Once again, I’m diving into a Marvel war book, and honestly, it’s THE Marvel war book. Yes, I know that I did a 100-episode podcast about The ‘Nam, but beyond various Punisher appearances, that comic existed in its own world, separate from the action you’d see in the Marvel Universe. But the World War II adventures of Nick Fury are part of continuity; in fact, the Howling Commandos even have appearances in the MCU.

Written by Archie Goodwin with art by Dick Ayers and Jon Severin, “Each Man Alone!” is the story of Operation: Jigsaw, a mission where each member of the Howling Commandos has to get into seven German headquarters and remove important documents all at the same time. It’s dangerous because the team has been split up. Can Nick Fury and his men make it out alive and complete the mission as well?

You obviously know the answer to that question, but that’s not why you read comics like this. When we open, Fury’s been caught in a dark office by German soldiers and manages to trick them long enough to get what he wants and then jump them before making his escape. Meanwhile Dum Dum Duggan is on a chalet in the Alps and finishes his mission and escapes on skis. This was my favorite sequence of the issue, and not just because it reminded me of the opening of The Spy Who Loved Me (although Duggan doesn’t have an American flag parachute). In the end, they all come together and the mission is successful because of course it is, but this is fun and boistrous in a way that 1960s Marvel action is.

Keep, Sell, Donate, or Trash?

Keep.