Back in my baby-boomer youth, or should I say the silver age, I used to look forward to the monthly trip to the 7/11 or Clayon's (Noccalula Mountain) for my Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos fix. Look into those brown paper bags and you'd find a Baby Ruth, a root beer, and the latest issue of Sgt Fury. It was my older Brooky who got me hooked. He bring one home and read it to his kid brother in all the glorious Howler dialects. It was those readings that gave me an interest in doing all the voices. To this day I will read to my children, giving voices to every character. Thanks Brook.
There were a great many war comics back in those days but none were as enjoyable as Sgt. Fury. I guess it was because Marvel didn't just create superheros, but injected humor into their story-lines as well. I loved Howler humor. Brook's favorites were the Lee-Kirby team and I have to admit, they did shine the brightest. Kirby drew Fury the best. I enjoyed the way Friedrich-Ayers-Severin handled the commandos later on. When I was a kid, my big influences were Charles M. Shultz (Peanuts) and John Severin's illustration in that war mag.
Other WWII comics of the Silver Age were Sgt. Rock and The Haunted Tank which evolved from the DC comic Our Army At War. These were great comics mind you but maybe it was because Fury was first. There was also Charlton Comics that came out with some great stories but the art worked lacked a great deal.
I still have all of my old Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos. I am not an avid comic book collector but I would one day like to complete my collection. Though the comic ran to 160, probably 30 or so were reprints. I am not picky about the condition. I'd just like to read all the stories that I missed growing up. Brooky once had the first twenty issues but mother threw them away many decades ago while cleaning the basement. Mother's have thrown away fortunes haven't they? I also have most of the Sgt. Fury spin offs, Captain Savage and His Leathernecks and Combat Kelley and His Deadly Dozen but they deserved their short life.
So as a kid, Sgt. Fury was my comic book star. John Wayne was my movie star and Vic Morrow (Combat!) was my favorite T.V. star. Back when I was a kid I would have used the term hero instead, but these day's we should know who the real heros are.
-nuff said
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1 comment:
Ahh, WWII comics -- what great memories. I was a Sgt. Rock fan (who, by the way, actually was introduced 3 or 4 years before Fury -- sorry David!), and literally wore out dozens of comics. Mine were typically worthless anyway, as I bought them at a used comic store with the covers removed -- but they were cheap!
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