Marvel Announces New Nick Fury Masterworks Collection

The Marvel Masterworks Resource Page reports that Marvel has at long last announced Marvel Masterworks: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Volume 2! The second hardcover collection of the classic Sixties spy comics runs 272 pages and collects the bulk of artist (and writer) Jim Steranko's work on the character. Although he didn't create him, Steranko is still the name most associated with Nick Fury (as Brian Clemens is to The Avengers), and rightly so. His truly groundbreaking work has inspired as many subsequent comic book artists as the Velvet Underground have bands. Marvel Masterworks: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Volume 1 compiled the beginning of Fury's spy career from the pages of Strange Tales, including Steranko's first three issues as artist (still working from Jack Kirby layouts). Volume 2 collects Strange Tales #154-168 and the first three issues of Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., the solo book the eyepatched superspy was spun off into. That's most of Steranko's period in total creative control of the character, with the unfortunate crucial omission of Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #5, the classic Scorpio issue. Looking at the bright side, though, this omission bodes well for a third volume. Presumably Marvel wanted to leave a little bit of Steranko for that book. Even without Scorpio, though, Volume 2 is the essential Fury volume to own. If your spy collection only includes one comic book, this should be it. Steranko's Fury was Marvel's answer to the popularity of James Bond and The Man From U.N.C.L.E., but realized in a uniquely Marvel style. For fans of those franchises, this book will be a must-own. The Masterworks line are all beautiful, high-quality hardcovers printed on thick, acid-free stock, easily worth the $54.99 cover price. Volume 2 comes out on December 16, 2009, more than two years after the first volume. Head over to the Marvel Masterworks Resource Page for all the details and lovely preview pages of the breathtaking images within.