Mister 8

Throughout the past month, my fellow COBRAS have been presenting their takes on costumed adventurers who crossover with the espionage genre. This week, I’m taking a look at some of my favorite super-hero spies, unveiling a character one at a time from the banner above. In case you missed an entry, so far we’ve seen:

The introduction, in which I link to all of the other COBRAS entries
THUNDER Agents (that’s No-Man above)!
Dell Comics’ Werewolf
Harvey Comics’ / Jim Steranko’s Spyman
Agents of Atlas pt. I and pt. II

…And to wrap up the first ever COBRAS themed month, we unveil our last superhero-spy, Nick Fury, AGENT OF SHIELD!

Fury was originally the star of his own World War II comic, Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos, drawn in the beginning by comic legend Jack Kirby (Dick Ayers later took over) and written by Stan Lee. The comic debuted in May of 1963, but in December of that year, an older, contemporary Nick Fury showed up in the pages of the Fantastic Four, working as a special agent for the CIA.

It wasn’t until August of 1965, however, in Strange Tales #135, that the superspy version of Nick Fury that we’ve come to know and love debuted. These stories too were initially by Lee and Kirby, but in issue 151, a new artist came on board — Jim Steranko. Steranko’s unique approach to the material, drawing on pop art, psychedelia, and film, created a new visual language for comics that, if it seems a bit tame today, is only because of the lasting influence Steranko has had on the medium.

Instead of attempting to fully cover the entire history of Nick Fury, I thought I’d visit the wonderful ComicArtFans.com, and share with you what I thought were the ten best Nick Fury pieces I saw from sketch collections there. Stay tuned to the end for details on the first ever Mister8.com contest!

First, from the portfolio of colorist Tom Smith, we have a beautiful print by Steranko, colored by Smith himself:

Next, a series of tributes to Steranko’s style from some of the best artists working in comics today. First, Bruce Timm (who defined the style of the past twenty years of DC Comics animation), from the collection of Matt Zitron:

Next, Steve Rude, from the collection of Adam Richards:

Francisco Francavilla imagines the moments after a Steranko cover in this fabulous piece, from the One Minute Later collection of Michael Finn.

…And Chris Giarrusso, from the collection of George Beliard:

Here’s a look at Fury from Kirby’s long-time inker, and inker of Steranko on the Nick Fury series, Joe Sinnott, from the collection of Jim Harvey:

This is a very Cold War-looking Nick Fury by artist Jeff Spokes, from the collection of Wilson Wong:

I didn’t include any other “head sketches” in this post, but I’m really drawn to the sharp linework by Lee Bermejo in this piece from the collection of Jake Bell:

Here’s an imagined team-up of Fury and Dynamo from the THUNDER Agents by artist Daryl Banks, from the collection of Michael Rankins:

And last, but certainly not least, is a sexy, Bondesque look at Fury and Black Widow from artist Paul Gulacy, from the collection of Murray Roach:

One thing I noticed in my browsing is that, despite being a popular character, the “Ultimate” version of Nick Fury (an alternate reality Fury based on the appearance of Samuel L. Jackson) was underrepresented in the sketches I saw. To make up for this dearth of Jackson Fury, here’s the final scene in the film Iron Man that made comic fans stand up and cheer:

CONTEST!

In honor of this, our 75th post, we’re having a contest that will yield prizes for five lucky Mister8.com readers!

To enter, simply post a comment on this post, or send an email to mister8@mister8.com with your name, email address, and the answer to the question: Who is your favorite superhero-spy, and why? It doesn’t even have to be someone we discussed this week!

The top five responses as chosen by a team consisting of myself and other COBRAS members will receive a Marvel promotional item, a magnet bearing the new logo of SHIELD as seen on this comic cover:

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL! The top three responses will receive a personalized Nick Fury sketch by yours truly. I may not be Steranko, but I promise quality work!

The contest will end at midnight, May 1, 2009, and winners will be announced a week later, on May 8, 2009!