, Battle, Sgt. Fury and The Losers.
Kirby himself said he didn't like doing research on things like weapons, etc., so I wonder if it might have been Stan's idea for those feature pages. Not saying it was, mind you - just wondering.
ReplyDelete(Hope you don't mind me pointing out that there's a couple of typos you need to take care of, Nick. I won't spoil the thrill of discovery for you by saying what they are.)
Hi Kid,
ReplyDeleteNeither Lee or Kirby liked researching, as both have noted, but with the WWII art Kirby could have used material he had at hand in books and magazines. It may well have been Lee's idea to add some special features to the comics, as they also occured in the FF and, of course, the Annuals, but Kirby always seemed to have a special affinity for war stories and may have done the extra legwork.
I never mind having errors or typos pointed out. As long as I don't have to pay you editing fees! :)
Thanks for posting these, Nick! I'm missing a couple of the Kirby Sgt Fury issues, so nice to at least see the feature pages of them.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, 'The Enemy that Was' reeks of Kirby's writing style.
T Guy -
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed them. Hopefully I'll spring more suprises on you in the future.
The original art for the first three pages of your post are all at Heritage Auctions. If you look at the scans with the close-up feature they offer it's clear Kirby's penciled text is on the German Infantry Man page. The penciled text on the other two pages isn't possible to make out.
ReplyDeleteMr. Ed - I've seen instances where Kirby has copied other writers scripts directly onto the page, so its still not a certainty that he wrote those pages.
ReplyDeleteAlways loved these Kirby "extras".
ReplyDelete