| Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. | |
|---|---|
 Cover nr 6 from the 1968 series, drawn by Jim Steranko | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Publication date |
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| No. of issues |
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| Main character(s) | Nick Fury |
Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. is the title of several American comic book series published by Marvel Comics focusing on the various adventures of the character Nick Fury while working for the fictional organization S.H.I.E.L.D.
The Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. feature replaced then running Human Torch serial that ran alongside Dr Strange in Strange Tales , starting with issue #135. Though Dr Strange was a commercial and critical hit for Marvel, Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. was given priority and the cover of the anthology book for the first year of the title's serialized run. Both books would eventually alternate covers starting with #146. The early stories introduced the government spy organization S.H.I.E.L.D., which had Nick Fury as its top agent and leader. Early stories had Nick as a plain clothed spy, but the character would ultimately be transitioned into a leather catsuit with white gloves S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform. Many of Nick's fellow Howling Commandos would be established as fellow agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., along with other characters such as the Contessa, who was Nick Fury's primary love interest and second-in-command. The series introduced several different spy groups to the series: Hydra (formed by a businessman's rogue personal assistant), AIM (a mad scientist guild that was originally part of Hydra before splintering off), along with mercenary spies for hire such as the Fixer and Mentallo. Stories would be serialized, lasting several issues each. In Strange Tales #151, the series would undergo a major shift: Stan Lee gave control of the book to Jim Steranko. Steranko's art style would revolutionize the book, drawing critical and commercial acclaim. Furthermore, Steranko would retcon the origin of Hydra as the creation of Sgt Fury recurring villain Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. Strucker would be killed off shortly after appearing in the strip, though the character would be brought back to life in the 1989 Nick Fury series decades later. Ultimately the serial would end with issue #168 and Nick Fury spun off into his own title. [1] [2]
In 1968, Strange Tales was canceled and Dr. Strange and Nick Fury spun off into their own books. While Dr. Strange kept the original numbering of Strange Tales, Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. was re-launched with a new #1. The series would be short-lived; Steranko had issues meeting a monthly deadline for a 20 page book and ultimately left the series after 5 issues, only writing and drawing issues #1-3 and #5. Steranko would continue to provide covers for the book through issue #7. The five issues that Steranko wrote set up a new rival for Nick Fury in the form of "Scorpio"; a foreign assassin/race car driver whose true identity was a mystery to readers and S.H.I.E.L.D. With the departure of Steranko, the sales for the book collapsed and was quickly canceled. The final original issue (#15, November 1969) of the series saw Nick Fury killed by a masked assassin known as "Bulls-eye" (no relations to the Daredevil villain of the same name). Nick Fury would not stay dead for long; two months after the publication of his book's final issue, the character would be revived in Avengers #72 (January 1970). Shortly after Avengers #72 was published, Marvel briefly revived Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. as a reprint book for three issues with issues #16-18 would reprise the Nick Fury stories from Strange Tales #135-144.
As part of their direct market "Special Edition" reprint line, the two Jim Steranko Scorpio issues of volume one (#1 and #5) were reprinted in a two part mini-series.
During the 1980s, Marvel began promoting a Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. limited series. First announced in 1984 in Marvel Age, the mini-series was referenced in the pages of Incredible Hulk and West Coast Avengers (with it implied in Incredible Hulk that the events were occurring at the same time as Incredible Hulk #299-300). The Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. series was subjected to several years of developmental limbo due to issues over the plot and format in which the limited series would be published. The series ultimately saw publication in 1988, and sold well enough to justify a new ongoing.
Volume three would take place after the events of Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D., which Nick Fury rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D. following the revelation that the agency had been subverted by a renegade group of evolved LMDs. Opposing them was a revived Hydra, who early in the series announce their return by blowing up the main office building Nick Fury's rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D. operated out of; killing several thousand S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Furthermore, it is revealed that the revived Hydra was being led by a resurrected Baron Von Strucker. The bulk of the series would follow the cat and mouse game between Fury and Strucker, who sought to hide his resurrection from the rest of the world.
In 2000 Marvel republished several issues of the 1968 series as a series.
| Title | Material collected | Publication date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Son of Origins of Marvel Comics | Includes Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. story from Strange Tales #135 [lower-alpha 1] | October 1975 | 978-0-671-22166-9 |
| Marvel Masterworks: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Strange Tales #135-153 [lower-alpha 2] Strange Tales #154-168 and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Volume 1 #1-3 [lower-alpha 3] Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Volume 1 #4-15 [lower-alpha 4] | September 2007 December 2009 December 2011 | 978-0-7851-2686-7 978-0-7851-3503-6 978-0-7851-5034-3 |
| S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Complete Collection Omnibus | Strange Tales #135-168, Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Volume 1 #1-15 [lower-alpha 5] | October 2015 | 978-0-7851-9852-9 |
| Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Strange Tales Vol. 1, Issues #150-168 | September 2001 | 978-0785107477 |
| Nick Fury: Who Is Scorpio? | Includes Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Vol. 1, Issues #1-3 & #5 | November 2000 | 978-0785107668 |
| Steranko is Revolutionary! | Strange Tales #135-168, Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Volume 1 #1-3, 5 [lower-alpha 6] | September 2020 | ISBN 978-1302922894 |
Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, he first appeared in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1, a World War II combat series that portrayed the cigar-chomping man as leader of an elite U.S. Army Ranger unit.
