I’ve mentioned before that including Sgt. Fury in my Silver Age Reread hasn’t changed my feelings about the book. Which are negative, despite some striking moments like this one (courtesy of Jack Kirby).
I’ve heard from more than one person that when Gary Friedrich took over the book it got a lot better. Guess what, it’s true. Starting with #42 (artist Dick Ayers plots, Friedrich scripts) and #43 (Friedrich plots), there’s definitely a different feel from either Stan Lee or Roy Thomas’s writing. The dialogue is still very B-movie — if anything more so, as if Friedrich were trying to copy Lee’s voice in the book — and one Howler can still take on about 100 Nazis, but it works better for me.
Maybe given more Friedrich issues I could pin down what it is I like … but to my annoyance, #43 with this neat Dick Ayers cover is the last one on the Marvel App.
I went and checked on the TPB alternative, not that I was likely to spend the money — but to my surprise, all the reprint books stop with #42 or earlier. The comic book itself reprinted a lot of Silver Age issues in the 1970s, but finding them would be more work than it’s worth.
I can understand why Marvel doesn’t have any of its Silver Age Western comics on the app, except for Ghost Rider #1. I can sort of see why there’s no Patsy Walker though given she’s still active in the MU, I’d think testing the waters with some sort of reprints would make sense (I know they’re nothing like Patsy Walker AKA Hellcat but I’d pick up an Essentials out of sheer curiosity).
Fury, though? He’s a big enough figure in the MU that I’m surprised we stop so arbitrarily. Makes me wonder if there’s some reason — Friedrich today isn’t as big a name as Thomas or Lee — or merely a random stopping point? Or some bit of market testing that makes it seem like a bad deal. Or that they’ll get around to posting the rest on the Marvel website eventually. But probably not before my reread is done, dang it.
A first-world problem and a minor one — I’d be way more annoyed if it was one of the superhero books — but as I am a first-world person, I tend to have those.
#SFWApro.
It couldn’t possibly be because Marvel might have to pay Friedrich some residuals and they’re being douchebags about it because he dared claim he created Ghost Rider, could it? Marvel would never be that petty!
(I’m not saying that’s the reason, but honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if it were.)
You mean his estate, since he passed away in 2018. I’m not sure that Marvel’s program was ever retroactive, beyond just reprint money (rather than actual sales royalties) since they were done under a different pay system.
I think it is as simple as there isn’t a big enough war comic audience to justify the expense of digitizing and further issues, ignoring even the reprint issues (which are many). The series is at its best with Friedrich, Ayers and John Severin; but, even that can’t compete with Kanigher & Kubert (or Heath) on Sgt Rock or Enemy Ace, a Sam Glanzman Haunted Tank story (or his own USS Stevens stories) or most of the DC war comics and they aren’t exactly churning out reprints or digital, either.
I’m probably the last of the war comics generation, as an early Gen Xer, since they still existed when we were kids, then died off, by the time we were hitting our teens. We were the ones there for The Nam and Vietnam Journal, as well as Wayne Vansant’s one-man attempt at keeping the spirit alive, with historically oriented works. Garth Ennis is the only other one who consistently produces material for that crowd, again applying actual history to the drama.
Yeah, sorry, I knew he was dead, but was thinking about when he was still alive and they came after him for the convention stuff. Man, big corporations suck. And yeah, as I noted, I very much doubt that’s the reason, but come on, it wouldn’t shock you!
These days; no, as they are busy trying to screw people out of contractual royalties.
There are other sources out there, if you just want to read the stuff, beyond the Marvel app.
That makes sense, Jeff. And as others have pointed out, the days when Marvel could count on devoted fans buying everything they put out are long gone.