James F. Steranko is an American graphic artist, comic book writer/artist, comics historian, magician, publisher and film production illustrator.
Strange Tales is a Marvel Comics anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their debuts in Strange Tales. It was a showcase for the science fiction/suspense stories of artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, and for the groundbreaking work of writer-artist Jim Steranko. Two previous, unrelated magazines also bore that title.
Baron Wolfgang von Strucker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A former Nazi officer, he is one of the leaders of the Hydra terrorist organization, and the archenemy of Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. He has also come into conflict with the Avengers, and the interests of the United States, and is thus a fugitive. He has been physically augmented to be nearly ageless. While Strucker has been seemingly killed in the past, he returned to plague the world with schemes of world domination and genocide, time and time again.
A Life Model Decoy is a fictional android appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. LMDs duplicate all outward aspects of a real living person with such authenticity that they can easily impersonate a specific person without casual detection. LMDs first appeared in "The Man For the Job!", a short story by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby that ran in the anthology book Strange Tales #135, in which the spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. created LMDs of agent Nick Fury to use as decoys for an attack by the terrorist organization Hydra.
The Mighty World Of Marvel was a British comic book series published first by Marvel UK and then by Panini Comics. Debuting on 30 September 1972, it was the first title published by Marvel UK and ran until 1984. The series was revived in 2003 by Panini Comics, who are licensed to reprint Marvel US material in Europe, and was published monthly until November 2019.
Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a 1998 American television superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Nick Fury. It was first broadcast on May 26, 1998 on Fox, intended to be a backdoor pilot for a possible new TV series. Written by David Goyer, and directed by Rod Hardy, the film had a $6 million production budget. It stars David Hasselhoff as Fury, a retired super spy who is approached to return to duty to take down the terrorist organization HYDRA, who threaten to attack Manhattan with a pathogen they have reconstituted known as the Death's Head virus. Lisa Rinna plays Contessa Valentina "Val" Allegra de Fontaine, and Sandra Hess plays Andrea von Strucker / Viper. It was released on DVD on September 30, 2008. The film was met with a largely negative reception.
Gabriel "Gabe" Jones is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Jack Kirby, he made his first appearance in World War II war comics series Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1.
Clay Quartermain is a fictional character, a secret agent appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
La Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-artist Jim Steranko, she first appeared in the "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." feature in Strange Tales #159.
Jasper Sitwell is a fictional character, an espionage agent appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
This is a list of works by Jim Steranko.
S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism government agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, this agency first appeared in Strange Tales #135, and often deals with paranormal activity and superhuman threats to international security.
Margaret Elizabeth "Peggy" Carter is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is usually depicted as a supporting character in books featuring Captain America. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, she debuted, unnamed, in Tales of Suspense #75 as a World War II love interest of Steve Rogers in flashback sequences. She would later be better known as a relative of Sharon Carter.
Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Jr. is a fictional comic book character appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. He is a son and successor of former U.S. Army hero/super-spy and the intelligence agency S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury. The character first appeared in Battle Scars #1, which was written by Matt Fraction, Chris Yost, and Cullen Bunn, and penciled by Scot Eaton.
"Nick's World" is a twelve-page comic book story featured in the second issue of Marvel Knights: Double Shot written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Manuel Gutiérrez. The story concerns a young spy who tries to trick Nick Fury. The story was originally intended to be a part of a much longer series but after the follow-up series proposal was ignored by Marvel, Morrison incorporated much of the psychedelic super-spy material into their Vertigo title The Filth.
Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a six-issue comic book miniseries published by Marvel Comics in 1988. It was written by Bob Harras and drawn by Paul Neary. Each issue is 48 pages long and they are referred to as books. The series was the first time in almost twenty years that Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. was the main focus and the series sold exceptionally well, prompting Marvel to produce an ongoing series of Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. in 1989 that lasted 47 issues.
Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Empyre is a novel written by Will Murray and published by Berkley Books and Marvel Comics in 2000. It is the first appearance of the character of Nick Fury in novel form. It features illustrations by longtime Nick Fury artist Jim Steranko. The plot revived the concept of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s psychic sensory division from the old Stan Lee and Jack Kirby comics.
"Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." was a feature in the comics anthology Strange Tales which began in 1965 and lasted until 1968. It introduced the fictional spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. into the Marvel Comics world and reintroduced the character of Nick Fury as an older character from his concurrently-running series Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, which was a series set during World War II. The feature replaced the previously running Human Torch feature in the book and ran alongside the Doctor Strange feature. After the feature ended, a comic book series was published which has had several volumes as well as a comic strip. The feature was originally created by the duo of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby who also created the original Sgt. Fury series but it was later taken over by artist and writer Jim Steranko. The feature was often censored by the Comics Code Authority due to Jim Steranko's provocative art; this art helped change the landscape of comics which Steranko continued with in the 1968 ongoing series. Much of Nick Fury's supporting cast originated in the feature and many of the devices used by these characters were often used in other comics published by Marvel.
Perhaps the most innovative new talent to emerge at Marvel during the late 1960s was Jim Steranko, whose bold innovations in graphics, layout, and design startled the readers...Steranko transformed the look of the comic book page.
His work on his first hit book, Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., took the wildly popular Bond secret-agent schtick and gave it a jazzy makeover, with outlandish plots, eye-popping visuals and even 'adult themes' that had the Comics Code Authority demanding several panels in one landmark issue be redrawn.
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